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9-Day Tibet-Sacred Stillness Yoga Retreat
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Discover
This three-week journey links China’s “must-see” cities with the legendary Silk Road: one day you’re walking through palace courtyards in Beijing, the next you’re standing in front of terracotta warriors, photographing rainbow-colored hills, riding camels by desert dunes, tracing Buddhist murals in Mogao Caves, sipping tea in Uyghur markets, meeting pandas in bamboo valleys, and finally looking down on Shanghai’s skyline from above.
Arrive in Beijing and meet your private guide and driver at the airport. Transfer to your hotel, get help with check-in, and rest or take a gentle walk nearby depending on your arrival time.
Start the morning at Tian’anmen Square, then enter the Forbidden City with a curated route that goes beyond the main central halls into quieter courtyards and lesser-known sections. After a roast-duck lunch, visit the Summer Palace, wandering lakeside paths, gardens, and the long painted corridor with views over Kunming Lake.
Visit the Temple of Heaven park early, where local people do tai chi, dance, sing, and play chess under old trees. Step into the Hall of Prayer for Good Harvests, then drive out to Mutianyu Great Wall. Choose how active you want to be: cable car up and down for an easier visit, or chair lift up and toboggan down for more fun.
Take a high-speed train from Beijing to Xi’an in the morning. In the afternoon, explore the Muslim Quarter, tasting local snacks from simple street stalls to more adventurous dishes if you’d like. Step into the Great Mosque, built in a traditional Chinese courtyard style, for a complete change of atmosphere from the busy streets outside.
Spend the day at the Terracotta Warriors site, visiting multiple pits and hearing how the army was made, buried, and preserved. Visit the conservation area or lab to better understand restoration work and Qin-era relics. Later, head up onto Xi’an’s city wall to walk or cycle along the top and see the city from above.
Pack up and fly to Zhangye, an important Silk Road town. On arrival, meet your local guide and transfer to your hotel. Depending on timing, enjoy a short stroll or rest before the big landscapes the next day.
Visit Zhangye National Geopark to see the famous “Rainbow Mountains”—layers of red, orange, yellow, and white rock folded into ridges and valleys. Later, explore the Great Buddha Temple and its historic wooden structures, connecting today’s town with its older Silk Road identity.
Drive from Zhangye toward Dunhuang, stopping at Jiayuguan Pass, the western end of the Ming-dynasty Great Wall. Walk around the fort, climb the walls, and look out over the desert and distant mountains. Visit a notable local winery built into the landscape before continuing to Dunhuang and checking into your hotel.
Spend the morning at the Mogao Caves, with a guided visit to several of the best-preserved grottoes to see Buddhist murals, sculptures, and centuries of artistic detail. Visit a research or art center where you can choose a mural sample and make your own mud-slab copy. In the late afternoon, ride a camel over the Singing Sand Dunes and see Crescent Moon Spring as the light softens.
Visit the windswept ruins of the Han-dynasty Great Wall and remote Yumen Pass, imagining how caravans once passed this frontier. In the late afternoon, board a bullet train to Turpan and transfer to your hotel on arrival.
Discover how the ancient Karez Well System brought water underground across the desert. Explore the ancient city of Jiaohe, carved from a high island between riverbeds, with streets and buildings cut directly from the earth. Continue to Tuyugou Village, one of the oldest Uyghur villages, and view the Flaming Mountains, glowing red in the sun.
Visit Turpan Museum for a deeper look at Silk Road cultures, trade, and artifacts from the region. After a three-hour drive to Urumqi, head to Erdaoqiao Market, where you can browse local products, taste snacks, and feel the energy of modern Xinjiang life.
Fly early to Kashgar. Visit Id Kah Mosque, walk along Handicraft Street to see metalwork, wood carving, ceramics, and more, and then rest in a century-old teahouse where locals still gather to talk, drink tea, and sometimes dance. End the day exploring Kashgar Old City, with its maze of alleyways and traditional homes.
Spend the morning at Kashgar’s bazaar, famous across Central Asia, where you’ll find everything from dried fruits and spices to carpets and everyday clothing. In the afternoon, drive along the China–Pakistan Highway to Baisha (“White Sand”) Lake and on to Karakul Lake, a glacial lake backed by snow-covered peaks like Muztagh Ata. Return to Kashgar in the evening.
Use this day to fly from Kashgar to Chengdu, crossing nearly the full width of China. On arrival, meet your Chengdu guide and transfer to your hotel to rest.
In the morning, visit a panda base near Chengdu to see giant pandas eating, climbing, and playing when they are most active. After lunch, head to a city park—such as People’s Park—to sip tea, watch locals play mahjong, dance, sing, and practice calligraphy, and feel the slower rhythm of this laid-back city.
Take a morning flight to Zhangjiajie, then ride the long cable car up to Tianmen Mountain. Walk to viewpoints, step onto the famous glass skywalk if you’re brave enough, and look down at the winding road far below. Return to your hotel in the city area for the night.
Spend the day in Zhangjiajie National Forest Park, focusing on Yuanjiajie and nearby scenic spots. See the tall sandstone pillars rising like stone forests, including the peak associated with the “Hallelujah Mountains” from Avatar. Take the Bailong Elevator, one of the world’s highest outdoor elevators, for spectacular views.
Walk across the glass bridge suspended over Zhangjiajie Grand Canyon, looking straight down at the gorge below. Then visit Yellow Dragon Cave, with vast chambers, stalactites, stalagmites, and underground rivers. In the evening, fly to Shanghai and transfer to your downtown hotel.
Begin at Yu Garden, a classical Jiangnan garden of ponds, rockeries, and halls tucked into the old town. Visit Shanghai Museum East or another curated cultural stop, then dive into an in-depth Bund walk, going inside some historic buildings to hear their stories. Enjoy a snack stop at a well-regarded restaurant or café, take a public ferry across the Huangpu River, and finish by ascending Shanghai Tower for a night or sunset view over the city.
Enjoy any remaining free time before your transfer to the airport. Your guide and driver will see you off and help with check-in for your onward flight.
Stay in comfortable, well-located hotels throughout, typically in the 4–5 star range unless you request otherwise. In historic or characterful locations (such as parts of the Silk Road), boutique properties may be chosen to enhance the atmosphere. All rooms include private bathrooms and standard modern amenities; upgrades and special hotel styles can be arranged on request.
Breakfast is included daily at your hotels. Most days include lunches at selected local restaurants, introducing you to the changing flavors of northern China, the northwest Silk Road region, Sichuan, Hunan, and Shanghai. Some dinners are left free so you can explore night markets, street food, or fine dining according to your interests. Dietary requirements such as vegetarian, halal, or gluten-free can usually be accommodated with advance notice.
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