Last updated: 2010-02-04
Itinerary
Resebeskrivning - Att ta med på resan
Day 1
Gathering at the hotel in Beijing.
Day 2
You will spend two days in Beijing 北京 now and one day in the end of the trip. Beijing is the capital of China since 1279. There are many historical points of interest; the Forbidden City 故宫, the Summer Palace 颐和园, Temple of Heaven 天坦公园 and the Great Wall 长城 are the most important.
From the hotel it is possible to take a walk to the Tiananmen Square 天安门广场 and the Forbidden City 故宫. North of the Forbidden City there are a series of parks starting with the Jingshan Park 景山公园 just across the street from the northern gate of the Forbidden City. From the top of the hill of Jingshan Park you get a good view of Beijing and the Forbidden City. Further to the west you will find the Beihai Park 北海公园, which is very popular among Beijingers for skating in the wintertime. Beihai means the Northern Sea. Just south of Beihai is Zhongnanhai 中南海 (Middle and Southern Sea). That is the part of the government area where most of the high rank leaders work and live. It is often called the Forbidden City of the Modern China, since it is not open for ordinary citizens to visit – just as was the Imperial Forbidden City.
North of the Beihai Park, there are a few more lakes surrounded by parks; Qianhai 前海 (the Front Sea), Houhai 后海 (the Back Sea) and Xihai 西海 (the Western Sea). This part of Beijing is quiet and nice for a stroll along the lakeside. Older men are fishing, others are playing table tennis, yet others go for a swim in the water. Close to Houhai you can find some small tea houses 茶馆 where tea is served in the traditional way. There are also many cafes and restaurants. In the area of these lakes there are also some museums and parks worth visiting. Prince Gong’s Residence 恭王府 has a traditional Chinese garden and Chinese styled buildings, as has the former residence of Song Qingling 宋庆龄故居.
The city centre of Beijing has a mixture of narrow alleys and modern shopping areas. A traditional Chinese house is built in a square with a courtyard in the middle, siheyuan. Towards the alley there are no windows but just a high wall and a closed gate. Some of these courtyards are well preserved and it has become very popular and exclusive to live in such courtyard houses. There are also many old houses in very bad condition in the alleys. Most of the ordinary people living in the alleys do not have private toilets but have to use the public toilet in the neighbourhood. The Beijing authorities are very keen on tearing these areas down to get space to build hotels, shopping centres and office buildings.
Many new buildings were constructed for the Olympics, such as the famous Bird nest and the Water Cube. And new subway lines have opened. The new Beijing has lots of high-rise buildings, roads in three layers and a great deal of neon and modern architecture. The most modern part of the city centre is situated around the Wangfujing Street 王府井大街. Jianguomenwai Dajie 建国门外大街 is another area with several large shopping centres, such as the Friendship Store 友谊商店. Not far from the Friendship Store, to the East, you will also find the famous Silk Alley 秀水市场 where you can buy clothing garments of all kinds, only some of them made of silk. Another good place for shopping is the Hongqiao Market just north of the Eastern Gate of Tiantan Park. The Hongqiao Market 红桥市场 is no longer a regular market in the street, but a modern four storey-building where everything from CD-players to pearls are sold.
The Tiantan Park 天坛公园 is one of the largest parks in Beijing. In the middle of the park you will find the Temple of Heaven (Tiantan 天坛) which was one of four important temples where the emperor made annual offerings. In each direction from the Forbidden City you will find each of these temples. To the North; Temple of Earth (Ditan 地坦). To the West; Temple of the Moon (Yuetan 月坦). To the East, not far from Friendship Store; Temple of Sun (Ritan 日坦). Temple of Heaven, which is to the South was the most important of these temples since the emperor was regarded as the son of heaven.
In most parks there are a lot of activity in the mornings. People gather to do any kind of exercise; taiqi, qigong, dancing and even singing opera. In some parks old men bring their bird cages and let the birds sing together while the men chat away. Tiantan Park 天坛公园 is probably the park with most morning activities of all. It is quite an experience to walk around in the park in the early morning surrounded by all the activity. In the evenings you can visit an acrobatic show or a performance of Peking Opera. The Lama Temple, Yonghegong 雍和宫, is a nice a quiet temple well worth a visit.
There are a variety of interesting foods to be tried in Beijing, both local food and from other parts of China. Some local specialities you should try are jiaozi 饺子 boiled dumplings filled with pork or vegetables, and lamian 拉面 – fresh noodles, which they make while you wait. Beijing duck 北京烤鸭 is another must. Korean barbecue has become very popular among the Beijingers. You barbecue your own meet at you table. Yet another special dish for Northern China is Hot Pot or shuan yangrou 涮羊肉. A pot of boiling water is placed on your table and you will cook your own mutton meet and vegetables and dip it in a sauce made of sesame paste, coriander and other spices. Traditionally, mutton meet is used (yangrou = mutton) but any meet or seafood will be available. This dish is most popular in the wintertime when northern China is very cold and friends gather around the hot pot for a meal.
