11 Days Chengdu Tibet Train Tour with Yangtze River Cruise

Upon arrival at Chengdu airport or railway station, our guide will be meeting you and get you transferred to your hotel in Chengdu. The rest of the day is at leisure.

Stay overnight in Chengdu

Chengdu is the major overland gateway to Tibet and home to giant pandas. In the morning, we will drive about half an hour to Chengdu Panda Breeding and Research Center, where you will catch pandas' feeding time, they are at their most active, both Adults and Babies. There's a wealth of information and a panda museum in this 230-hectare park 10 km (6 miles) north of Chengdu. It takes about 2.5 hours to visit this site.

In the afternoon, we will move back to downtown Chengdu to visit Jin Li Street, a vivid replica of the old commercial street of Qin, Han, and Three Kingdom dynasties. You can take a leisurely stroll along the street and buy some souvenirs. After that, we will go to Renmin Park, which is a beautiful city park often filled with locals, and you can enjoy a cup of tea to experience the slow life of Chengdu there.

Stay overnight in Chengdu

The whole day is free for you to explore around the city. In the evening, you will be transferred to Chengdu Railway Station for the train to Lhasa. Your Tibet Travel Permit will need to be checked before boarding.

Stay overnight on the train

It is quite a long journey that will take about 36 hours. Today you will first pass through two important provincial capital cities in northwest China, Lanzhou and Xining. Xining is known as the beginning of Qinghai-Tibet Railway. Travelling along the rail line, you could see the scenery of countryside and city in northwest China.

Then you will witness the most beautiful scenery of Qinghai-Tibet Railway. The land of snows, the desert, the grassland, snowy mountains and turquoise lakes will continually appear and strongly attract your heart.

Stay overnight on the Train

Your train will arrive in Lhasa in the morning. Upon your arrival, your tour guide will hold a board with your name on it at the exit of the train station to welcome you. A private car will take you from the train station to the reserved hotel. The rest of the day is for you to acclimate to the high elevation.

Stay overnight in Lhasa

In the morning, visit the famous Potala Palace and explore the grandest of this myriad chapel. You will appreciate its audience halls, the jeweled and golden burial chortens (stupa Tombs) of past Dalai Lamas, and tremendous number of Buddhist frescoes, thangkas, combinations of mandala, etc.

In the afternoon, visit the holist temple in Tibet, the Jokhang Temple, built during Songtsen Gonpo's reign by princess Wencheng of Tang Dynasty, 647 A.D, and its famous Barkhor Kora, where you can buy or appreciate traditional Tibetan artifacts, religious implements, antiques, books, Tibetan music instrument, Thangkas, and tradition Tibetan clothes etc. You will have a chance to get close to appreciate how the artists draw Thangkas at the Thangka workroom at Barkhor.

Stay overnight in Lhasa

In the morning, you are going to visit Drepung monastery which was one of the “three greet” Gelug monasteries of Tibet and was founded in 1416 by Jamyang choge, one of the Tsongkhapa’s main disciples. Ganden palace was used as Dalai Lama’s palace in the Drepung before moving to the Potala palace.

In the afternoon, visit the Sera Monastery, which is one of the “three great” Gelug monasteries of Tibet and was founded in 1419 by Jamchen chojey, one of the Tsongkhapa’s main disciples. The Most attraction is the Monks debate at around 3:00 - 5:00 in the afternoon.

Stay overnight in Lhasa

You will fly to Chongqing where the Yangtze Cruise Tour starts. Your tour guide will escort you to Lhasa airport and see you off.

Airport to Pier transfer with tour guide is included, your Chongqing tour guide will escort you to board the cruise and help you check out. You will have a chance to go through the Chongqing City from the airport to the pier, which is biggest city built by the Yangtze River. The cruise sails at about 21:00 in the evening.

Overnight in the Cruise

Today is your first day of Yangtze River Cruise Tour. You will visit Fengdu Ghost City (off cruise tour, optional) at about 09:00. Having nearly two thousand years' history, the Fengdu Ghost City combines the cultures of Confucianism, Taoism and Buddhism with the mystique of ghosts. Tourist can see the Chinese Ghose culture and characters in here.

Then enjoy a Shibaozhai Shore Excursion at about 16:00. Shibao Zhai Village is a tower with 12 floors. It is one of several high wooden buildings in China nowadays. It is the typical and symbolic buildings characterizing of Chinas southern folk architectural techniques.

Stay overnight in the cruise

The second day of Yangtze River Cruise Tour begins with the White Emperor City (off cruise tour, optional) at 07:30.It is situated at the entrance of Qutang Gorge, north of the Yangtze River. It was known as White Emperor City which dates from the Western Han dynasty, approximately 2000 years ago, when the king of Shu, Liubei, called himself the White Emperor.

Then you will sail through Qutang Gorge at 10:45, Wu Gorge at 12:45, and have a shore excursion to Goddess Stream at 15:15.

Stay overnight in cruise

Today is the last day of your cruise journey, and you will visit Three Gorge Dam. The world record smashing Three Gorges Dam, the world's largest dam and hydroelectric power station, you will have chance to witness the tropic man-made wonder.

After lunch, please pack your luggage and follow the check-out procedures. Afterwards, our guide will take you to Yichang airport with private transfer and see you off.