6 Days Tongren Shaman Festival Tour

Full Itinerary Day by day (Can Be Customized)

Day 1 Xining Arrival

Welcome to Xining, Qinghai. Once morning arrival at Xining Caojiabao Airport/Train Station, your tour guide will meet you, and then escort you to your hotel by a private vehicle.

In the afternoon,, drive about 26km to visit the famous Taer Monastery which is the birthplace of the Tibetan Buddhism master – Tsongkhapa who was the founder of Gelug(a sect of Buddhism). It is also famous as one of “6 monastery of Gelug”. You must not miss the “three bests” of Taer Monastery – murals, barbola and butter sculptures.

Day 2 Xining – Qinghai Lake ( B, L )

After breakfast, drive around 2.5 hours to see the picturesque Qinghai Lake from Xining via Huangyuan, Riyue Mountain, etc. You won't feel boring along the driving since fascinate scenery of green grassland, blue sky, white clouds, clustered flocks and herds unfold like a photo gallery.

You will stop at the Erlang Jian Scenic Area to enjoy the beauty of Qinghai Lake. As the largest inland lake, as well as the largest salt water lake in China, Qinghai Lake(3200m) stretches 105km at length, 63km at width and occupies a water area of over 4,500 square kilometers. Attracting thousands of photographers to take photos every year, this plateau lake was elected as the Most Beautiful Lake in China by China’s National Geographic. It is surrounded by harsh mountain ranges from outside. While on the foot of mountains are endless beautiful grassland and rapeseed flower lands which are connected to the lakeside. At the same time, Qinghai Lake is a sacred Tibetan Buddhist site. There are many devoted Buddhist coming from afar to worship to Qinghai Lake each year.

After the sightseeing, drive back to Xining.

Tips:

1. From late July to early August is the best time to view the vast golden rape flower fields surrounding the Qinghai Lake; 2. If you are interested and time allows, you can take optional visiting to some interesting attractions along the driving to and back to Xining, such as Dangaer Ancient City, Riyue Mountain, Jinyintan Prairie, etc.

Day 3 Xining – Tongren ( B, L )

Today, you will drive to Tongren County, Qinghai, where is the originated place of the famous “Regong Art”. Visit the Wutun Monastery which is a small but fully visited monastery which is located in Wutun Village of Longwu Town. Wutun Monastery has a history of more than 6 hundreds years, fully decorated by beautiful Tibetan works of art. The most outstanding ones are thangkas, barbolas and sculptures.

Then, you will take a visit to a local family to experience the authentic living. Most importantly, you will have chance to observe how the most beautiful in Qinghai Thangkas are painted.

Day 4 Shaman Festival ( B, L ): Today greets the most important part of this itinerary – Shaman Festival. Shaman Festival is a religious ceremony organized in some villages around the Tongren during a whole June of Lunar Calendar. During Shaman Festival, there are numerous hilarious activities, such as ritual dancing, drum beating, singing, etc. The highlights part is the dancing played by the Shaman who is regarded as the spokesman of God. In this ritual dance, you will see how the people offer up sacrifice to God, how the Shaman greets God, the God showcase his sign, Shaman escort God.

Day 5 Tongren – Xining ( B, L )

After breakfast, Visit the holy temple - Rongwu Monastery is the third largest Tibetan monastery in south northwestern China, right after Labrang Monastery, Taer Monastery. It is now a Gelug monastery. Rongwu Monastery played a very important role during the history of Tibetan Buddhism in northwestern China. Many famous Buddhist master, scholars lived and studied Buddhism here.

After then, drive back to Xining. Once arrival, you will be escort to visit the famous Dongguan Great Mosque. As one of the “four great mosques in China”, Dongguan Great Mosque is the holy home to the millions Muslims in China. There are many Muslim disciples worship and attend Muslim event here.

Stay overnight in Xining.

Day 6 Xining Departure ( B ): Today is free for you to have fun until your tour guide escort you to airport or train station for your flight/train to next destination.

Free Quote for the Trip

Recommended Add-on Options

How Our Teams Serve you at China Discovery

"Highest Standards of Quality and Honesty" is the core value of each specialized team at China Discovery.

Eveyone in our company is working hard for only one goal, which is to ensure the highest level of service, luxury, and attention to detail from the minute you begin planning your trip, to the day you return home.

1-on-1 Travel Consultant

Our travel consultants are professional, experienced and responsible, helping you from the very beginning to the end of your China trip!

After sending us an inquiry, one of our travel consultants will get back to you within 0.5~23.5 hrs. In the next few days, he/she will be working closely with you to formulate a customized tour plan, as well as providing professional suggestions based on your travel interests, time, and budget.

Beside, he/she will keep in contact with you during your entire tour in China, continually checking if everything is going well as planned.

: We're working at Chengdu Bamboo International Tours, local based in Chengdu.

Local Tour Guides

Our local guide in every destination is not only very friendly, enthusiastic but also very informative and knowledgeable.