There are several spots where to visit the Great Wall 长城, some very crowded, others quite empty. Most “tourist stations” at the wall has a cable car to take you up to the top. Simatai 司马台 is warmly recommended. Go early in the morning if possible. From Simatai you can walk on top of the wall for 4-6 hour until you reach Jinshanling 金山岭.
In the evening day 2 you will start the journey by train to Lhasa. Your Beijing tour leader escorts you to the railway station. He will not go on the train with the group.
Day 3- 4
On the train. The train ride between Beijing and Lhasa will take about 48 hours. Outside the windows of the train the landscape will be changing and overwhelming.
When you arrive in Lhasa your Tibetan tour leader will receive you at the railway station in the evening day 4.
Day 5-6
You will have two days to get acquainted with the Tibetan capital, situated in the valley of the Kyi Chu River, one of the most fertile valleys in Tibet. You should be prepared to take it easy the first few days to get used to the high altitude. Lhasa has around 250 000 inhabitants and according to Tibetan sources 50% of them are nowadays Han Chinese, people who have moved to Tibet.
Jokhang Monastery is the religious and geographical centre of Lhasa and was founded already in the 7th century by Songtsen Gampo, the founder of Buddhism in Tibet. Inside Jokhang you will find the most important treasure of Tibet, a Buddha image brought from China by Songtsen Gampo´s Chinese wife. According to the myth, the heart of a giant female demon is hidden underneath Jokhang and to keep it calm it is necessary to walk around (circumambulate, a kora in Tibetan) the monastery. A kora is a religious ceremony where the Tibetan Buddhists show their devotion to God and a way to collect merit for their next life. People walk in a clockwise circle around a certain building of holy dignity. The most devoted pilgrims even prostrate round the building. Prostrating is when you bow down and lie on the ground for every step you take. There is one kora to do inside the monastery of Jokhang, and one outside, around the monastery building. There is also a long kora, the Lingkor. It’s 8 kilometres long and will take you around the main part of town, passing Potala, some mural frescoes, following the Lhasa River and also leads in to the new modern Chinese part of town. It is quite interesting to see the devoted Tibetan Buddhists walking the modern streets with their prayer wheels.
The Tibetan centre of town is called Barkhor and is located around the Barkhor Square and Jokhang Monastery. The new part of Lhasa is changing fast and more and more resembles any Chinese city.
Just to stroll around in Barkhor with its many markets is wonderful. Colourfully dressed people from all over Tibet come to Lhasa, and mainly Barkhor, on pilgrimage to visit Jokhang and Potala, and to do some necessary shopping in the market stalls. The pilgrims are mainly coming during the winter when they are not occupied by farming, bringing their yaks and sheep around the grasslands or other deeds, but at any time of the year there are lots of people around Jokhang. To walk along together with the pilgrims is an easy way to get contact with the Tibetans.
Apart from the Jokhang, there are several monasteries worth visiting. Both Sera and Drepung used to be enormous monasteries with as many as 10.000 monks. Nowadays the government limits the amount of monks. Sera and Drepung rank as two of the main six monasteries in the mighty Gelugpga Branch of Tibetan Buddhism. Dalai Lama is the head of this branch. There is also the Norbulinka – Dalai Lama’s Summer Palace.
Another important place to visit is the impressive building of Potala. Before the “liberation” (when the Chinese “liberated” the Tibetan people from feudalism) Potala was both the residence of Dalai Lama (the Red Palace) and the government building (the White Palace). Potala has altogether 1.000 rooms, and has several stupas with remnants from former Dalai Lamas. The climb up to Potala is rather breathtaking. You’d better not do it during your first day in Lhasa – it will be too tiring considering the high altitude. A good way to get around town and perhaps go to Sera and Drepung is to rent a bicycle.
Day 7-8
To day you will go to Gyantse (3950 m), 254 kilometres. It will take the major part of the day. You will pass two high passes, Khamba La 4.794 meters and Karo La 5.010 meters (La=pass). In-between the two passes you will drive along the holy lake Yamdrok Tso, also called the turquoise coloured lake. Among Tibetans it is believed that in the beginning all of Tibet was covered by water. The lakes that now exist are remnants of that big sea. People believe that if the waters of the Yamdrok Tso would dry, Tibet would no longer be habitable. You will have time to stop to have a good look at the lake.
Gyantse is situated in another fertile valley of Central Tibet, that of the Nyang Chu River (a tributary of the Brahmaputra). From the top of the hill by Gyantse Dzong (fort) you will have a nice view over the town. Inside Pelkhor Chode, the great monastic complex, you will find the giant stupa Kum Bum and the Tsuklakhang monastery, both built in the 15th century. The Kum Bum known as the Stupa of the Hundred Thousand Buddhas, may well be the world’s most impressive stupa.
