NORTH AMERICA/BEIJING

Board your flight this morning and begin your journey to the ancient wonders of China.

ARRIVE BEIJING

Arrive in Beijing, the ancient capital city of People's Republic of China. Beijing has been a capital city for over 3,000 years. The rest of the day is free to relax and adjust to time difference.  PLAZA ROYALE HOTEL OR SIMILAR

TIAN ANMEN SQUARE, FORBIDDEN CITY & SUMMER PALACE

Hundreds of buildings were demolished to create Tian Anmen Square, since 1949 it has been the venue of major rallies held during the Cultural Revolution. Forbidden City - A Tang Dynasty poet wrote, "Without seeing the magnificence of the royal palace, one can never sense the dignity of the emperor. Completed in 1420 during the Ming Dynasty, it was the home of 24 emperors and scene of many important events affecting the course of Chinese history. The Summer Palace is the second largest imperial garden in China and is equally famous as the Forbidden City; the Summer Palace is called Yiheyuan (Garden of Nurtured Harmony). Evening, attend the Peking Opera performance. PLAZA ROYALE HOTEL OR SIMILAR BLD

GREAT WALL, SACRED WAY & MING DYNASTY TOMB

Visit the Badling Great Wall. Construction began more than 2,000 years ago meandering more than 6,000 kilometers across the country. In ancient China, emperors were believed to be the Son of Heaven, therefore, prepare the way home after their deaths. The Sacred Way was a road usually built in front of an ancient Chinese mausoleum, symbolically lead emperors to heaven. Tour the Changling of Ming Tombs represents the addition of three Imperial Tombs of the Qing Dynasty in Liaoning to the Ming Tombs inscribed in 2,000 and 2003. They were built for the founding emperors of the Qing Dynasty and their ancestors, built on the principles of traditional Chinese geometry and fengshui. The Tombs are masterpieces of human artistic brilliance. The Sacred Way is part of the Ming Tombs complex, located in the front part of the royal cemetery, which means the path leading to heaven. This archway is the earliest and largest in China, constructed in 1540. PLAZA ROYALE HOTEL OR SIMILAR BLD

PROVINCIAL MUSEUM, GREAT MOSQUE/DEPART FOR LAHSA

This morning visit the Provincial Museum, then tour the Residence of General Ma Bufang- a warlord in the 1940’s. Lastly visit the Great Mosque, with over 600 years of history. This evening you will board the Express train for Lhasa and start our adventure in Tibet. OVERNIGHT ON THE TRAIN BLD

ARRIVE LHASA

This evening, arrive in Lahsa, referred to as the “Forbidden City” and has been the heart and soul of Tibet for centuries. Traditionally, Lahsa is the seat of the Dalai Lama and the capital of Tibet. Located here are the Potala and Norbulingka palaces and in Tibetan Buddhism is regarded as the holiest centre in Tibet. Lhasa means place of the gods, although ancient Tibetan documents and inscriptions demonstrate that the place was called Rasa till the 7th century, which means goat's place. BRAHMAPUTRA HOTEL OR SIMILAR BLD

POTALA PALACE & NORBULINKA

This morning visit the Patola Palace, named after Mount Potala, the abode of Chenresig or Avalokitesvara. It was the chief residence of the Dalai Lama till the 14th Dalai Lama escaped to Dharamsala, India after the invasion of the Chinese in 1959. The palace was initially used as a meditation retreat by King Singsten Gampo, who in 637 built the first one to receive his Chinese bride, Princess Wen Cheng, of the Tang Dynasty. Continue to Norbulingka, which means the Jeweled Park, is a palace which served as the traditional summer residence of the successive Dalai Lamas from the 1780s till the Chinese annexation in the late 1950s. The park was begun by the seventh Dalai Lama at the beginning of 1755. The Norbulingka Park and Summer Palace were completed in 1783 under Jampel Gyatso, the eight Dalai Lama, on the outskirts of Lhasa, to be the summer residence. BRAHMAPUTRA HOTEL OR SIMILAR BLD

KHANG MONASTERY, BARKOR STREET & SERA MONASTERY

This morning tour Jokhang Monastery or Qokang, Jokang, is the first Buddhist temple in Tibet. The name of this temple means “House of the Buddha.” It was built during the reign of King Songsten Gampo (605-650 CE) to celebrate his marriage with Chinese Tang Dynasty princess Wencheng, who was a Buddhist. For most Tibetans it is a very sacred and important temple in Tibet. It is in some regards pan sectarian but is presently controlled by the Gelug School. Continue to Barkhor Street, an area of narrow streets and a public square located around Jokhang Temple. The Barkor was the most popular devotional circumambulation for pilgrims and locals. Next, tour the Sera Monastery is one of the great three Gelukpa university monasteries of Tibet. The other two are Ganden and Drepung monasteries. The origin of the name Sera is not certain but it may be that the original site was surrounded by wild roses (se ra in Tibetan). BRAHMAPUTRA HOTEL OR SIMILAR BLD

