Magical Worlds of Tibet & Great Pandas Tour
Meet Tibetan Monks and Pandas Face-to-face

Duration: 13 days tour • 3 domestic flights
Priced From: $7,340pp, do
Single Sup Fee: $2,430
Visits: Beijing, Lhasa, Chengdu, Bifengxia, Shanghai

Over the last decade, the culinary arts of China have been rediscovered in spectacular fashion.  We can say without exaggeration that Chinese cuisine is the world’s most refined and complex cooking tradition.  Our tour itinerary features the finest restaurants in both north and south China, each one renowned for its lovely interior and distinctive culinary style.   In our view, fine touring means a feast for the palate as well as for the eyes.  Below are some of the restaurants we will enjoy and their culinary specialties:

Beijing Restaurants

Da Dong            Peking duck and northern delicacies style
Ken de Rouge    Chinese fusion style   
Shanglinyuan     Imperial style

Shanghai Restaurants

Dingxiang           Shanghai style     
Lu Bo Lang         Shanghai dim sum style

The key for a successful tour is to choose the best hotel locations.  In our view hotels should be located in historic districts where city life is so rich.  A few steps outside the lobby, we enter a completely new world.  We have selected hotels with this idea in mind; and below you’ll find some of the highlights you may enjoy during free time:

Grand Hotel in Beijing - So much to explore here, including: Tiananmen Gate (you can ascend to the observation deck) • Tiananmen Square and Mao’s Mausoleum • lovely Changpuhe Park • shopping on neon-lit Wangfujing Street • Legation District and fine western dining • new Qianmen culture street with old-time cable cars • National Performing Arts Center and 3 world-class theaters

Ritz Carlton Hotel in Shanghai - Explore:  Huangpu River and Shanghai lovers’ lane • colonial Bund and its old cosmopolitanism  • audacious Pudong skyscrapers • city life at People’s Park

Day 3 • Beijing
Old and new China beckon outside our hotel and nearby is the imperial architectural axis that runs from Qianmen Gate, through the grand halls of the Forbidden City, to Jingshan Hill. For the next two days we will experience the immense power of the city that radiates from a layout designed years ago in the Ming Dynasty.
    
This morning, we enter the precincts of the immense complex of the Forbidden City, the abiding symbol of imperial China. Truly one of the great achievements of civilization, its construction employed hundreds of thousands of workers between 1406 and 1420. Marvel at its expansive architecture, magnificent imperial gardens, and many museums of Chinese antiquities and treasures.

Next, we visit the Olympic Village to marvel at the new stadiums made famous by the 2008 Beijing Olympics. Herzog & de Meuron designed the National Stadium– the “Bird’s Nest;” and the firm PTW designed  the National Swimming Center – the “Water Cube.”

After lunch, we explore the Temple of Heaven, one of the finest creations of the Ming Dynasty. This stunning architecture realizes the great Chinese desire to incarnate heaven in material form, and represents the most advanced principles of mechanics and geometry of the time.     

Next, enjoy an optional walking/ shopping tour of the newly redeveloped Qianmen District. This emporium was designed on the traditional storefronts that once made this area the heart of Beijing’s cultural and commercial life.
    
This evening, savor the imperial city’s most famous delicacy, Peking duck, at the renowned Da Dong Restaurant.  (b,l,d)

Day 4 • Beijing
First, we venture to the picturesque Houhai District, where well-preserved courtyard homes and narrow hutong alleys border tree-lined lakes. We will enjoy a delicious lunch at the home of a local family.

After lunch we head north from Beijing for the Great Wall of China. Encounter this extraordinary rampart at Mutianyu, a rugged section of the wall that offers easy access by foot or cable car. As is usually the case, the Great Wall presents a visual experience that dramatically exceeds visitors’ expectations. Construction of a few miles of the wall on such jagged peaks seems near miraculous, but the rampart stretches for 3,700 miles and passes through 16 provinces.

If time allows, visit to “Silk Market,” a shopping center wildly popular with Beijing expatriates for its high quality silk products at amazingly cheap prices.
    
Tonight, we enjoy a special banquet at Shanglinyuan Restaurant in the lovely Beihai Imperial Garden. (b,l,d)

Day 5 • Lhasa
This morning, we fly to Tibet. Upon arrival, meet our Tibetan guide, drive to Lhasa and transfer to the new 5 star Sheraton Hotel.
    
Because of Lhasa’s high altitude at about 12,000 feet, much of this day is for relaxation to adjust to local conditions. Take an optional stroll through old town Lhasa. (b,l,d)

Day 6 • Lhasa
In the morning we tour Barkhor Street, the marketplace of old Lhasa that is still amazingly evocative of old Tibet.
    
Then, visit Jokhang Temple, Tibet’s holiest shrine, filled with altars, halls, and galleries. The finest Tibetan art and treasures are found here, though some originals were lost during the Cultural Revolution. (b,l,d)

Day 7 • Lhasa
A full day of sightseeing includes the Potala Palace, once the seat of government and the winter residence of the Dalai Lama. It yet remains today the abiding symbol of Tibetan Buddhism. The complex rises over thirteen stories and contains thousands of rooms. 
    
