Jan
31 arrive in Beijing
Welcome to Beijing,
capital of China. Being one of the biggest cities in the world,
Beijing had just celebrated its 850th anniversary of being
the Chinese capital. From the imperial Forbidden City to the
Great Wall of China, from the Hutong alleys to the wide and
straight Chang’an Avenue and from the courtyard houses
to modern skyscrapers, Beijing has a great deal to offer for
us to explore its dynamic culture, tradition and heritage.
Meet by professional English speaking guide from Trans Tibet Tours at the airport and transfer to hotel for check-in. In
the evening we will have welcoming dinner to acquaint ourselves
and to brief the upcoming events scheduled on this trip.
Feb.
01 Beijing/Xining 
Fly to Xining,
the capital city of Northwest China's Qinghai province. Xining is the capital of Amdo area of Tibet and is literally translated
Western Peace, a projection of wish fulfillment by imperial
order. It has long been on the fringes of the western Chinese
empire, probably established around the Han Dynasty (206 BC-220
AD), and it remained an important trading post in the area,
mainly for goods to and from Tibet and China. It was not until
1928 that the city, with the formal establishment of Qinghai
as a province, was to become the official capital. Visit the
Kumbum Monastery upon arrival. The Kumbum Monastery built
in1560 AD is one of the six most famous Tibetan Buddhist Monasteries.
Kumbum in Tibetan means a grand place housing 100,000 Buddha.
The sight  is most sacred due to the personages who have graced
it with their presence. 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, both great living
Buddha. BLD.
Feb.
02 Xining/Tongren via Youning Gonpa
Drive for 125
miles to Tongren via Youning Gonpa. Tongreng is named Repkong
in Tibetan. In the 15-16 century, the Tibetan Buddhism of
Gelukpa Sect (Yellow Sect) came into Tongren area. Painting,
sculptures and stone inscription for Buddhism are sprang up
by Tibeta n and near the Guchu River at Repkong along with
the rise of Buddhism and the construction of monasteries.
It is called Repkong Art. All villagers can paint, and every
family is engaged in art now. The art mainly includes colored
paintings, colored sculptures, designs, yak butter sculptures,
embossed embroideries, wood inscription and decorations in
architecture. Among these, paintings, sculptures and designs
are most famous. Repkong Art is one of the most important
sects in the fields of Tibetan Buddhist arts. Upon arrival
we will visit Longwu Monastery of Gelukpa sect which was initially
constructed in Yuan Dynasty (1271-1368) as a monastery of
Sakya-sect, and Wutun village the center of Repkong Buddhist
Art which is a successful mixture of religious art and local
folk art. BLD.
Feb. 03 Tongren (Full day visit GouFeby Gonpa, Sunning the
Buddha)
We are going
to experience a fantastic view of perhaps the biggest breakfast
in the world this morning. Local Tibetans bring their milk
tea and breakfast in the monastery and talk about their stories
happened last year and exchange their ambition for the coming
year. Today's highlight is the grand ceremony of Sunning the
Buddha at the GouFeby Gonpa Monastery in the afternoon. Tibetans
traditionally place a huge painting or embroidery of the Buddha
Tangka on the slope of a hill to share the benefit of Buddhism
with all the creature in the air which we could not see they
are existed. BLD.
Feb.
04 Tongren (Full day visit Wutun Monastery, Cham Dance)
The Wutun Monastery
is famous throughout Tibet for its beautiful artwork of Buddhist
art of Thangka. Monks are trained at a very young age to carry
on this tradition from generation to generation. We will meet
some of the outstanding Thangka painters and exchange views
on this special art form with them in this monastery. Over
many centuries, Tibetan Buddhists evolved an art form to open
passages from the ordinary world to the extraordinary realm
of pure wisdom and compassion. Known as "thangka"
paintings, this unusual art form is a vehicle of transition
from the mundane world to sacred reality. Thangkas are intended
to nurture humankind's path toward enlightenment. The meditation
deities shown embody a particular aspect of the fully evolved,
enlightened mind. The themes of thangka iconography are fixed
by tradition and are based on principles of expression, proportion
and detail. Commissioning the painting of a thangka and the
painting process itself are considered highly meritorious
actions. The material used for thangkas is linen cloth or
cotton fabric; silk cloth is reserved for important subjects.
Before painting begins, the material is stitched along the
edges with flax thread and stretched on a specially made wooden
frame (T. Tang-shin). Then a paste made of animal glue mixed
with talcum powder is spread over its surface to block up
the holes in it. When the paste is scraped off and the cloth
gets thoroughly dried, the material is ready for painting.