Gyantse is Tibet’s fourth biggest town, but even so it does not consist of more than a few streets. Gyantse’s population remains primarily Tibetan, making it an interesting place just to stroll around. There is a big majority of typical Tibetan houses here. Gyantse is also a good place to visit a special handicraft centre.
Day 9-10
Drive to Shigatse (3900 m), 82 km. Shigatse is the second largest town of Tibet with about 40.000 inhabitants. Unfortunately, most of the old, traditional Tibetan houses in town have been torn down and replaced by modern buildings. The main cultural attraction in Shigatse is the Tashilunpo Monastery. It was founded in 1447, and is one of the six largest Gelugpa monasteries in Tibet. At its peak the monastery housed around 4.700 monks, today there are a lot less. Tashilunpo used to be the residence of the Panchen Lama, the second highest Lama in Tibet after Dalai Lama. Then Panchen Lama has an important role in Tibet, in the work of finding the new incarnation of Dalai Lama after the previous Dalai Lama has passed away. Nowadays, there is no Panchen Lama staying in Tashilunpo due to the political situation. However, there are several stupas containing remnants of previous Panchen Lamas inside the monastery.
The opening hours of the monastery is varying, but one of the two days of your visit it will most likely be open. The centre of the complex is the 26 meter tall Maitreya Buddha (the Buddha of the future). There is also a new golden stupa here, made with relics from and in honour of the tenth Panchen Lama.
If you have more energy left after the visit to Tashilumpo you can visit the remains of the Shigatse Dzong, the rather bleak Summer Palace of the Panchen Lama about one kilometer south of Tashilumpo or make the kora around Tashilumpo. The Shigatse market is also quite interesting, second only to the markets in Lhasa.
Day 11
Drive back to Lhasa, where you will spend one night. Perhaps you feel like visiting Jokhang again. You have time to do some preparations and buy some snacks for the trip to Nam Tso.
Day 12-13
Leave Lhasa for Nam Tso (4718 m). You will start by driving along the Qinghai-Tibet Highway. The drive will once again pass through high passes, the Largen-La reaches 5.150 m. The road can be in a bad condition. If there has been a lot of rain, the trip might take longer time than expected. You will travel by land cruisers. By the lake you will stay at a guest house. The meals will be prepared by cooks who bring their utensils from Lhasa, they will prepare all the meals the coming days.
It is Tibet’s biggest lake and the second largest salt-water lake in China. Nam Tso is over 70 kilometres long and at the widest point the lake covers 30 kilometre. The water in the lake, just like so many other lakes in Tibet, is turquoise in colour and the views of the mountain ranges in the south are splendid. The Nyenchen Tanglha Mountain Range got several peaks over 7.000 m. There are wide open spaces by the lake and most likely you will see Tibetan nomads (drokpas) with their yak tents and huge dogs herding sheep and yak.
Even though you have already been adjusted to the high altitude you might be affected by the thin air. If you feel weak do not try to do too much activities the first day. You will stay in the vicinity of Tashi Dor Monastery. You can make hikes or walks by the lake as long distance as you like. Probably you will encounter nomad camps and be able to visit the people. The main kora (circumambulation) around the monastery takes about an hour. You can also climb one of the peaks behind the monastery for good views. For even better views you can walk around the bigger of the two mountains from where you get views over Tangula Mountains, marking the modern border between Qinghai and Tibet.
Day 14
Today you will continue to Reting Monastery (4100 meter). The Reting monastery was founded in the mid 11th century and is located in a very beautiful area. Here you can make a kora around the monastery which will take around 40 minutes. There is also the possibility to hike to the nearby Sumtseling Nunnery. The hike will take about an hour. Ask your tour leader for the way.
You will stay in tents, two or three people in the same tent, and you will put up the tents together in the evening. The meals will be prepared as the day before.
Day 15-16
To Tidrum Nunnery (4325 meter). Over a hundred nuns are living here. The Nunnery is situated where two streams meet in a narrow gorge, which offers a breathtaking scenery. The place is famous for its medical hot spring, where you can take a bath. The area is also nice for hikes. There is a small village about a kilometre from the nunnery which you can visit. You will stay in tents by the hot springs.
Day 17
You will head back to Lhasa via Ganden Monastery (4500 meters). Ganden Monastery was established in 1409. Before the Cultural Revolution it could support about 5000 monks. During the Cultural Revolution it was totally demolished. Today it is more or less reconstructed, and about 500 monks are living there. Walk the kora around the monastery, which will take about an hour, and enjoy the view over the surrounding valleys.
Day 18-19
A couple of days in Lhasa. Take the chance and visit the Jokhang Monastery once more and do the Barkhor circumambulation one last time.
Day 20-21
By plane to Beijing 北京. Your tourleader in Beijing will once more meet you at the airport. Transfer by bus the hotel. One last day in Beijing.
Day 22
Tour ends.