LAHSA/CHENGDU - DUJIANGYAN ANCIENT IRRIGATION PROJECT

This morning, fly to Chengdu. More than four thousand years ago, the pre-historical Bronze Age culture of Jinsha was established in Chengdu. The fertile Chengdu Plain is called Tianfuzhi guo which means country of heaven or the Land of Abundance. Visit Dujiangyan, an irrigation infra-structure built in 256 BC during the Warring States period of China by the Kingdom of Qin, located in the Min River. It is still in use and continues to irrigate over 5,300 square kilometers of land. Qin governor, Li Bing, discovered that the river was over flooded by the melted water from the local mountains during the spring season thus, bursting the banks on reaching the slow moving and heavily silted stretch below. He knew a dam needed to be constructed but had to keep the waterway open for military vessels. Instead, Li Bing constructed an artificial levee to re-direct a portion of the river's flow and cut a channel through Mount Yulei discharging the excess water at the dry Chengdu Plain. The construction took four years to complete, making Sichuan the most productive agricultural region in China. TIBET HOTEL OR SIMILAR BLD

GIANT PANDA BREEDING CENTER & SANXINGDUI MUSEUM

Morning visit the Panda Breeding Research Center. These giant pandas are China’s national treasure bordering on extinction. Only found in Sichuan, Shaanxi and Gansu provinces, they are less than 1,000. The Chengdu Panda Breeding Research Center was designed to emulate their natural habitat providing the best possible environment for rearing and breeding. Continue to Sanxingdui Museum whose exhibition covers an area of about 1544.4 square miles and opened in October 1997. In the spring of 1929, a peasant discovered a piece of bright colored jade while digging a ditch. More than 400 jade items were uncovered. Since 1933, systematic excavations and archeological work of Sanxingdui Relic continued for half a century. The discoveries reflect the development from late Neolithic Age (7000 BC-5000 BC) to the late Shang (16th-11th century) and early Zhou era (11th century 711 BC). The museum is divided into four sections, displaying more than 1,000 pieces. TIBET HOTEL OR SIMILAR BLD

BUND, YUYUAN GARDEN & JADE BUDDHA

Drive along the Bund. Stroll along the world famous Bund waterfront, one of the world's highest buildings in the newly developed land across the bustling Huangpu River. Yuyuan Garden is one of the most lavish and finest Chinese gardens in the region. It was built in 1559 as a private garden by Pan Yunduan, who spent almost 20 years building it to please his father Pan En, a high-ranking official in the Ming Dynasty. Over the years, the gardens fell into disrepair until about 1760 when bought by merchants and again suffered extensive damage in the 19th century. In 1842, during the Opium Wars, the British army occupied the Town God Temple for five days. During the Taiping Rebellion the gardens were occupied by imperial troops, and destroyed by the Japanese in 1942. It was repaired by the Shanghai government from 1956-1961, opened to the public in 1961 and declared a national monument in 1982. The famous Jade Buddha Temple was built in 1882, an old temple where two jade Buddha statues were brought from Burma by a monk, Huigen. The temple was destroyed during the revolution overthrowing the Qing Dynasty. Fortunately, the Jade Buddha statues were saved and a new temple was reconstructed in 1928. Evening, attend a performance of the famous Chinese Acrobat troupes. GALAXY HOTEL OR SIMILAR BLD

ZHUJIAJIAO EXCURSION & SHANGHAI MUSEUM

Zhujiajiao means Zhu Family Settlement, is an ancient town, is a water village on the outskirts of Shanghai, formed about 1,700 years ago. Archaeological findings have been discovered that date back 5,000. 36 stone bridges and numerous rivers line Zhujiajiao along thousands of ancient buildings. Many centuries old stone buildings are home to residents as they were for many dynasties. The village prospered through clothing and rice businesses. Even today, old historical buildings such as rice shops, banks, spice stores and a Qing dynasty post office can be seen. Tour the famous Shanghai Museum, constructed in 1952, one of the larges and comprehensive art museum of China, renowned for its collection of Chinese art. The museum houses 123,000 pieces of cultural relic. GALAXY HOTEL OR SIMILAR BLD