Mysterious Wonderland

经过长时间的旅行,你的国际航班will land in Beijing in the afternoon. The first destination of your China holiday tours is Lanzhou. You may take an overnight soft sleeper train from Beijing to Lanzhou. The train departs in the afternoon or at night from Beijing West Railway Station and arrives in Lanzhou the next morning or around noon. At the Capital Airport, you can take shuttle bus line 7 to the West Railway Station directly. The bus fare may cost you CNY24. A taxi ride from the airport may be around CNY130. The whole train trip to Lanzhou takes over 17 hours, so it is better for you to prepare some food and a water bottle as the train provides hot water during the trip.

Accommodation: Overnight soft sleeper train

Today, you are suggested to pay a visit to Liujiaxia Dam andBingling Thousand Buddha Caves. After breakfast, take a taxi at a cost of CNY15 to Lanzhou West Long-distance Bus Station, where you can connect a direct bus to Liujiaxia. You may take some food and water with you as restaurants and shops are hard to find around the site. The bus ride takes about 2 hours, and the fare is CNY19.5 per person. You will alight at Liujiaxia Dam, and then take a speed boat to the famous Bingling Thousand Buddha Caves. The round trip ride may cost you CNY120 per person , and the whole sightseeing journey takes about 4 hours: 2 hours on board and 1-2 hours exploring the caves. There are also slow ferry ships traveling between the dam and the caves, costing CNY65 per person, but taking seven to eight hours for a round trip in peak season. As the water level of the Yellow River falls in recent years, it is hard for large ferry ships to travel around. So TravelChinaGuide suggests you take the speed boat. Reverse the trip to get back to Lanzhou City. Please note that the last bus leaves the dam at 18:30.

Before going back to your hotel, we suggest you take bus no. 129 at West Bus Station to Lanzhou South Bus Station to book next morning's bus ticket to Xiahe. The bus trip to Xiahe takes 4 hours, so it is better for you to book the bus that departs at 7:30 or 8:30 in the morning. Then take a taxi back to your hotel with a fare of CNY20.

Today we suggest that you take a full day trip to theLabrang Monasterywhich is considered one of the most important monasteries of Tibetan Buddhism. The morning recitation in the monastery is very famous, during which believers reciting the Buddhist scripture while walking around the monastery and the lamas also recite the scripture in the main hall. Get up at around 6:00 and walk west along Zhaxiqi Street for 1,100 yards, you will get straight to the entrance of the monastery. You can walk around the monastery with the Tibetan believers and then see the lamas doing their morning recitation. It is better for you to follow a guide so as to learn more about the background story and culture of Tibetan Buddhism.

Around noon, you can have lunch in the temple. The canteen inside is open to tourists and provides authentic Tibetan food. You will have a chance to enjoy delicious milk tea, stewed mutton, steamed rice with potentilla, sugar and butter, steamed buns with beef or mutton stuff, and yoghurt. Then continue to visit the temple. In the afternoon, you can enjoy the overview of the monastery and the beautiful sunset on the top of a nearby hill.

Before you go back to your hotel, walk backwards along Zhaxiqi Street to Xiahe Bus Station to book the next day's bus ticket to Langmusi.

The bus departs at 7:40 and it is the only bus traveling to Langmusi Town. The bus trip takes about four hours and you will see beautiful scenery on the way. You will reach Langmusi at around 12:30. We suggest you to live in the 3-star Langmusi Grand Hotel to have a rest; the Langmu Monastery is only a few minutes' walk away from the hotel. Go forward along the main road and turn left, you will find the suggested hotel.

经过短暂的休息在酒店,you can go back to the main road to have lunch. There are some local restaurants along the road side; you can choose one to fill your belly. Then walk west along the main road to a fork. Here please note that: Langmu Monastery, in fact, is composed of two temple areas: one is located in the northern Sichuan, and the other is in southern Gansu. They are near each other, but separated by the provincial boundary, Bailong River. At the fork road, we advise you take the road on your right hand side and the Langmu Monastery is at the end of the road. The temple was built on hills, and at the top you can visit the site for Sky Burial, which is open to tourists. On the way back, you can have your supper at the fork, where many restaurants are clustered. The Ali Restaurant is highly recommended by most backpacking travelers, which serves western fast food and noodles.

Accommodation Suggestion: Langmusi Grand Hotel

Today you have a full day to visit theJiuzhai Valley National Park,which is a highlight of your backpacking China itinerary. Jiuzhai Valley consists of three smaller scenic areas: Rize, Shuzheng, and Zechawa, among which the Rize Valley has the best scenery.

