Your trip in Tibet begins with a pilgrimage to the Potala Palace, an architectural wonder standing on top of Red Hill in the center of Lhasa, the capital city of Tibet Autonomous Region with an altitude of 3,700 meters above sea level. The initial construction of the palace can be dated back to as early as 7th Century and Songtsen Gampo, the king of Tibetan Regime, ordered it to be built as the place where he lived and handled the political affairs. It has then been deserted during the next 800 years since the beginning of 9th Century when the empire collapsed until a restoration program was launched by the 5th Dalai Lama and another palace structure featuring purely white exterior was completed by the year 1648. The Red Palace was laid on top of the existing White Palace in an extension program from 1690 to 1694 and the whole structure remained how it looks like until now. This architectural masterpiece also embodies the commitment of religious beliefs in a region where Buddhism has prospered for more than thousands of years.

Next you will proceed to pay a visit to Jokhang Temple, built 1,300 years ago during the period of Tibetan Regime and remaining the most glorious architecture preserved from that time until now. The name of the city – Lhasa evolved from how the temple was originally called in Tibetan language.

The main structure of the temple features a 4-storey building with roofs painted in pure gold. It houses numerous exquisite Buddha statues, among which a Sakyamuni statue moulded according to his real body size when he was 12 years old is known to all with tremendous historical and cultural significance. It was brought to China from India, and successively taken to Tibet in 7th Century by Princess Wencheng, who was appointed to marry Songtsen Gampo, the king of Tibetan Regime by the royal court of Tang Dynasty (618-907 AD).

The neighbourhood encircling Jokhang Temple is called Barkhor Street, the most lively dwelling and commercial quarters in the center of Lhasa. Initially a street surrounding the temple, it has gradually developed into a community consisting of local houses, government offices, restaurants, hotels, shops, artifact workshops and etc. as numerous disciples came for pilgrimage and settled down in thousands of years. When the dusk falls every day, many pilgrims march on the street and circle the temple in clockwise direction.

Today’s itinerary concludes with a leisure walk along this street.

70 kilometers to the southwest of Lhasa lies a freshwater lake named Yamdrok Lake, covering an area of 675 square kilometers with an elevation of 4,441 meters. It is nestled among snow-capped mountains at the northern foot of Himalayas and fed by numerous small streams. The color of the lake is in emerald from time to time while it is always peaceful on the surface.

You will embark on a 2-hour drive in the morning to reach the lake. The elevation soars to 5,030 meters when your car climbs up to Gampala pass, and then a river in emerald color winds through. It looks gradually spectacular when you approache to it. You will be given 2-3 hours to wander around the lake to take pictures and head back to Lhasa before the dusk falls.

3 kilometers north of Lhasa at the foot of a hill stand the monastery complex of Sera, with the main buildings featuring the Great Assembly Hall and 3 colleges. The colleges provide a 20-year training programme and the monks will be granted a geshe degree upon completion of this programme.

The monastery was built in 1419 during the reign of Emperor Yongle of Ming Dynasty (1368 – 1644 AD) and later developed to house over 9,000 monks at one time. The establishment of the monastery was initiated by Jamchen Chojey, a disciple of Mater Lama Tsongkhapa who founded the Gelukpa Order. Jamchen Chojey was later summoned to the royal court and warmly greeted by Emperor Yongle. The 105-volume Buddhism scriptures ‘Kangyur’ written on wood blocks with gold cover engraved in red lacquer was presented to Jamchen Chojey by the emperor and has been housed in the monastery until now.

Sera Monastery is the only monastery in Tibet where visitors are allowed to witness a Buddhism debate session held on a daily basis among the monks studying in the colleges. The debating tradition supplemented with gestures is exclusive to Sera Monastery.

Upon completion of the tour, you will be transferred to the airport to catch an afternoon flight to Shanghai. Immediately as you arrive after a 4-hour flight via Xi’an, you will meet a new guide who will then take you to your hotel.

As the most developed city around China, apart from being the international financial hub and largest logistics port for international trade in the world, Shanghai is also the worldwide icon for fashion and lifestyle.

Your exploration in this metropolis begins with a visit to Xintiandi, a masterpiece of functional transformation from old dwelling quarter into a business complex home to many boutique hotels, luxury restaurants, art galleries, coffee shops and etc. A chic atmosphere is generated by the contract between the exterior with its original vintage look and luxury artistic interior of each building.

You will proceed with the exploration of the city’s past with an excursion to Yuyuan Garden. Owned originally by a government official in Ming Dynasty (1368 – 1644 AD), the garden has been built with 20 years’ time. The courtyards, houses, ponds, pavilions and etc. are exquisitely laid out to create tiers of sceneries within the garden.

The Bund is the best place to exemplify the cultural diversity of this city. It refers to an area running along the western bank of Huangpu River with many historical buildings ever home to various financial institutions operating in China in the middle of 20th Century. The development of this area began in 1844, when it was officially ceded to British administration by the court of Qing Dynasty (1636 – 1912 AD) as a result of the defeat in the First Opium War. It witnessed the history of China being defeated by foreign military power, invaded and finally declaring independence after hundreds of years of flight. Now the Bund is known for the best place for promenade in China as well as in the world. The old buildings on the western bank and the new skyscrapers on the eastern side represent the past and the present Shanghai.

You will wind up your full day tour by a scenic drive among the skyscrapers on the other side of Huangpu River. You can access any of them for a panoramic view of the city by paying an additional cost on your own.

Today will be a free day for you to continue exploration, do some shopping or simply take a rest at the hotel. We also offer you a couple of optional tours in case you still prefer to schedule some guided tours today.

You will be picked up from the hotel lobby and transferred to the airport to board your flight to the next destination. This is a private transfer and the pick-up time will be worked out exactly in accordance with your flight time.