CM-08 Kunming-Jinghong-Lijiang-Shangri-la-Lhasa-Beijing (12D11N)

Day 01   Arrive in Kunming , meet the local guide and transfer to the hotel. 
                                                                                             (D)  Overnight in Kunming
Day 02  Visit Stone Forest . A typical Karst formation, the Stone Forest covers an area of more than three hundred square kilometers. Scientific research has shown that what is now the Stone Forest was 270 million years ago an immense expanse of water with a vast stretch of limestone sediment formed over the years on the seafloor. As a result of the crustal movement, the seabed rose gradually and a large piece of land thus came into being. Exposed to rains and winds, eroded by the elements, the strange-looking limestone ranges were shaped by time. About 200 million years ago numerous stone peaks, pillars, and stalagmites rose abruptly from the ground and towered into the sky, extending now as far as the eye can see, looking like a vast forest of stone, hence the name "the Stone Forest ". In the evening take flight from Kunming to Jinghong, meet the local guide and transfer to the hotel.  
                                                                                       (B/L/D)  Overnight in Jinghong
Day 03 In the morning visit Ganlaba, morning market (approx. 30 min), water Dai villages, Burmese temple, rubber garden. Return for lunch at Monkey Hill Restaurant. After lunch go to Wild Elephant Valley (natural reserve area), walk through the forest and then take cable car. In the evening take flight to Lijiang. Meet the local guide and transfer to the hotel. 
                                                                                                   (B/L/D)  Overnight in Lijiang
Day 04  After breakfast visit the Jade Dragon Snow Mountain ( Yulong Mountain ) is the southernmost glacier in the Northern Hemisphere. Consisting of 13 peaks, among which Shanzidou is the highest one with an altitude of 5,600 meters (18,360 feet), Jade Dragon Snow Mountain stretches a length of 35 kilometers (22 miles) and a width of 20 kilometers (13 miles). Looking from Lijiang Old Town in the south which is 15 kilometers (nine miles) away, the snow-covered and fog-enlaced mountain resembles a jade dragon lying in the clouds, hence, the name Jade Dragon Snow Mountain . Take the cable car up to Jade Dragon Mountain for glacier. In the afternoon visit visit Lijiang Old City . which is one of the best-preserved ancient towns of the minority ethnic people of China . Lijiang old town belongs to the World Culture Heritage of UNESCO. In the evening enjoy the Mr. Xuanke' s Ancient Music
                                                                                                   (B/L/D) Overnight in Lijiang
Day 05 Drive to Shangri-la, visit Tiger Leaping Gorge on the way, which is believed to be the deepest gorge in the world. From the top of the gorge you look down the steeply angled ( 70-90 degrees ) mountain sides to the rushing Golden Sands ( Jingsha ) River with its 18 frothing rapids more than 200 meters (about 700 feet) below. In the afternoon visit Songzanlin Tibetan Buddhism monastery, which is 5 km from the seat of Shangri-la County . Construction began in 1679 and was completed in 1681. It is said that the Fifth Dalai Lama chose the site of the monastery through divination and named it "Gedan Songzanlin Monastery". In 1724, during the reign of Emperor Yongzheng in the Qing Dynasty, the monastery was renamed the "Guihua Monastery". During its time of greatest prosperity, there were more than 3,000 monks in the temple, now there are still 700 monks inside. Have dinner in the typical Tibetan restaurant named Nanka Mingdian In the evening visit and enjoy the performance and milk tea given by Tibetan people. 
                                                                                                  (B/L/D) Overnight in Shangri-la
Day 06   Visit Don Monastery, it is located in Shusong Village , Benzilan District, Deqin County , and 105km from the seat of Zhongdian County . The Yunnan-Tibet Road passes behind the temple and cars can light to the temple. The Dongzhulin Monastery was built in 1667, the sixth year of the Kang Xi Period. Its original name was " Chongchongcuogang temple", meaning  " the temple by the crane lake ". It was renamed " Gedandongzhulin Temple " after a combination of seven small temples, meaning " benefit others and oneself ". It is also one of the "thirteen most well-known monasteries", and can hold 2,000 monks sitting and chanting scriptures. The present temple was rebuilt in 1985 when the prefecture and the county offered money. The main building is a four storied structure. In the first floor is the place where the Lamas chant scriptures. In the front stand the statues of the Three Saints. On the second floor stands a statue of Qiangba Buddha, 6.8 meters in height. The statue of Sakyamuni in the Sakyamuni Hall is 10.5 meters tall, whose Buddhist crown and the pearls and gems inlaid on the front are gifts from the Sela Temple in Lhasa . This temple has a precious painted scroll, which is 8.5meters in length and 5.2 meters in width, is a Gaurdian God woven with colorful silk threads. It will be worshiped only once every year when the grand ceremony is held. Now there are many figures of Buddha and treasures for tourists to appreciate. Every year a grand Buddhist celebration ceremony is held in the monastery and it has became a Buddhist Holy Land where people go on a pilgrimage. In the afternoon visit Zhongdian Old Town . Have dinner in the typical Tibetan restaurant named Nanka Mingdian. 
