Discovering Shangri-La & Tibet

After breakfast, visit the World Horticultural Expo in morning, where you will enjoy a variety of natural beautiful plants which showcase different sections of the globe. In afternoon, embark on a journey to the Stone Forest (Shilin), which offers an almost “out of this world” experience. The shape and imagery of the forest was formed by millions of years of weathering; the spectacular sceneries there are stunning and you will feel like you are transported to another world. Return to Kunming and get onboard an overnight express train to Dali in the late evening.

Enjoy a scenic drive from the Yunnan countryside to Lijiang, a UNESCO world heritage site and center of the Naxi minority culture. After lunch, visit Lijiang’s Ancient City—Dayanzhen, a town that is carefully laid out around a central square with small cobblestone streets and lanes radiating out in all directions. With the neat brick houses and fabulous views, Dayanzhen is the perfect place to stay—you will be away from the bustling activities of the large metropolitan cities. You can also move to the Black Dragon Pool (Yu Quan), which is known as the Jade fountain.  Here you will view its green deep waters and magnificent sceneries of the Jade Dragon Mountain.

Depart Lijiang for Shangri-La by a private van and stop at the Tiger Leaping Gorge (Hutiaoxia). One of the deepest gorges in the world, the gorge drops more than 3,900 meters from the top to the raging river that feeds into the legendary Yangtze below.  This gorge gets its name from the legend of a tiger jumping across it at the narrowest point of 30 meters – it’s a spectacular sight to see in person.  Check into your hotel in wonderful Shangri-La tonight and write of adventures and memories in this legendary location

Shangri-La, which is heavily influenced by the Tibetan culture, is located in the northwestern corner of the Yunnan Province. This morning you will visit Bita Lake (Blanket of Oak Trees in Tibetan), which has crystal clear waters and is surrounded by species of rhododendron and azaleas. From May through June, “drunken fishes” can be seen in the lake due to their consumption of the slightly toxic petals of both azaleas and rhododendrons. In the afternoon, visit the home of a local Tibetan family where you will enjoy a tea-drinking ceremony and get to see traditional Tibetan songs and dancing.

Meet your local English-speaking tour guide and driver in the hotel lobby for transfer to the Lijiang Airport for your trip to Lhasa via Chengdu.

Visit the Drepung (Rice Heap) Monastery, which is Tibet’s largest and richest monastery.  Before the extension of the Potala Palace, Drepung Monastery was the place where each Dalai Lama resided. Hence, it is regarded as the mother monastery of Dalai Lamas. After visiting this location, where more than 7,700 monks have lived at once time, you will get to explore the Sera (Wild Rose Garden) Monastery founded in 1419. Approximately 300 monks continue to stay at one of the monasteries’ three colleges today.

This morning, you will get to visit the most recognizable Tibetan symbol—the Potala Palace. It is said to contain 1,000 rooms, 10,000 altars and 200,000 Buddhist statues. After exploring this legendary location, you will move on to the Jokhang Temple, which has numerous treasures and the golden statue of Sakyamuni from Xian. After lunch, stroll along Barkhor Street (Octagon Street) located in the center of old Lhasa. You can shop for religious artifacts; prayer flags scriptures, jewelry and other Tibetan handicrafts in the busy market.

After breakfast, get onboard for your flight to Chengdu. Your English-speaking guide and driver will meet you at the airport and take you to a wonderful lunch upon your arrival. Visit the Silk Embroidery Institute and see some incredible artists at work as they create intricate masterpieces of artwork in silk.  Later, you will have a visit to the People’s Park with Tea House and Garden in Chengdu and enjoy some local flavor of this relaxing city.  This evening, enjoy some down time or explore the city on foot as you prepare to return from this cultural adventure.

After your breakfast in the hotel, you will be transferred to the Chengdu Airport for traveling to the next destination city, or to any Chinese gateway city for connecting your international flight home.