Tibet & Amdo Muslim Tour 14 Days

Product Description

IslamiChina.com
Day *1: Arrival in Beijing (D)
Our professional Muslim expert tour guide will pick you up at Beijing capital international airport and transfer you to the hotel. Relax during the remainder of the afternoon and evening to recover from the jet lag.

Accommodations
Gold Series: *-star Crowne Plaza Beijing
Silver Series: *-star Mercure Beijing Downtown
Budget Series: *-star Holiday Inn Express Beijing Temple of Heaven

Day *2: Beijing (B/L/D)
We will start to explore Beijing from the largest city square in the world; the impressive Tian'anmen Square. From there we will enter the "Imperial Palace" known as the Forbidden City to explore its many fascinating halls and pavilions. After lunch and prayer at Niujie Mosque we will visit the Temple of Heaven, the place where the Emperors worshipped the Heaven for good harvests. Todays shopping stops are the Muslim Supermarket and Traditional Chinese herbal medicine of Tongrentang.

Accommodations
Gold Series: *-star Crowne Plaza Beijing
Silver Series: *-star Mercure Beijing Downtown
Budget Series: *-star Holiday Inn Express Beijing Temple of Heaven

Day *3: Beijing (B/L/D)
Today is the highlight of our China tour, the climbing of the Great Wall of China. In **0 B.C., under Qin Shi Huang, the first emperor of China, sections of earlier fortifications were joined together to form a united defense system against invasions from the north. Construction of the great wall continued up to the Ming dynasty (********4), when the Great Wall became the worlds largest military structure. Its historic and strategic importance is matched only by its architectural significance. In the afternoon we will visit the Ming Tomb Sacred Way where we will learn the ancient Chinese Fengshui Theory. On the way to the Great Wall, we will make a stop at Bona jade carving factory where we will learn the ancient art of jade carving skills.

Accommodations
Gold Series: *-star Crowne Plaza Beijing
Silver Series: *-star Mercure Beijing Downtown
Budget Series: *-star Holiday Inn Express Beijing Temple of Heaven

Day *4: Beijing (B/L/D)
In the morning we will visit the largest garden in the world, the Summer Palace. The Summer Palace first built in ***0, largely destroyed in the war of ***0 and restored on its original foundations in ***6, is a masterpiece of Chinese landscape garden design. The natural landscape of hills and open water is combined with artificial features such as pavilions, halls, palaces, temples and bridges to form a harmonious ensemble of outstanding aesthetic value. After afternoon prayers at Madian Mosque we will tour Beijings Old Hutong Alley by rickshaw.

Accommodations
Gold Series: *-star Crowne Plaza Beijing
Silver Series: *-star Mercure Beijing Downtown
Budget Series: *-star Holiday Inn Express Beijing Temple of Heaven

Day *5: Beijing/Lhasa by Flight (B/L/D)
Fly to Lhasa in the morning. Upon arrival at this ***0 feet elevated city, we will be transferred to hotel for rest and adjust our body to high elevation (Lhasa is ***0 meters above sea level). We may feel the effects of high altitude therefore it is strongly recommended that you take an afternoon nap for **3 hours.

Accommodations
Gold Series: *-star Four Points by Sheraton Lhasa
Silver Series: *-star Manasarovar Hotel Lhasa
Budget Series: *-star Shangbala Hotel Lhasa

Day *6: Lhasa (B/L/D)
We will visit the ****-year-old Jokhang Monastery in the morning where we will follow local Tibetans for a Kora of Jokhang Monastery, walk around the Barkor Bazaar. Jokhang Monastery, constructed by King Songtsen Gampo in the year AD**7 is the most famous Buddhist monastery in Lhasa. This monastery has remained the centre of Buddhist pilgrimage for centuries, and over a period of last several centuries, the monastery complex continue to be expanded and now covers an area of around *5,**0 sq. meters. After lunch we will visit the Hebalin Mosque and its nearby Muslim community; later we will visit a Tibetan family.

