In this section you will find a short description of the daily possibilities. The tour leader will offer a program on almost every day but the program is informal and by no means obligatory leaving lots of room for your own initiative. Your guides will organize and accompany some activities and will also make suggestions so that you are free to dine or explore on your own.
Day 1 Depart USA
Day 2 Arrival Beijing
Day 3 Beijing
Day 4 Beijing
Day 5 Beijing – Xian (Night Train)
Beijing is the capital, the government center of China and has approximately ten million inhabitants. It is still expanding on a daily basis because of the steady stream of Chinese entering the cities from the rural areas of China. Beijing is a huge city; the simplest way to get around is by subway, taxi, or taxi-bus. For example, to travel from one sightseeing activity to the next will usually take you at least half an hour by cab. The center of the city is located around the Tiananmen Square. Here you will find the famous, Forbidden City, the mausoleum of Mao and the large hall of the people. One of the most beautiful parks of Beijing, the Beihai Park, is located right behind the Forbidden City. Here, you can rent a boat and row on the lake together with the locals. Also the Hutongs, the famous old neighborhoods of Beijing should not be missed. Some of these neighborhoods are zoned to protect them against the massive amount of new construction. Take time to visit some of the countless temples. The “Temple of the Heaven” completely constructed of wood, is located in the southeast of the city. It consists of several buildings and a large alter that are all built in complete symmetry. In the northeast of the city, you find the so-called Lama temple where these days, Lamish Buddhism is practiced again. From Beijing, the tour leader organizes an excursion to the Great Wall. Here, you have time to explore a small part of the world’s largest construction project in the world. Travel is included in the price of your trip for this excursion but the entry fee is not. Most of the time, the tour leader will try to combine this with a visit to the summer palace that is located just outside of Beijing and situated on a special man made lake. At nighttime, you have the possibility for example, to pay a visit to the Chinese opera and taste the specialty of Beijing; the Peking duck. We board a night train for Xian. We will be traveling in comfortable soft-sleeper compartments (sleeps four). For private trips only, you may upgrade to a flight from Beijing to Xian.
Day 6 Arrival Xian
For many years, Xian was the capital of China. In the past Xian was the starting point of the Silk Road, which gave the city a very cosmopolitan character. In the center of the city immediately behind the Drum Tower, you will still find the old Islamic neighborhood and the vast mosque complex with outer buildings and gardens. This neighborhood is loads of fun for walks and dining. You will also find many art and antique shops there.
The old center of Xian was always surrounded by a thick wall, which for the most part has been restored. You can go for walks on top of the wall. The best view over the city is from the old clock towers where in the past, the bell was rung each morning. A stone’s throw away from the south wall you will find the Provincial Museum that houses one of the largest collections of Chinese treasure including lots of ceramics and calligraphy.
Outside the walls you can visit the large and small wild goose pagoda, both characteristic of old Chinese architecture. We reserve one day in Xian to visit the world-famous terracotta army of Qin Shihuong that is located about 20 miles outside the city. Farmers discovered this find in 1974. This excursion is included in the price and will be arranged by the tour leader. The Emperor and the Assassin is an excellent Chinese (subtitled) film that will give you some historic background about this ruler and the violent unification of the Chinese kingdoms.
