Buddhist Pilgrimage Tour to China with Mt. Wutai
Overview
This 13-day Buddhist Pilgrimage takes travelers on a discovery journey in China, to visit the Buddhism sites scattered in the vast land. Follow with us and enjoy the amazing and mysterious grottoes, mountains, temples & Pagodas in scared places!
Duration: 13 days & 12 nights
Destinations: Beijing - Datong - Wutai Mountain - Taiyuan - Pingyao - Xian - Shanghai
Travel type: Private tour
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Itinerary Expand All
Pay a visit to the Temple of Heaven, a masterpiece of architecture and landscape design where the ancient emperors used to pray for the God's bless of the whole nation. Then lead to the Tiananmen Square. It is the largest city square in the world, where solemn ceremonies of raising/lowering the national flag in every morning or sunset time are held here. At last, go to the Forbidden City. Standing in the center of Beijing, it is protected by high walls and a moat on all four sides and consists of dozens of halls and courtyards.
Meal: B, L
Private escorted tour to the Great Wall, a series of stone and earthen fortifications in China which is a symbol of China's history and heritage. Drive back to Beijing and have a photo stop at the main venues of Beijing Olympic Games and appreciate their amazing architecture styles. Later, go to Yonghe Lamasery, originally a prince mansion of Qing Dynasty, it was changed to the head office of Lama Administration.
Meal: B, L
Take high speed train to Datong after breakfast. You will be welcome by the guide and driver when arrive in Datong. Transfer to visit Hanging Temple in Heng Mountain. It is one of the main tourist attractions and historical sites in the Datong area. Built more than 1,500 years ago, this temple is notable not only for its location on a sheer precipice but also because it includes Buddhist, Taoist, and Confucian elements under the same roof.
Meal: B, L
Visit the famous Yungang Grottoes, which are ancient Chinese Buddhist temple grottoes near the city of Datong in the province of Shanxi. They are excellent examples of rock-cut architecture and one of the three most famous ancient Buddhist sculptural sites of China. Huayan Temple is the second destination on your tour plan. It is one of the biggest temples in China built in Liao Dynasty. Later, pay a visit to Nine Dragon Screen, the only screen having nine huge dragons on both sides and composed of 424 seven-color glazed tiles that embosses the screen.
Meal: B, L
Take high speed train to Taiyuan in the morning, which takes around 2hrs. Met and escorted by the guide in Taiyuan, you will be transferred to Wutai Mountain by private car. Wutai Mt. is one of the four famous Holy Mountains for Chinese Buddhists (other three are Emei Mt. in Sichuan, Jiuhua Mt. in Anhui and Putuo Mt. in Zhejiang). With over 53 sacred monasteries, it is home to many of China's most important monasteries and temples. In 2009, it was inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Before entering Wutai Mt. scenic area, you will visit Nanchan Temple and Foguang Temple, two oldest temples in the area. They were built in Tang Dynasty, and the main hall of Nanchan Temple is the oldest wooden building in the world. Overnight in hotel at the foot of the mountain.
Meal: B, L
Full day Buddhist tour in Wutai Mountain today. Walk around one hour from hotel or take sightseeing car to the first stop, Wanfo Ge, in which Wuye Hall (Hall for the Fifth Dragon King, the embodiment of Manjusri Bodhisattva) is one of the most popular halls in Buddhists. Walk further, you will visit Tayuan Temple (the White Pagoda inside is the symbol of Wutai Mt.), Xiantong Temple (the oldest temples after Baima Temple in Luoyang only and it is also the largest temple in Wutai Mt.) and Pusa Ding (a Tibetan Buddhist Monastery, whose roof was tiled with yellow glazed tiles with the Kangxi Emperor’s permission and thus became the only temple with imperial associations. In the afternoon, go to visit Dailuo Ding by walking 1080 steps to show your piety and it is said that it is the way to wisdom. You can also take a panoramic view of the mountain from the top.
Meal: B, L
Drive to Pingyao in early morning which takes around 4.5hrs. It is one of the best preserved ancient towns in China listed as Cultural Heritage by UNESCO. Visit the Double Forest Temple in the afternoon. With a history of 1500 years, this temple is famous for more than 2000 painted Buddhist sculptures, which are regarded as "the treasure of Oriental painted sculptures". Free at leisure to walk around the ancient town in rest of the day.
Meal: B, L
Morning explore Pingyao ancient town with your guide. Pingyao served as the financial center of the region from the 16th century and of the entire Qing Empire during the late 19th century. During those times, there were more than 20 financial institutions within the city, more than half of the total in the whole country. You will visit the Rishengchang Bank Draft, which was the first and largest among them and controlled almost half of China's silver trade under the late Qing Dynasty. Visit some other sites to learn its well-preserved Ming and Qing urban planning and architecture. Take afternoon train to Xian.
Meal: B, L
Drive to visit the Terra-cotta Warriors and Horses Museum. It is known as the eighth wonder of the world and a museum to display terra-cotta warriors and horses in Qin Dynasty. Later, take an afternoon flight to Shanghai. Be met and transferred to hotel. Afternoon visit Wild Goose Pagoda inside Ci'en Temple (4 kilometers south of Xi'an City), it is one of the most famous Buddhist pagodas in China. Later, pay a visit to Bell Tower, first built in 1384, it is the largest and best preserved of its kind.
Meal: B, L
Fly to Shanghai this morning. Half day Shanghai city tour in the afternoon including: Jade Buddha Temple -- the most popular Buddhist temple in Shanghai that boasting 2 precious jade Buddha sculptures from Burma. Yu Garden-- it was inaugurated in the Ming dynasty and has a total area of 20,000 square meters. As a paragon of the south Chinese landscaping style, it is a must-see site in Shanghai.
Meal: B
After breakfast in hotel, you will go to visit the largest, most authentic and complete ancient temple complex in the city of Shanghai, Longhua Temple. This is a dedicated to the Maitreya Buddha and it preserves the architectural design is of a Song dynasty monastery of the Chan School. And then, go to the Bund by Huangpu River. As one of the best landmarks in Shanghai, the Bund features in the old buildings in colonial period and viewing the modern skyscrapers on the other side of the river. Take a relaxing walk in the afternoon at Tianzifang, a shopping and cafe area in the Old French Quarter.
Meal: B, L
Transfer to airport and fly to your next destination.
Meal: B
End of service.