                                                                                              (B/L/D) Overnight in Shangri-la
Day 07   After breakfast take flight MU5837( 1000/1150 ) from Shangri-la to Lhasa . Meet the local guide and transfer to the hotel. ( Lhasa is 3650m above see level. So it needs some time to acclimatize the altitude ). In the afternoon visit Jokhang Temple , the Jokhang (right), which is Tibetan for "House of the Lord," faces west towards Chokpori Hill. It is the holiest site in Tibetan Buddhism, housing the Jowo Buddha (below left). Construction was started by Songtsen Gampo in the mid-7th century with founding dates proposed ranging from 639 to 647. The Jokhang underwent a long series of additions and reconstruction in subsequent years, but the present temple is largely the product of the construction by the Great Fifth Dalai Lama in the seventeenth century, who greatly enlarged the building. Visit Barkor market in the afternoon. 
                                                                                                      (B/L/D) Overnight in Lhasa
Day 08   Visit Potala Palace, was built by King Srong-tsan-gam-po and Princess Wen-Cheng in the Seventh Century. The original palace was largely destroyed in the medieval era. It was rebuilt by the fifth Dalai Lama in the Seventeenth Century. Potala was supposed to be the residence of Avalokitesvara or Guan-Yin who is suppose to be the father of Tibetan and reincarnated as King Srong-tsan-gam-po. This fabulous palace consisted of the White Palace and the Red Palace two parts. It is like  " Mona Lisa " , who always looks at you from all angles, among all palaces in the World. Visit Sera Monastery. This can even be seen in the naming of this monastery. Sera, meaning "merciful hail" is a challenge to Drepung monastery, whose name means "rice heap" in the sense that hail damages rice. This rebellious monastery, some of whose monks were famed for their soldiery last challenged power in 1947. In the course of this failed coup, they even made an attempt on the then Regent' s life. Founded in 1419, at its height, Sera monastery was residence to more than 5,000 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 scripture classes, can be seen debating in the courtyard. The monastery is made up of a tsokchen ( Great Hall ), three tratsangs (colleges that offer specialised studies) and thirty khangtsens ( residential compounds with chapels reserved for monks coming from different areas of Tibet ).
                                                                                                    (B/L/D) Overnight in Lhasa
Day 09   Drive from Lhasa to Gyantse. Gyantse lies 260kms southwest of Lhasa on the Northern bank of Nyang Chu River . Gyantse has been known as a heroic town since Tibetans resisted the Young husband' s British Expedition to Tibet in 1904. Phalkor monastery was built in the 15th century by the local chieftain Ramtan Kasom under the guidance of the first Panchan lama. 
                                                                                                     (B/L/D) Overnight in Gyantse
Day 10   Drive to Shigatse, Shigatse is the second biggest city in Tibet , 90KMs away from Gyangtse. The famous Tashillunpo monastery in Shigatse, seat of the Panchan Lama, one of the six important Gelupa monasteries in China , was built in 1447 by the first Dalailama.).
                                                                                                   (B/L/D)  Overnight in Shigatse
Day 11   Drive back to Lhasa , in the afternoon take flight CA4111 ( 1550/2100 ) from Lhasa to Beijing . Meet the local guide and transfer to the hotel. 
                                                                                                     (B/L/D)  Overnight in Beijing
Day 12   After breakfast transfer to the airport for leaving.
                                                                                                          (B)












Quotation  Peak Season ( Apr. – Nov. ) Slack Season ( Dec. – Mar. )  
( USD p/p )  Budget Standard Luxury Budget Standard Luxury
2-5 pax  2841  2969   3223   2735    2866    3111   
6-9 pax  2308  2435   2690  2201  2331   2577  
Single Room Supplement   553   669      901    466    585   808  
10 pax up   2095   2231  2476  1984  2116   2361  
Single Room Supplement    432   548   780  350   469    690  
Monthly Special Offer( Min. Pax: 10 )  1849  1979    1806   1928   
Single Room Supplement    397      509       322      416 
INCLUDED IN THE TOUR PRICE
* 4 domestic flights in the economic class with tax ( Kunming/Jinghong/Lijiang, Shangri-
  la/Lhasa/Beijing )
* 3* hotel ( budget ), 4* hotel ( standard ) or 5* hotel ( luxury ) , twin-bed room with private 
  shower and WC
* English speaking local guide
* Daily meals ( exclude the special flavor food )
* Admission charges where applicable as shown in the tour description
* Private car in the program
* Service charges for baggage handling between hotel and airport
* Domestic travel insurance
NOT INCLUDED IN THE TOUR PRICE
* International flights and tax
* Personal consumption
* Visa fee
* Tips for guides and drivers
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