Day 7 Xian – Lhasa
Day 8 Lhasa
Because of the altitude difference, take it easy the first day. Upon approaching Lhasa, you immediately see the Potala palace from the airport located on top of a hill, towering high above the city. During the trip through Tibet, a local guide will offer to accompany you on tours of the most important cloisters and palaces in Tibet. Even though the Potala palace was the residence of the Dalai Lama, the most important religious structure still is the Jokhang Temple, which is considered the oldest holy place of Tibetan Buddhism. It is almost unimaginable that after the Cultural Revolution, for a period, this holy shrine was used as a bed and breakfast and movie theater. Fortunately the temple itself suffered no damage during this period. The square is the gathering place for pilgrims and visitors in front of the Jokhang. It is fascinating to see the pilgrims prepare for their prayers. The most important pilgrims’ route of Tibet runs around the Jokhang. For the entire day, religious Tibetans walk their rounds. Many pilgrims arrive from all over the world and often spend many days traveling, throwing their bodies full length on the ground, touching the holy ground with their foreheads. In this way they cover the entire pilgrim’s trip around the Jokhang. It is also rewarding to visit the former palace of the Dalai Lama, the Norbulinigk. We spend several days in Lhasa and it is also possible to pay a visit to some other cloister towns located a short distance outside of Lhasa, such as the Drepung and the Sera. Drepung is the richest and largest cloister complex with the largest number of monks. Just outside the Sara cloister, you find the burial grounds where a new corpse is being fed to the wild animals. There is very little wood in the country, which makes it very difficult to bury the dead. The Sara cloister’s gardens are the setting for many afternoon debates.
Day 9 Lhasa – Gyantse
Day 10 Gyantse – Lhasa
We drive to our next destination, Gyantse, where you will see some of the most authentic Tibetan places remaining. Here the typical Tibetan atmosphere is reflected in the architecture, such as the dzong, (fortified monasteries) and other structures, and also by the trading spirit of the Tibetans. Gyantse was an important gathering place for wool merchants on their way to India. The imposing dzong offers a nice view of the Kumbum monastery and the city itself. Do not forget to visit the monastery, which has the highest stupa of Tibet, on its premises (105 feet). It is one of the most impressive buildings of Tibet. Inside are 112 chapels covered with splendid sculptures and beautiful murals.
Day 11 Lhasa –Chengdu flight bus to Chongqing (board the ship in the evening)
Day 12 Yangtze River
Day 13 Yangtze River
Day 14 Arrival Yichang, train to Wuhan
You will board the cruise boat and lodge in comfortable first-class cabins, with 2 beds, private bath facilities and air-conditioning. The boat we use is called Jiangshan and was built in 1990 and renovated in 2001-2003. The boat is 265 ft. long, 43 ft. wide, and holds around 500 people. Facilities on the boat include restaurants (Chinese style), air-conditioning, satellite communication, TV, a health clinic, shops, a dance halls, a viewing hall, a hair salon and a recreation center. There will usually be three off-shore tours, including scenic stops and the dam. These places are not always fixed and depend on the weather, water level and decision of the captain. Off-shore tour prices are approximately $35 per person and the dam has a $15 entrance fee. While participating in an off-shore tour, you can find very cheap food; otherwise you can eat at the restaurants on the boat for about $20-$30 per day per person.
The Upper Reaches of the river begins from the source of Qinghai Province to Yichang in Hubei Province. It is the most attractive part of the river, with imposing mountain ranges, unbroken ravines, dangerous rapids and charming landscape. Along this 130 mile-long stretch, the river passes through the Three Gorges. In the Qutang Gorge, the river is only 100 meters wide with some 200 feet hydraulic gradient. In the Wu Gorge, mountains rise to a height of 1,600 to 3,300 feet. In Xiling Gorge, China's largest engineering project - the Yangtze Three Gorge Dam is underway. Its purpose is to control disastrous flooding and provide enough hydroelectricity to power most of central and eastern China.
