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12 Days Shanghai Lhasa Namtso Kunming Train Tour

12 Days Shanghai Lhasa Namtso Kunming Train Tour

(STT012) Shanghai - By train - Lhasa - Namtso - Lhasa - By flight - Kunming

Overview

This 12-day Shanghai Lhasa Namtso Kunming tour brings you to travel from the international metropolis to the holy Tibetan Plateau and the Spring City. Starting from Shanghai, you’ll visit the most iconic buildings, like Yu Garden, Oriental Pearl TV Tower, etc. and enjoy the amazing night view at the Bund. Then you’ll board the Shanghai-Lhasa train to Tibet, during which you’ll enjoy the stunning scenery along the railway. In Tibet, you’ll get gradual acclimatization to the high altitude while wandering around Lhasa and then head north to the holy Namtso Lake and do the scenic trekking around Tashi Dor Island. Flying directly from Shanghai to Kunming, you’ll visit the Stone Forest and Golden Temple, and buy some flowers at the local market if you like.

Day to Day Itinerary

Day 1: Shanghai Arrival

When international flight lands in Shanghai, please take a taxi by yourself to our reserved hotel or by agreement the transfer will be arranged for you. The rest of the day, you may have a good rest or explore around on your own.

Stay overnight in Shanghai.

Day 2: Shanghai Day Tour: Shanghai Museum, Yu Garden, and Oriental Pearl TV Tower, The Bund

Today we are about to visit some of the highlights of highlights of Shanghai Tour. Starting with fascinating Shanghai Museum, the magnificent 4-story building houses an incredible collection of bronzes, sculptures, ceramics, coins, paintings, calligraphy, costumes and other exhibits in different dynasties. It’s the perfect place for fans of Chinese history and art.

Next comes the Yu Garden. Built in the 16th century during the Ming Dynasty, the Yu Garden used to be the private residence of a senior Government administrator in the Ming Dynasty. For passionate photographer, never miss the chance to photograph Old Street of Yu Garden.

In the evening, we will visit the most iconic building of Shanghai, i.e. Oriental Pearl TV Tower. You can enjoy the amazing panorama of the skyline of Shanghai at night. And as you stroll along the Bund, you will get amazed at the spectacular Huangpu River and dazzling light from buildings of Pudong.

Stay overnight in Shanghai.

Day 3: Shanghai Tour and Board Train to Lhasa

In the morning, we are expected to visit picturesque Zhujiajiao Ancient Town, also known as the "Venice of China". It’s about 1 hour drive from downtown Shanghai. The ancient town dates back to Ming Dynasty. It’s highly recommended to enjoy the boat ride from one end of the water way to the other. Ke Zhi Garden and multiple shops and bridges, and street vendors selling handicrafts and goldfish and turtles provide a respite from boisterous metropolitan city.

After a good rest at hotel in the afternoon, you will be transferred to Shanghai Railway Station to board the overnight train to Lhasa. Train Z164 starts at about 20:08 from Shanghai and arrive in Lhasa at 19:35 on the third day, totally about 47 hours and 27 minutes.

Stay overnight in the train.

Day 4-5: Scenery View of Tibet Railway, Arrive in Lhasa

A full day window sightseeing along Qinghai-Tibet Railway, you will see land of snows, desert, immense grassland, ice mountain, beautiful lakes which will fairly entertaining.

Shortly after your arrival in Lhasa in the late afternoon of third day, you will be warmly received by your tour guide who would say Tashi Delek, which means wishing you all the best and transferred to your reserved hotel in Lhasa. You can have a good rest to acclimatize the high altitude.

Stay overnight in Lhasa.

Day 6: Lhasa Tour - Potala Palace, Jokhang Temple, Barkhor Street (B)

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. Inside you can see the statue of Buddha Sakyamuni at the age of twelve. Outside, you can see pilgrims making prostrating in front of Jokhang Temple. Around the temple is Barkhor Street, where you can do kora (a religious circle of a building or mountain) with pilgrims and locals, and explore the old market. Besides, we can taste Tibetan tea with locals in tea house.

Optional:
With time permitting, you may go with tour guide to visit Tibetan handicraft art or Tibetan Traditional Medicine center. You can upgrade your service to enjoy Tibetan Culture Show in the evening (fr. 60USD)

Stay overnight in Lhasa.

Day 7: Lhasa Tour - Drepung Monastery and Sera Monastery (B)

In the morning, you are going to visit Drepung Monastery which is one of the “great three” Gelug monasteries of Tibet, founded in 1416 by Jamyang choge, one of the Tsongkhapa’s main disciples. You can visit the biggest monastery kitchen inside the monastery and enjoy Buddhist Sculpture Carving workshop near Drepung.

