Know Before You Go
• Departure: Aug 9, 2020 in Lanzhou.
• There is no tour guide for arrival & departure transfers.
• Keep your passport on you constantly. It might be needed to buy entrance tickets.
• Add us on WeChat (+86-18309280878) or WhatsApp (+86-18309280878) to reach GGC service staff at anytime.
• Before getting to Lanzhou you will receive driver's contact information by WhatsApp, Wechat or email.
• You will be greeted by driver holding GGC welcome sign with your name at the airport or train station arrival hall.
Day 1 Aug 9, 2020 Arrival in Lanzhou, Airport or Train Station Pick-up
Arrive at Lanzhou airport or train stations. Meet & greet by your driver. Private transfer to hotel. Situated on the upper reaches of the Yellow River, Lanzhou has been a major stop on the ancient Silk Road and it is now the capital and largest city of Gansu Province in Northwest China.
Meals Included: No meals
Hotel: Local 4-star Gansu International Hotel in Lanzhou or similar
Day 2 Aug 10, 2020 Drive to Xiahe (240 km, 4 hours), Binglingsi Grottoes
Drive to Liujiaxia Reservoir (110 km, 2 hours). Liujiaxia Reservoir is formed by the Liujiaxia Dam on the Yellow River. The primary purpose of the Liujiaxia dam is generating electricity; in addition, it is used for flood control and irrigation. When it became fully operational in 1974, it became China's largest hydroelectric power plant, and remained so until the 1980s. Cruise on the Yellow River for about 40 minutes, you will arrive at Bingling Temple Grottoes. Bingling means thousand Buddhas or 10,000 Buddhas in Tibetan language. the Bingling Temple is a series of grottoes filled with Buddhist sculpture carved into natural caves and caverns in a canyon along the Yellow River. In the afternoon, drive for three hours to Xiahe, the largest Tibetan monastery town outside Lhasa. Xiahe exists due to the Labrang Monastery which is one of the six main Tibetan monasteries of the Gelupka sect.
Meals Included: Breakfast at hotel, lunch & dinner at local restaurants
Hotel: Local 4-star Civil Aviation Hotel Xiahe or similar
Day 3 Aug 11, 2020 Xiahe, Labrang Monastery, Tibetan Normad's Family, Drive to Tongren (105 km, 3 hours)
Visit Labrang Monastery in the morning. Labrang Monastery is one of the six great monasteries of the Gelukpa (Yellow Hat) Sect and it is home to the largest number of monks outside of Tibet Autonomous Region. The monastery was founded in 1709 by the first reincarnation of His Holiness the Jamp-Yang Gyalpa Ngawang-Tsondru (living-Buddha), who was born in an ordinary Tibetan nomadic family near Ganjia about 45km from Labrang monastery. Labrang Monastery used to be one of the largest Buddhist monastic universities. In the early 20th century, it housed several thousand monks. The white walls and golden roofs feature a blend of Tibetan and Han architectural styles. The monastery contains 18 halls, six institutes of learning, a golden stupa, a sutra debate area, and houses nearly 60,000 sutras. Drive to Tongren in the afternoon. Visit Ganjia Prairie including a normad's family on the way. This prairie is a picturesque Tibetan grassland where sheep and yaks are dotted here and there under the blue sky and along breathtaking loess plateau landscape. The Tibetan normad's family visit will help you know more about Tibetan life style and local customs in depth.
Meals Included: Breakfast at hotel, lunch & dinner at local restaurants
Hotel: Local 3-star Hongfengde Hotel Tongren or similar
Day 4 Aug 12, 2020 Tongren (Repkong), Tiewu Village (Devine Dance), Gomar Village (Military Dance)
The Tibetan name of Tongren is Repkong. Thought Tibetans living in Tongren are Buddhists, they still practice Bon religion of worshipping Mountain Gods. Shaman festival is called Luroi in Tibetan, featuring ritual dances, holy skin drums, and food offerings. It is a celebration honouring Mountain Gods and request their bestowal of safety and good health on villages as well as guarantee good harvests in villages around Tongren. During the festival, Mountain Gods are invited to the ceremony. After frenzied communicating with Mountain Gods, the Shamans go into deep trances, serving as their medium and dance energetically in the crowd. Wearing distinctive peaked hats with red tassels, young boys through middle aged men dance for hours, circling the walled courtyard. Senior men carry flags and banners. Young girls solemnly march, enduring heavy coral beads and silver medallions braided into their long hair. You will also see the ritual piercing of cheeks of the brave young men in the village, men dancing with pierced backs, and the Shaman in trance climbing the dragon pole then cutting his forehead with a knife.
