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China
Tibet Travel
June 20 - July 4
Let's go to hug Mt. Everest
USA-Beijing-Chengdu-Tibet-Chengdu-Shanghai-USA
Price:
2-5 pax 2590 USD/per person (full package service with
air tickets. Single Room 420 USD
6-9 pax 2363 USD/per person (same as above) Single Room
420 USD
Over 10 pax 2130 USD/per person (Same as above) Single
Room 310 USD
National guide: 970 USD for each group of any size
4WD Land Cruiser, four passenger (not including driver )in
each car
private sleeping bag at camping site at Mt. Everest.
All food, drink, fruit, meals, admission, all included.
June 20 2006
Depart
Philadelphia
Meet your travel companions with whom you will share
this remarkable journey. Air China flight 986 departs
Philadelphia at 2:20 PM. Add-on flights can be arranged
from many U.S. cities. Meals served enroute.
June 21
Arrive Beijing
05:20 p.m. CAAC flight lands at Beijing International
Airport. Welcome to China! Your tour escort and local
guide, will meet your plane and escort you to our hotel
for a good night’s sleep. Dinner available for those who
need. Beijing Millennium Hotel
June 22
Beijing - Chengdu
Today is free and optional tour can be made for first
time Beijing visitors: Great Wall 40
USD/person (transportation, lunch, admission, guide),30USD
for Forbidden City and Tiannanmen
Square (transportation, lunch, admission). Afternoon flight
to Chengdu(2 hours) ,a gateway city for Tibet. We’ll
enjoy an authentic Sichuan dinner at the Baguobuy
Restaurant before checking into our hotel. (B-L-D)
June 23
Chengdu - Tsedang
We’re off to Tibet, the Rooftop of the World! We’ll be
on the first plane available to Tibet departing at 6:50
AM for Lhasa via CA4401 and arriving at 8:50 AM. Upon
arrival at Tibet’s Gonggar airport, you’ll immediately
feel that you are at a high elevation of around two
miles above sea level. We will take time to adjust to
the altitude gradually. This region is said to be the
sacred place where the first Tibetan was born to the
fairy girl, Rousa, and her monkey lover. We’ll make a
one-hour drive along the Yarlung Zangbo Jiang River to
Tsedang, seat of the Shannon prefecture. Picture stop on
the way at Jie-de-xiu, a village famous for making
women’s ornaments. Our modest but newly renovated hotel,
Tsedang Hotel, is in the town center. (B-L-D)
Tsedang Hotel
June 24
Tsedang
We’ll spend an exciting day in Tsedang. After breakfast,
we’ll drive to the pier at the Yalun River, where we
will be ferried for 50-minutes to her far bank and the
Samye Monastery—the first Buddhist monastery in Tibet.
The exquisite murals and monks chanting in the
background make this aged monastery even more
mysterious. After lunch, Sam Su will take us to the
Yumbu Lakang Monastery, the oldest dwelling in Tibet,
reputedly home of the Yarlong kings. When their monarchy
ended, the castle-like temple became a monastery. Yumbu
in Tibetan means doe and Lakang means sacred temple. On
the way back to our hotel, we stop at the Tsamdruk
Temple, said to be built in the seventh century during
the reign of Songtsen Bampo. Here you can see an
invaluable Tangkar, or thangka (a painting on silk or
sateen), embroidered with 29,026 pieces of pearl,
diamonds of various colors and other expensive
ornaments. (B-L-D)
Tsedang Hotel
June 25
Tsedang - Gyantse
Today’s adventure will begin just after breakfast when
our group will board our coach headed for Shigatse.
We’ll travel about one hour along the comfortable and
newly-paved road to Gyantse, seeing Yamdrok Lake, Bakkor
Monastery and explore her ancient fortress where the
Tibetans fought British invaders in the late 19th
century. We will have lunch along the way at a local
restaurant or perhaps a picnic lunch at Dalailama Lake.
Dinner tonight will be at a deluxe local restaurant.
(B-L-D)
Gyantse Hotel
June 26
Gyantse - Shigatse
We’ll depart today from Gyantse for an hour long scenic
journey to Shigatse. First, we’ll visit the Tashilhunpo
(Heap of Glory) Monastery, seat of the Panchen Lamas.
