China14 days
China's High Plateaus and River Gorges — 14 Days
Beijing to Shanghai via Tibet's high altitude temples, the Qinghai-Tibet rail route, and a three-gorge Yangtze cruise
This 14-day itinerary moves across three distinct regions of China: the imperial capitals of the eastern lowlands, the Tibetan plateau at 3,490 meters, and the river valleys of central China. The route follows the Qinghai-Tibet railway before descending to the Yangtze River. You will move between UNESCO sites, active monasteries where monks gather daily for debate, and the Three Gorges Dam, one of the world's largest hydroelectric installations. The journey connects ancient archaeological discoveries, living Buddhist practice, and contemporary engineering, with pacing built around altitude acclimatization in Lhasa and several full days aboard a Yangtze River cruise vessel.
Highlights
- The Terracotta Army at Xi'an — nearly 2,000 of 6,000 individually sculpted clay warriors, each with distinct facial features and costume, buried for 2,000 years
- Potala Palace in Lhasa — a structure built on the high plateau, formerly the residence and meditation seat of Tibetan religious leaders
- Yamdrok Lake — a turquoise freshwater lake at 4,730 meters, one of Tibet's three largest sacred lakes, 72 kilometers in length
- Monk debate at Sera Monastery — daily afternoon gathering where Buddhist scholars engage in traditional point-counterpoint theological discussion
- Qutang and Wu Gorges — two of the Three Gorges of the Yangtze River, designated the highest scenic classification by China's National Tourism Administration
- Goddess Stream excursion — a tributary valley featuring thousand-meter rock formations rising from narrow waterways
- Three Gorges Dam — completed in 2009, one of the world's largest hydroelectric projects, visible during the final leg of the river cruise
- Cycling the Xi'an City Wall — 13 kilometers of medieval defensive fortification, among the best-preserved in China
Day by day
1Arrival in Beijingairport · hotel · immediate area · local restaurant
A guide and driver meet you at the airport and transfer you to your hotel in central Beijing. The day is unscheduled to allow for rest after travel. At 6 p.m., your group convenes for a meeting at the hotel, where logistics for the 14-day itinerary will be reviewed. An orientation walk of the immediate area follows, ending with dinner at a local restaurant included in the tour.
2Beijing's Forbidden City and Hutong NeighborhoodsForbidden City · Tiananmen Square · Hutong districts
After breakfast, your guide meets you for a full day of walking through Beijing's central sights. The route begins at Tiananmen Square, one of the world's largest public plazas, which houses the Monument of the People's Heroes and the Great Hall of the People. From there, you enter the Forbidden City, constructed between 1406 and 1420 as the ceremonial and political center of Chinese imperial government for more than five centuries. UNESCO designates it as the most extensive collection of preserved ancient wooden structures in the world. The afternoon moves through the Hutong districts—narrow alleys lined with traditional courtyards—where you observe daily life in Old Beijing's residential neighborhoods.
3Great Wall at Mutianyu and Overnight Train to Xi'anMutianyu section of the Great Wall · Beijing Railway Station
The morning drive takes you approximately two hours north to the Mutianyu section of the Great Wall, one of the best-preserved segments, featuring 22 towers that wind along mountain ridges in Huairou County. You spend the day walking the wall, learning its construction history, and taking in views of the surrounding terrain. A picnic lunch can be brought to eat at the wall's higher elevations. By late afternoon, you return to downtown Beijing and transfer to Beijing Railway Station to board an overnight soft-sleeper train to Xi'an.