Meals Included: Breakfast at hotel, lunch & dinner at local restaurants
Hotel: Local 3-star Hongfengde Hotel Tongren or similar
Day 5 Aug 13, 2020 Tongren (Repkong), Xiazhuang Village (Military Dance), Yinzhamu Village (Dragon Dance)
Drive to Xiazhuang Village, Baoan Township for Military Dance and Yinzhamu Village, Maba Township to enjoy Dragon Dance. During the Military Dance, men dress up like ancient warriors; the lead dancer is holding a hatchet while other dancers are holding wooden sticks which symbolize fighting weapons. Circling the courtyard 13 times, the Military Dance symbolizes a battle fight. Dragon Dance is to offer goat sacrifices to the Warrior God, almost 100 male dancers with animal shaped wooden masks in hands follow the Shaman dancing like a crawling snake. The highlights of Dragon Dance is the piercing of cheeks, piercing the back and Shaman cutting his forehead with a knife.
Meals Included: Breakfast at hotel, lunch & dinner at local restaurants
Hotel: Local 3-star Hongfengde Hotel Tongren or similar
Day 6 Aug 14, 2020 Tongren (Repkong), Suheri Village (Devine Dance)
Full day at Suheri Village to enjoy Devine Dance which is performed to please Mountain God, Erlang Deity and various other deities who protect the local village. Erlang Deity is a Chinese God with a third truth-seeing eye in the middle of his forehead, mostly portrayed as a noble and powerful Warrior God who slays and vanquishes Demons and Monsters in the mortal realm and who embodies justice and righteousness. Devine Dance consists of activities such as inviting deities, welcoming deities, admiring deities, offering sacrifices to deities, bidding farewell to deities. Males dance with a fan of eight auspicious symbols of Buddhim (the paraso, two golden fishes, the conch shell, the lotus, the banner of victory, the vase, the dharma wheel and the eternal knot) imitating flying eagles. Unmarried girls hold Khata in their hands, walking forward three steps, stopping for two-step walking time to worship deities of all directions. At the end of Devine Dance, males and unmarried girls will join together, dancing in spiral way to achieve the effect that humans and deities are meeting and celebrating.
Meals Included: Breakfast at hotel, lunch & dinner at local restaurants
Hotel: Local 3-star Hongfengde Hotel Tongren or similar
Day 7 Aug 15, 2020: Drive to Xining (168 km, 2 hours), Kumbum Monastery
Drive to Xining in the morning. Xining is the capital city of Northwest China's Qinghai province as well as the capital of Amdo area of Tibet. Visit the Kumbum Monastery in the afternoon. The Kumbum Monastery which was built in 1560 AD is one of the six most famous Buddhist Monasteries in Tibet. Kumbum in Tibetan means a grand place housing 100,000 Buddha. It was originally built upon the birth place of the founder of the Gelukpa Sect (Yellow Hat) of Tibetan Buddhism, Tsong Khapa. Two of his disciples from this region also went on to become famous in the Buddhist world, one becoming Dalai Lama, the other the Panchen Lama.
Meals Included: Breakfast at hotel, lunch & dinner at local restaurants
Hotel: Local 4-star Sanwant Hotel Xining or similar
Day 8 Aug 16, 2020: Departure from Xining, Transfer to Xining airport or train stations
Transfer to Xining airport or train stations for your departure flight/train. Wish you a pleasant journey and thank you for traveling with GoGrandChina.
Meals Included: Breakfast at hotel