7 Days Qinghai Regong Buddhist Cultural Group Tour

Meals: No meals
Accommodation: In Xining

Arrive in Xining and transfer to hotel for check-in. Xining, with an altitude of 2261m, enjoys friendly climate but also has great temperature difference between day and night so please pack warm clothes. You may hang around in Xining city and try some local cuisines.

Note: Please do not do strong exercises especially soon after landing on the highland. The temperature of Xining drops below 0 degree centigrade when in winter and spring. Please drink enough water and take good rest.

Ledu Qutan Temple

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch
Accommodation: In Tongren City

After breakfast, let’s go to Ledu Qutan Temple (about 1hr). Established in 1392 in Ming Dynasty, it’s called “Forbidden City of Qinghai”. This temple is a typical Gelugpa Sect temple, famous for its precious murals.

After lunch, we will visit to Tongren Regong Artists and Tongren Regong Art Experience. It’s listed as National Intangible Culture Relics in 2006, including mural, thangka, embroidery, wood carving, stone carving, etc.

Tongren Regong Art Experience

Meals: Breakfast, Dinner
Accommodation: In Xunhua County

We will drive to Longwu Temple (about 1hr after breakfast, where the Regong Art originated. In its peak time, the temple had 35 small subsidiary temples and occupied 380 mu. Then we will visit the Shangxiawutun Temple (about 2hrs). Many previous and typical Regong arts are collected in this temple. It’s also called the school of Regong Art.

After lunch, we will drive to Xunhua County and have a taste of Sala Home Feast as dinner. Sala Autonomous County of Xunhua is located at the edge of the Qinghai - Tibet Plateau. It has a unique geographical environment with high terrain in the south and low in the north, surrounded by mountains and valleys. It is one of the areas with a relatively low altitude in Qinghai. The Sala ethnic group, the unique ethnic group in Qinghai, believes in Islam. They came all the way from Samarkand in Central Asia to the western part of China and multiplied here, creating their own culture. The 'Sala Home Feast' we will taste is an important part of their food culture.

Shangxiawutun Temple

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch
Accommodation: In Guide County

We will visit the Xunhua Luotuo Spring (about 1hr) after breakfast. Luotuo Spring (meaning camel spring in Chinese) is regarded as a holy spring for Sala nation. There is a story saying that the ancestors of Sala nation were saved by a white camel which led them to a spring. Then we will continue to the Kanbula National Forest Park (about 3.5hrs). Covering an area of 152 square kilometers (15,200 hectares), the park is famous for its unique landform of red gravel rocks, and features forest vegetation, lofty mountains, soaring peaks crystal water and Tibetan culture.

Drive to Guide County after lunch and visit the Yellow River Square (about 30mins). Guide is regarded as the “Jiangnan of Highland” and the back garden of Xining. Later we will go to hotel for check-in.

Kanbula National Forest Park

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch
Accommodation: In Chaka Town

Today we will visit to Ashigong Scenic Site (about 3hrs including sightseeing and driving) after breakfast. This park is typical Danxia landform formed 120 million years ago. You can see different shapes of mountains standing along the 2 sides of the canyon. Some are red’ some are green. Get ready to be amazed by the Danxia scenery.

After lunch, we will visit the Qinghai Lake (about 2 hrs, scenic site bus and boat are not included). It is the largest inland lake and saltwater lake in China. People considered Qinghai Lake as "green lake" or "fairyland" because of the marvelous and natural beautiful reflected on it. Later we will proceed to Chaka Town, where we will have a feast of a Roast Whole Lamb Feast and participate in the enthusiastic bonfire party held by herdsmen.

Ashigong Scenic Site

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch
Accommodation: In Xining

After breakfast, we'll visit the Chaka Salt Lake. The visit will take about 2.5 hours, and the scenic area's small train, shuttle buses, and cruise ships are not included. The Chaka Salt Lake is the smallest of the four major salt lakes in the Qaidam Basin, but it's also the one that was developed the earliest. It has a mining history of over 3,000 years. This place is like a world of salt. You can smell salt in the air, on the ground, and even in the car. In the distance, you can see salt - mining ships digging for salt. Up close, the salt looks like crystal - like crystals. If you taste it, the flavor is a bit different from regular table salt. On the lake surface, modern large - scale salt - mining ships are cruising and working. By the lakeside, small trains are running back and forth, and salt mounds stand like snow - capped mountains, showing the charming scenery and vast wealth of the Qaidam Salt Lake. After that, we'll drive to Xining.

Chaka Salt Lake

Meals: Breakfast

Enjoy a leisure breakfast in hotel and be transferred to the airport based on your flight departure time.

Service Ends.