To begin, the artist works out the sketches of the images
with charcoal sticks. The drawing usually begins with the
figure in the centre and then goes to the surrounding deities
or landscape. Coloring comes last. The pigments used come
from non-transparent minerals and plants such as malachite
and cinnabar. They are mixed with animal glue and ox bile
to make the lustre stay. When the painting is done, it is
mounted on a brocaded silk border. Important thangkas are
embroidered on transferred outlines; some of them use a great
variety of stitch patterns such as flat and piled stitches
to give them a three-dimensional effect.
Feb.
05 Tongren (full day visit to GouFeby Monastery, Cham Dance)
GouFeby in Tibetan
means red gate. Apparently all gates of GouFeby Monastery
are in red. Actually the gates of nearby Tibetan village are
all in red as well because this village used to be very wealthy
and they could afford to decorate their gates with red copper
in the old days. Today we will join local Tibetans for their
Cham Dance. The Cham dance calls on traditions that date back
more than 500 years. The fourth Panchen Lama went to Shambala
through meditation and created the Cham Dance according to
the cham dance in Shambala and the fifth Dalai Lama formalized
the dances in the Cham Yig book, and each monastery has created
its own unique interpretations over the centuries. Cham performances
and ceremonies feature sacred masked dances, sacred music,
healing chants and spectacular richly ornamented multi-colored
costumes. The dancers use symbolic hand gestures known as
madras to transmit healing powers from the deities. With accompanying
narration and a monastic debate demonstration, the program
provides a fascinating and warm glimpse into ancient and current
Tibetan culture. BLD.
Feb. 06 Tongren/Xiahe
In the afternoon
we will drive to Xiahe which exists due to the Labrang Monastery
which is one of the six main Tibetan monasteries of the Gelupka
sect. Xiahe is the largest Tibetan monastery town outside
Lhasa. We will be enchanted by the atmosphere of this town
which is a mixture of Tibetan, Muslim Hui and Han Chinese,
particularly during the festive season when the usually silent
streets are crowded with pilgrims and Tibetan monks in their
saffron robes. BLD
Feb. 07 Xiahe (Labrang Monastery)
The highlight
of Monlam Festival is the Sunning the Buddha. We will join
a large crowd of Buddhists who have been waiting since the
early morning for today's special event, the annual 'sunning
of the Buddha' ceremony. In the morning, a large yelp will
Febk the entrance of a horse-ridden lama clutching an iron
stick, followed by the entry of the thangka of the Buddha.
The 98 by 66 ft thangka will be carried out of the hall towards
a mountain range to be spread along the slope of the Nan Mountain.
Along the way, crowds of worshippers will gather around to
touch the thangka in order to get the New Year blessing, and
later sing, dance and hold prayer sessions to celebrate the
occasion. BLD.
Feb. 08 Xiahe (Labrang Monastery)
Today we will
take part in Cham Dance, a lively ceremony of religious dances,
in the square adjacent to the Lection Hall of Labrang Monastery.
Not only the dancers and musicians, but also the audience
will be blessed through participating in this grand ceremony.
Feb. 09 Xiahe (Labrang Monastery)
Visit the monastery
in the morning and free at leisure in the afternoon. After
dinner we will visit an exhibition of yak butter sculptures,
which have an almost surreal beauty when lit under the lamps.
Visitors invariably touch the flower shelf with their foreheads
to show their respect toward the Buddha. BLD.
Feb. 10 Xiahe (Labrang Monastery)/Lanzhou via Linxia
We will join
the local Tibetans in the morning for their ritual ceremony
of Turning the Buddha. A Buddha of 9-15 feet high made of
silk will be carried by a group of monks to Kora the Labrang
Monastery; of course large crowds will follow this ceremony
again in order to get blessings. After lunch we will drive
to Lanzhou, the capital city of Gansu province via the Muslim
town of Linxia which is considered by Chinese Muslims as the
Mecca of China. BLD.
Feb. 11 Lanzhou/Beijing
Fly to Beijing
in the morning. After lunch we will start to explore this
Chinese capital from its heart, the Tiananmen Square where
you can feel the heartbeat of China. Bordered by the Great
Hall of the People, Mao's Mausoleum and the National Museum
of China, Tian'anmen Square has witnessed many of the historical
events happened in China since 1911. We then walk to the Forbidden
City, the complex of imperial palace, which were home to the
Emperors for over 500 years. Grand halls and courts gradually
give way to more intimate domestic quarters, giving an insight
into the pampered isolation of the emperors. Tonight's dinner
is the Peking duck. BLD.
Feb12 Beijing
Morning
visit to the Great Wall of China, which was first built in
the Warring States period (475-221BC) as a series of earthworks
erected by individual kingdoms as a defense against each other
as well as from invasions from the north. Stretching almost
4500 miles from the Baohai Sea to the sands of Central Asia,
the Great Wall of China is crowned one of the wonders of the
world. The present day wall was left from the Ming dynasty.
After lunch we will visit the Summer Palace, the largest royal
garden in the world. BLD.
Feb. 13 Departure
Transfer to
the airport to board your flight back. |
