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WorldWild Tours: China, Tibet, and
the Pandas

For itineraries, brochures, and registration information for all WorldWild Tours call (619) 619-685-3247, or contact us using our online form.

Itinerary

May 15 – 16 • San Diego – Beijing
Depart San Diego in the morning. Arrive in San Francisco and connect to your nonstop flight to Beijing, arriving the next evening. Transfer directly to the Grand Hotel located by the Forbidden City.

May 17 • Beijing
This morning, visit the Forbidden City, the abiding symbol of Imperial China. After lunch, tour the Olympic Village to marvel at the new stadiums. Later, visit the Temple of Heaven, one of the finest creations of the Ming Dynasty. This evening, enjoy a special Peking duck banquet.

May 18 • Beijing Today begins with a visit to Beijing’s picturesque Houhai District, where many old courtyard homes are preserved and the narrow hutong alleys border tree-lined lakes north of the Forbidden City. We tour the district by pedicab for a closer and more engaging perspective on traditional Chinese life. Later, we divide into small groups and enjoy lunch at the homes of local families. In the afternoon, we drive to the Great Wall of China. Tonight, we enjoy a special banquet at Ken de Rouge Restaurant in the lovely Lakeside old town.

May 19 • Lhasa
This morning, fly to Gongga Airport in Tibet. Upon arrival, meet our Tibetan guide, drive to Lhasa, and transfer to the Xinding Hotel. After adjusting to the altitude, enjoy an optional walk around Barkhor Street, the marketplace of old Lhasa and still amazingly evocative of old Tibet.

May 20 • Lhasa
A full day of sightseeing includes the Potala Palace, once the seat of government and the winter residence of the Dalai Lama. We take a short drive to Norbulingka, the Dalai Lama’s former summer residence. Visit Jokhang Temple, Tibet’s holiest shrine, filled with altars, halls, and galleries.

May 21 • Lhasa
Traveling outside Lhasa, we visit Sera Monastery, one of the three great monasteries of the Gelugpa sect and founded in 1416 by a disciple of Tsongkhapa. Drive to Drepung Monastery, the largest monastic complex in Tibet. Later in the day we visit Tibetan markets.

May 22 • Lhasa – Chengdu
In the morning we fly to Chengdu and visit the Chengdu Giant Panda Breeding Center and the Small Red Panda Center, where we will learn the latest information about the center’s giant panda breeding efforts. After dinner on one’s own, be amazed at the Sichuan Opera, with its mysterious face-changing show, shadow puppets, fire swallowing, and other intriguing routines.

May 23 – 24 • Chengdu – Bi Feng Xia
The Bi Feng Xia Panda Base & Wild Life Park is situated 95 miles southwest of Chengdu in the Bi Feng Xia region, which is a two-hour drive. The Bi Feng Xia Panda Center was opened in 2003 as a satellite base for the Wolong Giant Panda Breeding Center. Now, with the addition of giant pandas transferred from the earthquake-damaged Wolong Center–including San Diego Zoo-borns Hua Mei, Mei Sheng, Su Lin, and Zhen Zhen, it is arguably the best place to see giant pandas in naturalistic environments. Each traveler will have an opportunity to spend play time with the cubs (cost is included). Later we go on safari in the Bi Feng Xia Wildlife Park, the largest wildlife park in China, where over 300 species live in expansive, open enclosures.

May 25 • Bi Feng Xia – Jiuzhaigou
After breakfast, we drive to Chengdu Airport (2 hours) and take a short flight (50 minutes) to Jiuzhaigou National Park, situated in the northern Sichuan Province, and check in at the Jiuzhaigou Sheraton Hotel.

May 26 • Jiuzhaigou
We spend the whole day exploring the park’s diverse forest ecosystems, home to a number of protected species such as the Sichuan takin, golden monkey, and giant panda.

May 27 • Jiuzhaigou – Shanghai
After breakfast we fly to Shanghai via Chengdu. Upon arrival, we check into the Ritz Carlton Hotel. Enjoy time on one’s own this afternoon absorbing this special energy, a worldly cosmopolitanism for the up-and-coming Chinese empire. This evening, enjoy a memorable fare-well banquet at the Haioufang Restaurant, famous for its Shanghai cuisine. After dinner, stroll along the Bund, viewing the beautifully decorated colonial buildings along the Huangpu River.

May 28 • Shanghai – San Diego
After breakfast, transfer to the airport for our return flight to San Diego via San Francisco. Arrive the same day.

Please note: Itinerary may vary due to changes in air schedules, weather, and other local conditions.

We recommend travel insurance
While the San Diego Zoo provides emergency medical and evacuation insurance for all of its tour participants at no additional cost, we highly recommend that all of our travelers purchase additional insurance coverage. Additional insurance should include supplemental medical, lost luggage, and trip cancellation insurance.

It is important that you purchase insurance soon after making your deposit for a tour in order to waive preexisting conditions and to qualify for the "cancel for any reason" coverage.