In the afternoon, you will visit Sera Monastery which is another one of the “great three” Gelug monasteries of Tibet. The hot attraction is the monks debate at around 3 - 5 in the afternoon. In addition, you can tour the Tibetan religious scripture printing house. Inside the monastery, you can see three sand Mandalas and colorful Rock Painting of Buddha.

Stay overnight in Lhasa.

Day 8: Lhasa to Namtso Lake and drive back to Damxung (B)

In the morning, drive from Lhasa to Lake Namtso, one of the four holy lakes of Tibet and also the highest saline lake in the world. On the way, you can see snow-capped Nyenchen Thanglha Mountain Ranges and lots of nomads and their tent with grazing yak and sheep densely-populated on the flourishing grassland (in summer). Besides, you can enjoy the view of the Sky-Road Railway with snow mountain background; while standing at the famous Lagenla Pass(5190m), you can view the stunning vista of holy Namtso Lake.

Then we can enjoy our time doing a leisurely trek around Tashi Dor Island and along the lakeshore. Drive back to Damxung. (For environment protection, the Lakeshore guesthouses were close by the government.)

Stay overnight in Damxung.

Day 9: Damxung to Lhasa via Chimelong Nunnery and Tsurphu Monastery (B)

After breakfast, we will first visit Chimelong Nunnery (Phyirmil Lung Nunnery). Roam over the peaceful small nunnery and get an idea of different Buddhist studies in Tibet, you may also spot a sky burial site (Tibet funeral site) in the distance.

Then, we can go to Tsurphu Monastery, the seat of the Karmapa branch of the Kagyupa order of Tibetan Buddhism. Here, you can learn more about the ‘Black Hats’, The Karma Kagyupa school of Tibetan Buddhism. In the summertime (June to September), we can also go for a ‘Linka outing’ (Tibetan-style picnic) in the small village at the foot of the hill of Tsurphu Monastery.

Finally, we will drive back to Lhasa.

Stay overnight in Lhasa.

Today’s Cultural Tips: Sky burial is a funeral practice commonly seen in Tibet. The corpse will be disposed of and later devoured by vultures. In Tibetan Buddhism, sky burial is believed to represent their wishes to go to heaven. Only family members of the dead can attend the funeral.

Day 10: Fly from Lhasa to Kunming

The guide will transfer you to the airport for your onward flight to Kunming. After around 4 hours’ flying, you will land in Kunming and be picked up by the local guide. Then the guide will take you to the reserved hotel. The rest of the day is for you to have a good rest.

Stay overnight in Kunming.

Day 11: Kunming Day Tour: Stone Forest, Golden Temple

In the morning, drive 86 km to the Stone Forest. There is a local saying: It is a waste of time not to visit the Stone Forest while visiting Kunming. The quintessential karst landscape makes every tourist lost in wonder. After lunch, drive back to Kunming and visit the Golden Temple. And then, take a leisurely stroll along the Green Lake, a charming area of teahouses and small boutiques selling handicrafts and beautiful local paintings. After, visit the Flower and Bird Market in the downtown.

Stay overnight in Kunming.

Day 12: Depart from Kunming

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

Service Guide

Service Included:

  • Tibet travel permit and all other necessary permits to Tibet;
  • All entrance ticket fees for all tourist sites listed in the itinerary;
  • Personal knowledgeable English-speaking Tibetan local tour guide;
  • Personal comfortable, clean and safe vehicle with reliable Tibetan local driver; vehicle ranging from 4WD land cruiser to minibus depending on your group size;
  • All lodging listed in the itinerary; it’s your decision about the accommodation class: luxury 5-star international hotel, comfortable 4-star hotel, economic 3-star hotel or budget hostel, guesthouse or tent. Please tell us your accommodation preference when submitting the enquiry; we will arrange the best-value hotels for you.
  • Domestic flight/train tickets listed in the itinerary;
  • All meals listed in the above itinerary;
  • Tourist accident/casualty insurance;
  • First aid kit;

Service Excluded:

  • International flight to and out of China;
  • Chinese visa (Note: we could help you with the Chinese visa application, like providing the invitation letter, presenting the hotel or domestic flight reservation copies, etc that you may need. )
  • Domestic flight/train not listed in the itinerary. (We can provide you the domestic flight/train ticket booking service at the BEST discount price; please contact us our travel experts for the details.)
  • Meals not specified in the itinerary; usually it costs about USD3-15 per person for one meal in TAR (Tibet Autonomous Region).
  • Tips and gratitude to tour guide and driver;
  • Personal expenses, like laundry, phone call, snacks, soft drinks (please do the best to avoid the alcoholic beverages during your Tibet trip), optional tour activities, etc.

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