10 Days Lanzhou- Jiuzhaigou- Sichuan-Chengdu Tour

Lanzhou, the capital of Gansu Province, is an important stop on the ancient Silk Road. After arriving in Lanzhou, you will be transferred to your hotel for a good rest.

Stay overnight in Lanzhou

Drive about 6 hours from Lanzhou to Xiahe, with a stop in Linxia for lunch. Along the route, the landscape changes dramatically from the desert, dry mountains around Lanzhou to the green mountains of Xiahe.

Stay overnight in Xiahe

Visit the Labrang Monastery, the largest Tibetan Monastery outside of Tibet housing about 2000 monks from the Yellow Hat tradition. It is a center of Tibetan learning in Eastern Tibet. There are 6 schools of Buddhist teachings. You will see many monks, often in prayer or busily debating each other on religious issues. All the year around you’ll meet many pilgrims in town wearing their splendid traditional clothing and jewelry.

Stay overnight in Xiahe

Drive from Xiahe to Hezuo to visit Hezuo Milariba Temple built in 1777. The monastery is one of the most lamaseries in Amdo Tibetan area and houses 1720 Figures of Buddha, including Jin Gang and four secret Cheng as Bodhisattva.

Then keep forward to Langmusi, a small town in Gansu. We will arrive there in late afternoon.

Stay overnight in Langmusi

Get up early to visit the sky burial site. You might get a chance to see a sky burial ceremony. In Langmusi, the ancient Tibetan custom of sky burials is still practiced. Sky burials are now limited only to a very small area in Tibet and is a rare sight nowadays. The town of Langmusi is situated partly in Gansu province, and partly in Sichuan province, divided only by a small river. Therefore this small town has two monasteries, and one in each province.

We will first visit the sky burial site and go to the Daceng Lhamo monastery on the Gansu side of the town. In the afternoon, we go hiking through a beautiful gorge where you can see many eagles and vultures soaring above your head.

Stay overnight in Langmusi

Take a full day travel by car (330km) to Jiuzhaigou via Ruoergai. On the way you will stop several times for some short hiking trips and other scenic stops. We will arrive in Jiuzhaigou in late afternoon.

Stay overnight in Jiuzhaigou

Enjoy a full day sightseeing in Jiuzhaigou Valley. After breakfast, head to the Jiuzhaigou Scenic Area where you will board on environmentally friendly bus to sightsee of the park.

Jiuzhaigou has three gullies (Shuzhen Gully, Rize Gully, Zezhawa Gully), 118 lakes, 5 beaches, 12 waterfalls, 10 rapids, and decades of springs as well as 12 peaks.

At night, watch a Tibetan folk customs show, consisting of singing, dancing and other programs.

Stay overnight in Jiuzhaigou

The whole day is to drive from Jiuzhaigou to Chengdu via Songpan.

Visit Dujiangyan Irrigation system en route, one of the world first irrigation systems and ratified into the World Cultural Heritage list. It’s located on the upper reaches of the Minjiang River. It was built between 306-251 BC by the local people under the guidance of Li Bing and his son. Fortunately the Dujiangyan Irrigation system brings the vast Chengdu Plain under irrigation and has protected it against droughts and floods for over 2,300 years.

Stay overnight in Chengdu

In the morning, visit Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding, 10km from downtown Chengdu.

Then, visit Jinsha Relics Museum, exhibiting the splendid culture of the ancient Shu Kingdom 3,000 years ago, modifying previous assumptions about the origins of the Chinese civilization. Over 6,000 pieces of cultural relics with sophisticated craftsmanship, like carved jade, gold, bronze, stone, and ivory artifacts, have been unearthed at the Jinsha Ruins.

As an option in the evening, enjoy wonderful Sichuan Opera.

Stay overnight in Chengdu

Transfer to Chengdu Shuangliu International Airport for your flight to next destination.