TravelChinaGuide suggests that you get to the Primitive Forest by shuttle bus at around 8:00 and visit the Rize Valley on foot. The first attraction you will come across is the Swan Lake, followed by Arrow Bamboo Lake and Panda Lake. After Panda Waterfall, comes the beautiful Five-Flower Lake where the nature shows its unbeatable creations. Then proceed to the Pearl Shoal Waterfall and Mirror Lake. Cross over the plank road you will reach the Nuorilang Waterfall. It would be around noon, so you may have a short rest and grab some food at Nuorilang Buffet Restaurant. In the afternoon, to save your time and energy, you can take a whistle stop tour on the shuttle bus to the Long Lake and Five-Colored Pond in Zechawa Valley, as well as Rhinoceros Lake and Tiger Lake in the Shuzheng Valley.

If you are interested in the Tibetan culture, we suggest you enjoy the local singing and dancing show “Mysteries of Tibet” at night. You can take a taxi from the entrance of the Jiuzhai Valley to the 3-mile-away great theater at a cost of CNY20. The show starts at 18:00 or 20:00.

Get up early and check out of the hotel to catch the coach to Chengdu. The whole journey would be eight to ten hours with several short stops for passengers to go to toilet. You need to take some food and water along with you as there are few shops and restaurants on the way.

Upon arrival in Xinnanmen Bus Station in Chengdu, take a bus or taxi to the hotel you reserved before. We suggest you the 4-star Holiday Inn Express Wuhou, located near the Wuhou Temple. Please take a taxi at a cost of CNY20 to the hotel directly.

Kindly reminder: If you are in a slack budget, I suggest you rent a car at a cost of CNY200 to Jiuhuang Airport first, and then connect a flight to Chengdu. Air trip may take about one hour, which avoids the discomfort caused by the longtime bus ride. Upon arrival, take a taxi to Holiday Inn Express Wuhou, and the cab fare is about CNY50-60.

Accommodation Suggestion: Holiday Inn Express Wuhou

Our suggestion for today's China holiday tour from Chile is to visit theDujiangyan Irrigation Systemin the morning and then proceed to theJinsha Site Museumin the afternoon.

There are three intercity high speed trains available in the morning, leaving between 6:30 and 8:30. Thus, you need to get there early to catch them. After breakfast, take a taxi to Chengdu Railway Station directly, which may need at least 30 minutes. The train fare is CNY15 per person and you will reach Dujiangyan Railway Station in about 30 minutes. Upon arrival, you can take bus No. 4 to Lidui Park, the entrance to the Dujiangyan Scenic Area, in 40 minutes. The recommended visiting time is 2 hours. Then get back to the railway station to catch the high speed train back to Chengdu. There are many nice restaurants selling authentic Sichuan food near Chengdu Railway Station. You can have a taste of the famous Stir-fried Tofu with Minced Beef in Spicy Bean Sauce (Mapo Tofu) and other famous dishes.

After lunch, walk to the railway station to take subway line 1 to Tianfu Square, and then change to line 2 to Yipin Tianxia. Take Exit B and walk southwest straight along the Tonghe Road Zhonghuan Road for 700 yards to the Jinsha Site Museum. During your one hour visit, you can acquire more information about the culture and history of Chengdu City. For the way back to hotel, we suggest you take a taxi with an approximate fare of CNY 15.

Mt. Emeiis a quite popular hiking destination for backpacking travelers, and today you will challenge yourself by climbing up the mountain from 7:00 this morning. Remember to check out and leave behind your heavy bags at the reception desk. Walk north to the Baoguo Temple, the entrance of Mt. Emei, to take the tourist bus to Leidongping, which takes about one hour and cost CNY90 per person for a round-trip. Then climb up for another 1.2 miles in 30 minutes, you will reach the Golden Summit cable car station. To save the energy and avoid oxygen deficit, you are suggested to take the cable car to get to the summit instead of hiking all the way. The fare is CNY 65 per person for one way. Standing on the top, you will see breathtaking cloud sea and the giant Buddhist statue. Please note that on the way to the cable car station, you may encounter some lovely monkeys. You can feed them and take photos with them, but keep an eye on your pockets, bags and cameras as these naughty creatures rob things from tourists sometimes.

Grab some food for lunch on the Golden Summit and then get down the mountain. Pick up your bags at Emeishan Grand Hotel and get to traffic center. There you can take a bus to Chengdu Xinnanmen Bus Station at a cost of CNY 45 per person. The bus runs hourly from 7:00 to 19:00 and reaches Chengdu in 2 hours. Then take a taxi to Holiday Inn Express Wuhou and check in again. This evening, you can take a taxi with a fare of CNY20 toWide and Narrow Alley, where you will find authentic Sichuan food and snack, as well as experience the local nightlife.

Accommodation Suggestion: Holiday Inn Express Wuhou