The town of Fengdu is said to be the abode of devils, and is one of the first stops on the Yangtze River cruise. The city was once depicted as the 'City of Ghosts.' The origin of the town's extraordinary reputation can be traced back to the Han Dynasty (206 B.C. - 220 A.D.). Today you can visit temples and shrines dedicated to gods of the underworld. The Temple of Heng and Ha; the origin of the two vajras can be traced back to ancient Indian Buddhism. In one of Chinese classical legendary, they were transformed into two guardians with supernatural strength that Guardian Heng could roar or bellow a kind of dazzling light and Han a kind of yellow wind. The dead who had misbehaved during their lifetimes would be fallen by their bolt of light or strong winds. The Nothing-to-be-Done Bridge is a three-arch marble bridge can be seen on our second stop. A dead who could stride across it by three steps was considered worthy and others would drop down into the river and were deprived of choosing a new life. The Ghost Torturing Pass is the last stop to the nether world. These temples display instruments of torture and horrible demon images. Two devilkin guarders (Shopkeepers) kept a basin of water into which customers threw their coins: if they sank they were genuine, but if they floated the coins were ghost money and unacceptable. On the other side of the Bridge, Mt. Shuangguishan is considered to be a fairyland of tranquility and harmony with lush greenery. There you will find some commemorative buildings such as Confucius Temple, Luming Temple, Yuming Spring and En'lai Pavilion, consecrated to Zhou En'lai. Nearby the town of Yunyang, the magnificent Zhang Fei Temple with glazed tile and red walls perches on the Flying Phoenix Hill on the southern bank of the river. On the downstream journey of the Yangtze, Shibaozhai represents the first gem of Chinese architecture to be encountered. A distance view of a protruding 220-meter hill resembles a jade seal. On the south bank of the Yangtze River, it was firstly built in the Qing dynasty in 1650. As one of the most spectacular sites along the river, this 12-storied wooden red pavilion with a height of 56 meters, hugs a sheer rectangular cliff. It consists of three parts: the entrance gate, a nine-storied wooden pavilion and a small temple at the top.
The Three Gorges Dam on the Yangtze River has been a dream for generations and will be one of the largest construction projects ever undertaken by mankind. This great dam, the largest of its kind in the world, will provide China with tremendous power generation and flood control services. It was in 1992 that the Chinese Government finally gave the go ahead for the scheme, some seventy years after Dr. Sun Yet-Sen, pioneer of the Chinese democratic revolution, first proposed the idea. This breathtakingly beautiful area of the Three Little Gorges has only been open to foreign tourism since 1985 and for this reason it remains largely unspoiled. A trip up the crystal-clear Daning River through its magnificent Three Little Gorges (Xiao Sanxia).
On the downstream journey of the Yangtze, Shibaozhai represents the first gem of Chinese architecture to be encountered. A distance view of a protruding 220-meter hill resembles a jade seal - whose total length is only 33 kilometers (20 mile) - is to experience the excitement and awe of bygone days of river travel in China.
Wuhan
Day 14 Arrival Yichang, train to Wuhan
Day 15 Wuhan – Shanghai (flight)
We arrive in Wuhan at mid-day. It is a city with both an ancient history and a thriving present. Historic relics excavated from ancient tombs tell the city's long history dating back 3,500 years. In the period of Pre-Qin (770 B.C. - 221 B.C.), this was the land of the State of Chu (one of the seven warring states before Qin, in China's first feudal dynasty) and was the cradle of the Chu Civilization. The Hubei Provincial Museum and the Yellow Carne Tower are two places to explore ancient Chinese history and culture. In the museum, chimes excavated from tombs reveal the incredible achievements of ancient people in music, acoustics and metallurgy. Han Zheng Street and Hanjiang Road are bustling shopping centers. There is a lively nightlife in Wuhan.
Shanghai
Day 16 Shanghai
Day 17 Depart Shanghai – Arrival US
In Shanghai you can go for endless walks in the interesting neighborhoods. You will find impressive modern buildings and old temples. The famous boulevard, the Bund, gives you a good impression of the characteristic architecture dating back to the thirties. The Bund is also a spot where you’ll be a very early witness to the many Chinese that practice the immensely popular Tai Chi. With the new Pearl Tower Shanghai now harbors one of the tallest buildings in the world with a fantastic view over this gigantic city. A boat trip over the Huangpu River shows you the vast harbor area of Shanghai. At nighttime, you have a large choice of restaurants, bars and theaters that have a feel of the past. Also, you may choose to go to an acrobatic performance.
