9 Days Beijing Sightseeing and Lhasa Tour via Qinghai-Tibet Railway

Transfer to your reserved hotel after arriving in Beijing airport. The rest of the day is at leisure.

Stay overnight in Beijing

After breakfast, your guide will lead you to visit the majestic Mutianyu Great Wall. You will be taken on a group tour to the Great Wall, the most famous symbol of China and one of the world’s most remarkable architectural wonders. This section was first built during the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644 AD).

Stay overnight in Beijing

Today, you will head to visit the magnificent Forbidden City which used to be the imperial palace of the Ming and Qing dynasties with a history of around 600 years. Then, you will move to the Imperial Ancestral Temple (also Taimiao of Beijing). Lying to the east of the imperial palace, the Forbidden City, the Imperial Ancestral Temple was a place where Chinese emperors stored their ancestors' tablets and worshipped them during festivals and ceremonies.

After that, you will visit Beihai Park. It is one of the oldest, largest and best-preserved ancient imperial gardens in China. With over 1,000 years' history, the park is not only a classic combination of the grandiosity of the northern gardens and the refinement of the southern gardens in China, but also a perfect integration of magnificent imperial palaces and solemn religious constructions.

Stay overnight in Beijing

Hutong, which refers to traditional courtyard residence in narrow alleys in Beijing, is a great place where international tourists can learn the folk culture and old quarters of Beijing city.In the morning, tourists can are recommended to explore Nanluoguxiang yourself, one of the most famous Hutongs in Beijing.

With bustling main street, you will find a variety of cafes, kiosks selling different kinds of food and beverages and souvenir shops. A great way to tour Hutong is to enjoy the ride on a traditional rickshaw and rickshaw riders, most of whom can speak basic English, will take you to cover all the historical significance.

In the afternoon, tourists are free to do some shopping in Beijing and get prepared for the flight to Xining in the tomorrow morning.

Stay overnight in Beijing

In the morning, tourists will take flights from Beijing to Xining and the fly takes around 3 hours. Later, after you arrive in Xining, we will board Xining-Lhasa train, which is the highlight and real beginning of Qinghai-Tibet Railway to Lhasa, Tibet.
In the train, tourists will enjoy the ride on the world’s highest train. You about to stunning vista of Gobi Desert in Golmud, Yuzhu Peak (6178m) and incredible Tuotuo River, and pass the Tanggula station (5072m), which is the highest part of Qinghai-Tibet Railway, boundless grassland on the Qinghai-Tibet plateau, etc.

Stay aboard

When you arrive in Lhasa either by train, your guide will greet you and take you to your hotel. Tourists may view the Yarlung Tsangpo River/ Bhamaputra river (the Longest and largest river in Tibet) and Lhasa river on their way to Lhasa.

After arriving in Lhasa, you can take a rest and get acclimatized to high altitude. If you feel to go out, then you can go to the Potala Square, where you will enjoy the fountain with different colors and get amazing photos of the Potala and around.

Stay overnight in Lhasa.

Today's tour will first bring you to the Potala Palace which is the winter palace of the Dalai lama. It was put to use since the 7th Century by the 33rd great king of Tibet. The most valuable collections of Potala Palace are the gilded burial stupas of former Dalai Lamas and meditation Cave of the 33rd great king of Tibet.

Then after lunch, tourists head to Jokhang Temple which was founded by the 33rd great king of Tibet in the 7th century, in order to promote the Buddhist religion. Inside you can see the statue of Buddha Sakyamuni at the age of twelve, perhaps the only most venerated object in Tibetan Buddhism. Around the temple is Barkhor street where you can do kora (a religious circle of a building or mountain) with pilgrims and locals, in the meantime you can buy souvenirs.

Stay overnight in Lhasa

Visit two important monasteries in Lhasa, the Drepung and the Sera.

Drepung monastery is situated at the foothill of a mountain and was founded by Jamyang Choeje in 1416. It was once home to 10000 monks and Ganden podrang in Drepung is famous as it was the government centre and later moved to the famous Potala palace during the fifth dalai lama.

After having lunch, visit the Sera Monastery, which was founded in 1419 by Tsongkapa’s disciple Jamchen Choeje. The most attractive is its Buddhist Scriptures debating held in the courtyard mostly around 3:00 – 5:00 in the afternoon.

Stay overnight in Lhasa

The guide will transfer you to the airport or train station and help you get on board.