Festival Tour in Qinghai and Gansu

Are you in China and looking where to spend your holidays? We welcome you to join us on the biggest festival tour in the Tibetan Plateau. The Monlam Chenmo, also known as The Great Prayer Festival, is the most important Tibetan Buddhist celebration of the year.  Monlam means ‘wish-path’  the Buddhist path of helping others through prayers. The Monlam Chenmo commemorates the Buddha’s enlightenment or fully awakening from ignorance.

This tour will give us a unique opportunity to attend various religious ceremonies in Tibetan monasteries in Qinghai and Gansu provinces, drive through the vast grassland of the Tibetan Plateau, visit old sacred temples and hike off the beaten paths.

Highlights

• Tibetan masks Cham Dance 
• Ceremony of the giant thangka unveiling 
• Unique opportunity to meet Tibetan nomads
• Landscapes of the Tibetan Plateau
• Visiting Buddhist monasteries and attending various activities

Details

• 9-day trip starts and ends in Xining, Qinghai
• 8 nights at hotels
• Altitude from 1800-3600m

Feb 9th / Day 1: Arrive Xining and transfer to hotel 

Arrive at Xining airport or train station. Our guide and driver will be waiting for you. Then transfer to hotel. We will have a group meeting in the evening.

Optional things to do in Xining:

1. Qinghai Tibetan Medical and Cultural Museum
2. Tibetan Market
3. Kumbum Monastery(if you have whole afternoon)
4. Hike up Nanshan (South Mountain) to have a panoramic view of  Xining

Feb 10th / Day 2. Arrive Xining and drive to Rebkong / Tongren

Our guide and driver will come to pick you up from your hotel.  Drive to Shachung Monastery which is about 100km to the east. Make a quick visit the monastery and then continue drive towards Rebkong via a scenic road where you can see canyon and Yellow River. If you arrive early enough, you may be able to catch SanggeShung or Wutunsi Festival. If you arrive late, we will drive to hotel directly. Repkong in Tibetan or Tongren in Chinese, is known as the learning center for Tibetan Thangka, a traditional painting arts. Nowadays, private Thangka schools became one of the main income for all the locals.

Feb 11th / Day 3: Gomar village Monks Cham Dance

We will drive back to Gomar village again and visit the monastery and then watch Monks Cham Dance Ritual today. This is one of the best place to photograph Cham Dance as it is a relatively small event with not so many tourists. You can move close to the performers and watch the Cham close by.

Feb 12th / Day 4: Rebkong to Langmusi

Drive through the heart of Amdo – Tibet nomadic areas. You can see how Tibetan nomads encounter with harsh environment. You will have great opportunity to photograph yaks and sheep in the snow. You may also have an opportunity to visit a nomadic family to see how they live. Once we arrive in Langmusi / Taktsang Lhamo, we will checked in hotel. And, if time allows, you can make a short hike on the hill behind the monastery to have an overview of this valley or wander inside this unique town.

Feb 13th / Day 5: Langmusi Thangka Display and then drive to Luchu

Today, we will go to Setri Gompa to see monks displaying of the Giant Buddha image on the hillside. This place is the best place to photograph Thangka Display in entire Tibet. Snow Covered mountains in far distance, colorful Thangka on the hillside. Monks will be performing secret rituals in front of the Thangka, and all the Tibetan nomads are surrounding this giant Thangka to get blessed. Once the Thangka carried into the monastery, this event comes to its end. Afterwards, we will drive to Luchu. A nomadic town, famous for breeding horses in Tibetan areas.

Feb 14th / Day 6: Xicang / Sertsang Nomad Parade Show and Monks Mask Cham Dance Labrang / Xiahe

There are twelve tribes in the Sertsang area. Each year one of the tribe organize this tribe parade show. All the men get together and dress up the best they can to attend this festival. Though men are not wearing huge and heavy jewelries today except the actors of legend heroes, but it was common for everyone to wear heavy jewelries such as corals, Jade, Amber, gold in the old times.

In order to let everyone, with no exception for poor or rich, to join this festival, this jewelry show was much reduced. But people still wear traditional clothes and weapons such archery tolls, knife, spears, flags, etc. Afterwards, the Sertsang Gompa Monks start preform sacred rituals. In the late afternoon, we drive to Xiahe / Labrang. Today is also the monks Mask Dance Day in Labrang.

Feb 15th / Day 7: Visit Labrang Monastery and in the evening, attend Butter Sulpture display.

In the morning visit the monastery. And in the evening, we will attend the Butter Sculpture arts show, this is not an easy or comfortable show as you have to get into the line with thousands of local nomads who also want to get close to the arts. But this is the second largest arts show of this kind after Kumbum Monastery Butter Sculpture Arts.

Feb 16th / Day 8: Shambhalingkor ( Future Buddha Circamanbulation) Xining

Today, Labrang Monastery monks will perform Shampa Lingkor which means circumambulation of Meitreya Buddha or the future Buddha. And all the nomads will follow monks to make this circle around the monastery. Afterwards, we will drive back to Xining or take flight back home.

Feb 17th / Day 9: Depart from Xining 

Say goodbye to your guide and driver