Then, take a short drive to Norbulingka, the Dalai Lama’s former summer residence. Constructed in the 18th century, it is a masterpiece of Tibetan architecture and contains several palaces and chapels.  (b,l,d)

Day 8 • Lhasa
Traveling outside Lhasa, we visit Sera Monastery, one of the three great monasteries of the Gelugpa sect and founded in 1416 by a disciple of Tsongkhapa. The great hall holds thousands of Tibetan sutras in cubicles along the wall, a fitting evocation of the devotion to learning of Tibetan Buddhism.
    
Then, drive to Drepung Monastery, the largest monastic complex in Tibet. Hundreds of monks continue to practice the Buddhist dharma, including historic debating rituals.
    
We will also visit a traditional Tibetan hospital and observe the treatment of patients with a combination of herbs and Tibetan Buddhist meditative techniques. (b,l,d)

Day 9 • Chengdu
In the morning we fly to Chengdu and visit the Chengdu Giant Panda Breeding Center and the Small Red Panda Center, where we will learn the latest information about the centers researchers’ breeding efforts. Spend the night at the Crown Plaza Hotel. (b,l,d)

Day 10 • Chengdu – Bifengxia
The Bifengxia Panda Base & Wildlife Park is situated 95 miles southwest of Chengdu in the Bifengxia region, which is a two-hour drive. The Bifengxia Panda Center was opened in 2003 as a satellite base for the Wolong Giant Panda Breeding Center.

With the addition of giant pandas transferred from the earthquake-damaged Wolong Center it is arguably the best place to see giant pandas in natural environments. It is home to approximately 80 adult giant pandas and cubs— more than in any other breeding center in China!

The Bifengxia Panda Center is now playing a new and important role in the conservation of giant pandas. When we visit the Panda Center, we will visit the beloved Hua Mei, who has had three sets of twins, and Mei Sheng as well as the other endearing black-and-white residents.

Also in the area is the Bifengxia Wildlife Park, which extends over nearly 25 square miles. It has long been famous for its breathtaking canyon landscapes, forest coverage, rivers, and waterfalls. Bifengxia has the largest wildlife park in China, where over 300 species live in expansive, open enclosures that can be visited by bus or on foot. Spend one night at the 4-star Hongzhu Hotel. (b,l,d)

Day 11 • Bifengxia – Shanghai
Today we will meet with resident scientists and researchers at the Panda Center and learn about their latest conservation programs. If possible, we will have an opportunity to observe the panda cubs. Later, explore the Bifengxia Panda Center and Wild Life Park at our leisure. (b,l,d)

In the afternoon, fly to Shanghai and transfer to the Ritz Carlton Hotel, located in the heart of the city.
    
What strikes everyone about Shanghai is its vitality. Nothing restrains Shanghai in its immense ambition to achieve world-class status; and in only a few short years it has surpassed Hong Kong as the leading Chinese city. Our time here will be spent absorbing this special energy, a worldly cosmopolitanism for the up-and-coming Chinese empire.
    
Dinner is on one’s own this evening. Your guide can assist with recommendations and arrangements. (b,l)

Day 12 • Shanghai
This morning we divert ourselves among the wonderful collections of the Shanghai Museum, including its world-class displays of Chinese bronzes, jade, pottery, furniture, ceramics, paintings, and calligraphy.
    
Then, explore Xintiandi—a stylish restaurant and shopping district designed by MIT architect Ben Wood. Filled with restaurants, clubs, and fashion boutiques, Xintiandi exudes artistic sophistication and is widely imitated throughout China today for chic redevelopment projects. Enjoy lunch on one’s own here.
    
Then to Yuyuan Gardens, which is designed in six unique parts, making the garden seem much larger than it really is. We find one of the best Ming rockeries here, and wending the zigzag bridge to Huxingting Teahouse is a delight.
    
In the evening, we bring our journey to a memorable close with a farewell banquet at Dingxiang Garden Restaurant, famous for Shanghai cuisine.

After dinner, stroll along the Bund, viewing the beautifully illuminated colonial buildings, as well as the magnificent Pudong skyline, along the Huangpu River.  (b,d)

Day 13 • Shanghai – U.S.
Transfer to Shanghai airport for your flight home. Arrive in the U.S. on the same day. (b)

**Breakfast (b), Lunch (l) and Dinner (d) are included in the day’s program.

This tour features both pre- and post-tour extensions. 

Our tour extensions are based on the travel principle of focusing on distinctive regions of China to absorb their individual character.  Rather than rushing through the country, we prefer to spend an extended period in one place and get to know the nuances of its culture and natural environment.  China lends itself to this kind of touring for its regions vary immensely from each other, and so reward the traveler interested in the subtle beauties to be found there.

Pre-tour extensions include the 1-day What’s New in Beijing Day Tour & the 3-day Imperial Grandeur at the Chengde Imperial Resort.

Post-tour extensions include the 5-day Grand Mountains and Ancient Villages in Anhui & the 5-day Elegance of South China in Guilin. 

Please see promotional literature for each of these extensions.

12/09