4Xi'an's Terracotta Warriors and Historic ResidencesXi'an train station · Terracotta Army · local village · Muslim Quarter and the Bell and Drum Tower districts · 400-year-old courtyard house of the Gao family
Your guide meets you at Xi'an train station and transfers you to the hotel. The primary focus of the day is the Terracotta Army, discovered in 1976 when farmers digging a well unearthed the site after 2,000 years of burial. Three main excavation pits are open to view, displaying just under 2,000 of an estimated 6,000 warriors—each individually sculpted from clay, each with distinct costume, height, and facial expression—arranged in battle formation. Following lunch in a local village, you visit one of Xi'an's best-preserved residences, a 400-year-old courtyard house that sheltered seven generations of the Gao family, officials of the imperial court. The home contains period furniture, ceramics, porcelain, and paintings that document traditional domestic life. The afternoon concludes with a walk through the Muslim Quarter and the Bell and Drum Tower districts, where street markets and restaurants are concentrated.
5Xi'an City Wall and Flight to LhasaXi'an City Wall · Lhasa River Valley · Barkhor Square · Xi'an to Lhasa
After breakfast, you cycle or walk around the Xi'an City Wall, a 13-kilometer ring of medieval fortification and one of China's most intact defensive structures. Private transfer then takes you to the airport for a flight to Lhasa, the capital of the Tibetan Autonomous Region and one of the world's highest cities at 3,490 meters elevation. Upon arrival, a one-hour bus transfer conveys you through the Lhasa River Valley to the hotel in the city center. The afternoon begins altitude acclimatization with an orientation walk around Barkhor Square, the spiritual center of Lhasa.
6Potala Palace, Jokhang Temple, and Sera MonasteryPotala Palace · Sera Monastery · Jokhang Temple at Barkhor Square
This day centers on Lhasa's three major Buddhist sites. In the morning, you tour Potala Palace, a structure built on the high plateau, historically the residence and meditation seat of the Dalai Lamas and the repository for their funerary stupas. The palace contains golden statues, three-dimensional mandalas, and ancient religious texts, with Tibetan pilgrims circumambulating it continuously throughout the day. Next is Jokhang Temple at Barkhor Square, founded in 647 by King Songtsen Gampo to house a sacred Buddha image—the Jowo Rinpoche—brought to Tibet as a dowry by Queen Wengcheng from China. This image remains the holiest religious object in Tibet. The afternoon visit to Sera Monastery coincides with the daily monk debate, a traditional theological discussion held in the courtyard where Buddhist scholars engage in point-counterpoint argument, often accompanied by hand gestures and verbal challenges. Attendance allows observation of living monastic practice.
7Yamdrok Lake and High-Altitude PassYamdrok Lake · Lhasa · Kamba-la Pass · Yarlung Tsangpo River
An early morning drive takes you south from Lhasa along a zigzagged road to Kamba-la Pass, passing the Yarlung Tsangpo River—Tibet's longest river, known as the Brahmaputra once it enters India, at 4,730 meters elevation. The destination is Yamdrok Lake, also called Yamdrok Yumtso, a turquoise freshwater lake stretching 72 kilometers and ringed by snow-capped peaks fed by numerous small streams. It is one of Tibet's three largest sacred lakes. The name translates to turquoise in English, referencing the distinctive color of the water. In the late afternoon, the drive returns you to Lhasa.
8Chengdu: Street Food and Historic AlleywaysLhasa · Jinli Street · Kuanzhai Alley
An early flight transfers you from Lhasa to Chengdu. Upon arrival, your guide takes you to Jinli Street, a historic pedestrian avenue known for its market atmosphere and local food vendors selling sticky rice cakes with sesame sauce, spicy chicken skewers, sweet rice jelly, fried beef pancakes, and other regional specialties. From there, you visit Kuanzhai Alley—also known as Wide and Narrow Alley—a complex of three parallel historic passages from the Qing dynasty, now lined with shops, teahouses, and restaurants.
9Giant Panda Research Base and Bullet Train to ChongqingGiant Panda Breeding Research Base · Chengdu train station · Chongqing pier
The morning is spent at the Giant Panda Breeding Research Base, where conservation programs for this endangered species operate across 600 acres of parkland. Approximately 1,000 pandas remain in the world; 80 percent inhabit the Sichuan mountains. You observe pandas at close range, watching them play, eat bamboo, and rest. Mid-day, private transfer takes you to Chengdu train station for a bullet train journey to Chongqing. Upon arrival, a guide meets you at the train station and transfers you to the pier, where you board a deluxe Yangtze River cruise vessel for a multi-day journey downriver.
