Meet the minorities of the Tibetan Plateau
Lifestyle, festivals and textiles
This is a relaxed tour and has been organized for a group fascinated to learn about the culture and tradition of people who live in other lands. Centres have been chosen to meet a number of Chinese minorities which include Tibetans, Sala, Tu and Mongolians, who all have unique lifestyles. Home visits will be an important part of our programme and there will be a strong emphasis on the various dress of the groups. It will include explanations on how sheep skin and fabric Chubas are made. Felt cloaks once the only protection against the rain will be displayed. Lhasa-style summer wear dress for woman will be discussed. Wherever possible we will view local traditional jewellery and visit a sliver smith.
There will be plenty of time to view the wide plateau landscape and see the contrasting arable terraces of Tongren and Xunhua, and the open flowers strewn pastures of Henan where yak and sheep graze. Here we meet the nomadic families with their black tent and Gers. Naturally, we will visit some of the most outstanding monasteries of the area which are rich in textiles, statuary, murals and thangkas. The tour will be conclude in the modern city of Xining which is the provincial capital of Qinghai province. Here we will visit an outstanding museum specializing in Tibetan artifacts, medicinal herbs; also the Tibetan market , a book shop and have a final banquet.
Jimpatravel will act as the guest lecture and tour leader.
QUICK REFERENCE ITINERARY
D01 Beijing 1
D02 Beijing/Linxia 1
D03 Linxia/Jone 1
D04 Jone/Hezuo 2
D05 Hezuo
D06 Hezuo/Xiahe 3
D07 Xiahe
D08 Xiahe
D09 Xiahe/Henan 1
D10 Henan/Tongreng 2
D11 Tongreng
D12 Tongreng/Xunhua2
D13 Xunhua
D14 Xunhua/Xining 2
D15 Xining
D16 Xining/Beijing 1