Built in 1447, it is the head monastery of the Yellow
Hat sect (Gelukgonpa). Today, it is one of Tibet’s most
active monasteries. Also you can browse the traditional
Tibetan free market, famous for its handicrafts. Enjoy
lunch at a deluxe Tibetan restaurant. (B-L-D)
Wuce Hotel
June 27
Shigatse - Old Dingri
Another day of exceptional scenery . . . Today as we
journey closer toward Mt. Everest, we’ll stop at several
places on the way to view the great mountain in the
distance and see amazing waterfalls. We’ll have lunch in
a local restaurant and arrive early this afternoon at
Old Dingri. Dingri is a very small town with several
hundreds of local residents. Local Tibetans run our
hotel, the Old Dingri Hotel. The hotel facility is
minimum — a bungalow with twin-bed rooms, with toilet
and solar-heated showers separate from your room. Your
room is not heated but it is clean and warm thick quilts
will keep you toasty! From your room, you will be able
to see the sun set behind Mt. Everest, weather
permitting. Be sure to have your binoculars and/or a
camera ready for this amazing event. (B-L-D)
Snow Leopard Hotel
June 28
Old Dingri - Base Camp
Today is the day we have been waiting for! Many think
that a visit to Mt. Everest is limited to the tough
backpackers and professional mountain climbers. Today we
prove them wrong! Although we will not ascend her
Summit, we will touch her foothill (17,000 feet) and
view the charming and awesome face of this legendary
mother of all the world’s mountains.
Tonight we will stay in a camp prepared especially for
us by our guide, Sam Su, and his friends. Our
accommodations, although rustic, will be quite
comfortable. Our tents (each accommodating five to seven
people) will be heated and brand new sleeping bags will
be provided. There will be ample water for drinking and
washing, but no shower facility is available. Rest room
facilities will be available. There is also a real
hospital and post office at the Base Camp.
Prepare yourself for amazing scenery this day. We’ll be
here at the best time for optimal view of the mountain.
The skies should be clear and the weather not too cold.
(B-L-D)
Base Camp
June 29
Base Camp - Old Dingri - Shigatse
We’ll awake this morning to the awe-inspiring scenery of
Mt. Everest with a beautiful sunrise. No you weren’t
dreaming; you really are at Mt. Everest! After a hearty
breakfast, we’ll journey back to Shigatse and the
comfort of the Wuce Hotel. We’ll stop for lunch in Old
Dingri. After our outdoor adventure at Base Camp, the
luxuries of the Wuce Hotel will be even more inviting!
(B-L-D)
Wuce Hotel
June 30
Shigatse - Lhasa
Today we wave goodbye to Mt. Everest as we depart back
to Lhasa. Along the way we’ll see hot gas erupting from
underground and grasslands. (B-L-D)
Himalaya Hotel
July 1
Lhasa
This morning will be spent at the famous Potala Palace.
Towering on its hill above Lhasa, the Potala Palace is
said to have first been built by King Songzamgambu in
the 7th century. A thousand years later, it was
reconstructed by the order of the Fifth Dalai. As we
explore inside the Palace, we’ll witness many frescoes,
statues and fabulous jewels. After lunch at a Nepalese
restaurant, we will explore one of Tibet’s three largest
monasteries, the Drepung Monastery. Built in 1416, the
magnificent architecture is stunning. The monastery is
so big that it resembles a town. The monastery consists
of a number of grand halls chambers, and the Dalai
Lamas’ palaces. Before he moved to the Potala Palace,
the 5th Dalai Lama lived here. We’ll also see Jhokang
Temple and Bakkor Street. This evening we’ll say goodbye
to our Tibetan guide at a farewell dinner at the Crazy
Yak restaurant. (B-L-D)
Himalaya Hotel
July 2
Lhasa -Chengdu-Shanghai
Transfer to the airport, an hour’s drive from Lhasa, and
take the early morning flight CA4402 (9:00 AM) to
Chengdu. We’ll have lunch at the airport hotel
restaurant before connecting with CA4503 at 3:00 PM.
Arrive in China's capitalist city Shanghai (5:30 PM)
where we’ll be met and transferred to our deluxe hotel.
Dinner tonight at hotel
Jin An Hotel
July 3
Today we’ll tour China’s most metropolitan and dynamic
city, Shanghai, and take in some of her most famous
sites. We’ll marvel at the Jade Buddha Temple, renowned
for it’s two rare statues of Buddha—each carved out of a
single piece of Burmese white jade! Our next stop will
be at the Huangpu River delta—the Yangtze River outlet.
From here you can take in the activities on the Huangpu
River. You will see the second tallest radio and TV
tower in the world and the downtown waterfront area with
Shanghai’s old European architecture. Lunch at a deluxe
restaurant in Shanghai. Next, we’ll journey to the
Shanghai Museum and experience its collection of 123,000
cultural artifacts with bronze ware, ceramics,
calligraphy and painting at its forte.
Jin An Hotel
July 4
Beijing –
Philadelphia
Transfer to the airport for our trip home. Depart
Beijing at 12:45 PM on Air China flight #985 to
Philadelphia. Arrive
Philadelphia at 12:15 PM, before you
departed Beijing! We’ve just regained the day we lost en
route. (B and meals enrooted)
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