Accommodations
Gold Series: *-star Four Points by Sheraton Lhasa
Silver Series: *-star Manasarovar Hotel Lhasa
Budget Series: *-star Shangbala Hotel Lhasa

Day *7: Lhasa/Xining by Soft Sleeper Train (B/L/D)
In the morning we will visit the highest palace in the world, the Potala Palace. Built on the red hill in the center of Lhasa, the Potala Palace boasts more than ***0 rooms including the Red Palace where Dalai Lama once lived. We will visit Sera Monastery in the afternoon. Founded in ***9, at its height, Sera monastery was residence to more than 5,**0 monks and five monastic colleges, although much less active now, with only several hundred monks currently in residence. One of the most interesting times to visit the monastery is in the afternoon when monks, after finishing their morning classes, can be seen debating in the courtyard. They emphasize their debate points with heavy foot stomping and loud claps of the hands. This highly animated debating method is part of the time-honored monastic educational system. We will take the night train from Lhasa to Xining.

Accommodations
Gold & Silver Series: *-star Qinghai Huitong Hotel
Budget Series: *-star Qinghai Muslim Hotel

Day *8: Xining (B/L/D)
After breakfast at hotel, we will drive for **0km to visit the largest salt water lake in China, measuring 4,**0 square kilometers, the Qinghai Lake.Qinghai Lake is a blue mirror nestled between snowy mountains and grasslands. Every summer, cool breezes sweep across the lake, where thousands of birds live in nearby wetlands; yaks and sheep graze on the lakeside grassland.We will also visit a Tibetan Family by the Qinghai Lake in the afternoon.

Accommodations
Gold & Silver Series: *-star Qinghai Huitong Hotel
Budget Series: *-star Qinghai Muslim Hotel

Day *9: Xining/Tongren by Coach (B/L/D)
We will visit the Kumbum Monastery in the morning. The Kumbum monastery is one of the six most important Gelukpa (Yellow Sect) monasteries in Tibet. It was built in ***0 by 3rd Dalai Lama and is the birthplace of Gelukpas founder, Tsongkhapa. His disciples later on became the ancestors of the Living Buddha system, Dalai Lama and Panchan Lama. After prayer at Dongguan Mosque, the largest mosque in Xining we will drive to Tongren.

Accommodations
Gold, Silver & Budget Series: *-star Tongren Hotel

Day *0: Tongren (B/L/D)
In the morning we will visit Longwu Monastery of Gelukpa sect which was initially constructed in Yuan Dynasty (********8) as a monastery of Sakya-sect, and Wutun village the center of Repkong Buddhist Art which is a successful mixture of religious art and local folk art. We will visit the Wutong Monasteries in the afternoon.

Accommodations
Gold, Silver & Budget Series: *-star Tongren Hotel

Day *1: Tongren/Xiahe by Coach (B/L/D)
In the morning we will drive to Xiahe which exists due to the Labrang Monastery which is one of the six main Tibetan monasteries of the Gelupka sect. Xiahe is the largest Tibetan monastery town outside Lhasa. We will be enchanted by the atmosphere of this town which is a mixture of Tibetan, Muslim Hui and Han Chinese, particularly during the festive season when the usually silent streets are crowded with pilgrims and Tibetan monks in their saffron robes. On the way we will visit Tibetan families still living in traditional Tibetan tents.

Accommodations
Gold, Silver & Budget Series: Labrang Hotel

Day *2: Tongren/Linxia by Coach (B/L/D)
Visit Labrang Monastery in the morning. After lunch we will drive to Linxia, the little Mecca in China nicknamed by Chinese Muslims. Along the way we will pass numerous a mount of Muslim villages with hundreds of thousands of mosques built both traditional Chinese and Arabic style. We will stop at some of the villages to experience the local life and communicate with them about their daily life. Upon arrival in Linxia we will visit Muslim community, Madrassh, Mosques and local Bazaar in the Muslim city of Linxia.

Accommodations
Gold, Silver & Budget Series: *-star Linxia Hotel

Day *3: Linxia/Lanzhou by Coach (B/L/D)
Drive to Lanzhou in the morning. Lanzhou is the capital city of Northwest Chinas Gansu province with a large Muslim population. After lunch we will visit the largest mosque in Lanzhou, the Xiguan Mosque which was recently renovated according to traditional Arabic style. Later on we will visit the Water Wheel Park and Gansu Provincial Museum.

Accommodations
Gold Series: *-star Sunshine Plaza Hotel Lanzhou
Silver Series: *-star Savoy Hotel Lanzhou
Budget Series: *-star Gansu International Hotel

Day *4: Lanzhou/Beijing by Flight (B/L/D)
After breakfast, we will be transferred to the airport for flight to Beijing. The airfare from Lanzhou to Beijing is included in our price. Tour ends after getting boarding pass from our tour guide at Lanzhou airport.