China Wildlife And Culture Exploration

Met by your private bird guide or driver at the airport, then drive directly to the hotel (40km 1hr). Tonight, we will have the first taste of Shaanxi cuisine.

Depart early this morning to visit Terra-Cotta Warriors (40 km / 1 hr), the eighth wonder of the world which was created to guard the tomb of Qin Shihuang, the first emperor to unite ancient China. As a UNESCO World Heritage Site, Terra-Cotta Warriors is one of the most remarkable archaeological discoveries of all times. After leisurely admiring this vast arrays of soldiers, we will drive back to downtown to visit Xian-Ancient city wall this afternoon. Followed dinner at local restaurant around the hotel, you will enjoy an optional leisurely walking at the Muslim Quarters tonight. 

But I must explain to you how all this mistaken idea of denouncing pleasure and praising pain was born and I will give you a complete account of the system, and expound the actual teachings of the great explorer of the truth, the master-builder of human happiness. No one rejects, dislikes, or avoids pleasure itself, because it is pleasure, but because those who do not know how to pursue pleasure rationally encounter consequences that are extremely painful.

Located to the south of Qingling mountain range, the species boundary between the south and the north, Yangxian is a very unique birding spot where we can see the endemic and endangered Crested Ibis. It was considered as an extinct species until 7 Crested Ibises were found in Yangxian 1980s, while the population has gradually grown up to 3000. We will spend the whole morning there until being transferred back to the train station to catch our train to Guangyuan (1 hr). We will take bus from Guangyuan and drive on a breathtaking country road to the wild Panda habitat, Tangjiahe (170 km / 4 hrs). En route, we will visit a beautiful and peaceful ancient town hide in the deep Mingshan mountain which has a history over 1700 years.

We will spend the whole days searching and photographing wildlife in the reserve. The reserve is one of the best places in China to search for mammals include Sichuan Takin, Tibetan Macaque, Rhesus Macaque, Reeves’ Montjac, Tufted Deer, Yellow-throated Marten, Chinese Goral, Serow and even the rare Asian Black Bear. Here is also a very good site to search for Golden Pheasant and other forest birds. If we are lucky, we may also have a chance to see the fascinating but scarce Tawny Fish Owl.

Continuing our exploration in Tangjiahe NNR in the morning. In the afternoon, we drive to Qingchuan train station (120 km / 2.5 hrs) to catch our bullet train to Chengdu (1.5 hrs).

Start early this morning to catch up with the active time of Pandas at different ages and quiet time in the morning, so that we can enjoy some less-crowded stay at the Chengdu Panda Base (15 km / 35 mins). Here we also have good chance to see birds such as Red-billed Leiothrix, White-browed Laughingthrush, Chinese Bulbul, etc. Followed lunch, we drive to Sanxingdui museum (50 km / 50 mins) where we can learn about the bright ancient Shu civilization formed about 3000 to 5000 years ago by exploring the large amount of artefacts, including huge bronze masks, gold, Jade and Ivory. All these delicate artifacts are believed to be used as sacred sacrificial objects during an ancient religious and sacrificial ceremony. At night time, an optional Sichuan Opera (Face changing show) is available if you have interests.

In the early morning, we will drive to Qingcheng mountain (65 kms / 1.5 hrs), one of the most famous Taoist mountains in China, we will do a light hiking along the winding paved stone steps which lead us to the Taoism monastery on the top. In the afternoon, we will visit Dujiangyan Irrigation System nearby. It is an ancient irrigation system originally constructed around 256 BC by the State of Qin as an irrigation and flood control project, it is the only old no-dam irrigation system still in use today. To visit the site, we will not only be able to appreciate the engineering but also appreciate the beautiful temples and landscape in the area. Followed our visit, we will drive back to Chengdu.

We will drive you to the airport to catch your flight, AlpineBirding service ends. We can arrange some city culture or sightseeing activities if your time permits.