10Yangtze Cruise: Fengdu Ghost City and ShibaozhaiFengdu Ghost City · Shibaozhai · cruise vessel
The day begins with an optional early-morning tai chi class on the cruise vessel. The first excursion visits Fengdu Ghost City, a complex of shrines, temples, and monasteries on Ming Mountain dedicated to Buddhist and Taoist concepts of the afterlife, blending Confucianism, Taoism, and Buddhist theology. After lunch aboard ship, you visit Shibaozhai, a craggy, 200-meter-high rocky hill with steep sides located on the Yangtze's banks. A red wooden pavilion with nine stories crowns the summit, one of China's largest wooden temple structures. An evening performance by Chinese minority groups provides cultural entertainment aboard the cruise.
11Qutang and Wu Gorges, Goddess Stream Valleydeluxe cruise · Qutang Gorge and Wu Gorge · Shennv Valley—the Goddess Stream
After breakfast, your guide meets you aboard the deluxe cruise as it sails through Qutang Gorge and Wu Gorge, two of the Three Gorges of the Yangtze. Both are designated the highest scenic classification by China's National Tourism Administration. An excursion takes you into Shennv Valley—the Goddess Stream—where thousand-meter cliffs rise vertically from narrow waterways. Hanging peaks, narrow passages of sky between rock formations, and the sheer scale of the landscape reveal why this tributary valley earned its name. The day concludes with the captain's farewell banquet aboard the deluxe cruise, where you remain overnight.
12Three Gorges Dam and Overnight Train to Xi'anHuang Ling Miao · Yichang Pier · Yichang train station
The cruise stops at Huang Ling Miao for a visit to the Three Gorges Dam, completed in 2009 and among the world's largest hydroelectric projects. The facility manages flood control, power generation, tourism, ecological protection, and water transfer functions. It holds a 2014 world record for total power generation capacity. The Yangtze river portion of the journey concludes at Yichang Pier. From there, private transfer takes you to Yichang train station for an overnight soft-sleeper train returning to Xi'an.
13Shanghai's Temples, Gardens, and French ConcessionCity God's Temple · Yuyuan Garden · Shanghai French Concession
After breakfast and transfer to Shanghai, you begin at the City God's Temple, a folk shrine adjacent to Yuyuan Garden that originated as the Jinshan God Temple, dedicated to the spirit of "Gold Mountain," an island off Shanghai's coast. The temple was repurposed in 1403 during the Ming dynasty's Yongle era and remains surrounded by a large pedestrian commercial zone with shops, restaurants, tea houses, and seasonal temple fairs. Yuyuan Garden, also called Yu Garden, was built in 1559, opened to the public in 1961, and declared a historical monument in 1982. It represents the most extensive example of Ming and Qing architectural garden design. The afternoon visits the Shanghai French Concession, a territorial zone from 1849 to 1943 that developed a distinctive character blending Chinese and European architecture and culture, including some of China's foremost Catholic institutions.
14Departure from ShanghaiShanghai
The tour concludes. You may check into your hotel for additional time in Shanghai or transfer to the airport for onward travel.
Where you go
- 1Forbidden City
- 2Tiananmen Square
- 3Mutianyu Section of the Great Wall
- 4Xi'an City Wall
- 5Potala Palace
- 6Sera Monastery
- 7Lhasa
- 8Yuyuan Garden
- 9Shanghai
Included
- Accommodation & breakfast
- Transport service from and to airport & tours
- Speaking English guide
- Entrance fee
- Local guide fee at particular tourism objects
- Meals & mineral water as a program
- Travel Insurance
Not included
- Air ticket
- Personal & other expenses
- Optional program