Explore the history and cultures of China and Tibet
Starting price reflects land-only tour cost. Great Value: see our Tour Cost page for pricing that Includes International Airfare.
This journey is specially designed for a small group of 16 to 24 Smithsonian travelers and offers outstanding travel value.
Throughout this tour, travel in the company of an exceptional Smithsonian Study Leader. Victoria Cass is a professor and author with special expertise in traditional Chinese culture, who has taught Mandarin and Classical Chinese language, as well as Chinese literature. Victoria will lead the April 2012 departure. Virginia Bower is an expert on Chinese art and archaeology who works on museum and book projects and teaches at the university level. Virginia will lead the May 2012 departure. Hugh Shapiro is a professor of Chinese history and Director of Graduate Studies at the University of Nevada. Hugh will be on the September 2012 departure. Read an interview with Hugh.Diane Perushek is a popular Smithsonian Journeys Study Leader who has traveled widely in China, taught classes in Chinese history, and is an avid student of Chinese culinary arts. Diane will lead the October 2012 departure.
See Beijing’s World Heritage sites including the Great Wall, the Summer Palace, and the Temple of Heaven.
Gaze upon the imposing ranks of the Terra-cotta Warriors of Xi’an, so impressive when viewed from above.
Visit the renowned Giant Panda Protection and Research Center, the only such panda refuge in the world.
Spend three nights in Tibet’s capital Lhasa, learning about Tibetan Buddhism and visiting with a local Tibetan family.
Travel through the heart of China on a three-day Yangtze River cruise and transit partway through the locks of the Three Gorges Dam.
Stop at the Children’s Palace in Shanghai to meet young students studying the arts.
This tour features the following World Heritage sites in China and Tibet:
The Imperial Palaces of the Ming and Qing Dynasties, Beijing