Once you arrive in the destination, the patient and punctual guides will pick you up and take you to get under skin of the city at your own pace. By in-depth discovery and explanation, they’ll show you more about the history, culture, customs and authentic local life. Throughout the journey, they're not only expert guides who take care of all the details but also fellow travelers who are dedicated to help you explore in comfort and style.

: Our guides are passionate about what they do, and it shows all the way!

Local Drivers & Vehicle

Using our private transfer service makes you comfortable, relaxed and worry free all the way!

Our private service includes licensed drivers with many years’ driving experience and air-conditioned, non-smoking, clean and well-maintained cars/vans. Drivers are local, polite, friendly and helpful, taking you to your tourist sites, hotels, airport/train stations in safety. All kinds of vehicle are offered, and yours depends on the size of your group. Usually, we offer sedan cars, SUVs, business vans (MPV) and different types of buses, all with extra space for your luggage.

: Our private transfer service guarantees you the highest comfort!

Comfortable & Homelike Hotels

In each destination, you’ll enjoy a comfortable stay in a great location!

The hotels we choose are based on star rating, great locations, well-equipped facilities, cozy bed, high quality service and guests’ feedbacks. Choices are a lot ranging from luxury 5 star, comfortable 4 star to budget 3 star. You could decide where to stay to best suit for your budget and likes. Generally, the hotels have both Western and Chinese breakfast with a wide choices.

If you have already got an ideal hotel, please feel free to tell our travel consultants and they'll book the hotel for you.

: Have good sleep in our well-selected hotels in all the destinations of China.

Meals & Dining

We can satisfy all the dietary requirements no matter you want Chinese local food, western food, vegetarian food or muslin food.

The restaurants we will take you for lunch or dinner are all designated tourist restaurants approved by local tourist administration bureau. They have very good sanitary conditions and the food is prepared fresh and clean.

There will be some meals excluded in your itinerary as you like, and your private guide will be delighted to give you some suggestions and take you to the local restaurants to taste like Beijing Roast Duck, Xian Dumpling Dinner, Sichuan Hotpot, etc., if you are interested in local food tasting.

: All the dining options will satisfy your stomach!

Check What our Customers Say...

Hello Echo,

Our trip to Harbin was wonderful- from pick up to drop off. Our guides Helen and Wendy were so helpful. I cannot imagine doing a trip without them. Wendy was nurturing and kind. Helen was personable and engaging. Exactly what you need when away from home. Kevin, our driver, was perfect. He was so sweet when helping us with our luggage and getting our doors. He kept the car nice and warm for us. He was the safest driver I’ve ever had in China. Cannot commend them enough. They were gracious with our needs and helped us when we wanted to change things. Each activity was amazing. I loved them all. I would say when traveling decide what things you want to do and prioritize them. So you can spend an appropriate amount of time at each.

Here’s what we found:

Polar Land- 2.5 hours in the morning.

Sun Island- 1.5 - 2 hours. (Right next to Polar Land)

Ice and Snow World (must see in day and night, plus leave time to wait for the slide) - 4 hours.

Volga Manor- 4 hours (again, the slide. Plus this takes an hour to get to)

Sophia Church- 30-45 minutes

Siberian Tiger Park- 2 hours

Central Street- take the time to stroll up and down during the night and day to see the ice sculptures. There’s a place to pay to play at the end. You can also shop. 4-5 hours during different hours of the day. Plus you must stop and have the icecream at MODERN.

Our hotel the Mecure Hotel Sophia Church was in the perfect location.

Layer up and have a wonderful time in Harbin. This is the perfect tour. The company was very accommodating when we asked to make changes. I’m so grateful.

Tiffini - 2020.12.31‚ USA, December 31, 2020

Hello Wonder

Kai is very nice. We liked him so much.

Carol - 2020.12.30‚ Italy, December 30, 2020

Hello Tracy

Yes it was very nice. Both driver and guide were very nice and helpful

Adam - 2020.12.30‚ UK, December 30, 2020

Hi Zeva,

Here is my feedback.

1. Is your travel consultant of our company fast enough to answer your E-mail and patient enough to answer your questions?

As quick as usual, responsive, prompt and patient. Great pleasure to work with Zeva!

2. How do you comment your tour arrangements?

Everything was perfect. Steven is such a good guide, and more like a friend than guide, he really knows a good place to visit and to eat. I had enjoyed Guilin tour so much.

3. Are you willing to recommend our service to your people who also have an interest to visit China?

Absolutely.

4. Your general opinion on us?
Good service and arrangement as usual

5. Do you have any suggestions on improving our services?

Everything is wonderful

6. Can we use your comments of our service, the photos or other images that you took on the tour for our websites, brochures, marketing and publicity? If yes, could you please send us some of your photos by E-mail?

Yes please.

7. We sometimes have requests from potential customers who would like to inquire from or our ex-customers. May they contact you for advices?

Yes please

Miko - 2020.12.29‚ Indonesia, December 29, 2020