china private tour luoyang longmen grottoes

The Buddha Path

Set out on a pilgrimage through five provinces as you piece together the history of Buddhism in the Middle Kingdom. You'll marvel at cave art in far-flung desert grottoes, defy gravity in the "Hanging Monastery," and find inspiration amid the "ten-thousand Buddhas" of sacred temples.

Let's Plan Your Trip Share

Trip Length 13 Days

from USD

$5,584 /person

Private Tour

春 spring

夏 summer

秋 fall

冬 winter

Art & Architecture , History , Cultural Immersion , Nature & Wildlife , Expeditions

What we love

Being dazzled by the 10,000 gleaming Buddha statues in one of China's oldest Buddhist temples
Marveling at the creative genius behind the breathtaking Hanging Monastery, which has been clinging to a sheer cliff face for 1,400 years
Experiencing Marco Polo's "rumbling sands," the vast expanse that is the Mingsha Sand Dunes along the Ancient Tea and Horse Road

Basic Itinerary

About This Trip

Take the road less traveled on this exploration of China's Buddhist history. Specially designed for those of you interested in understanding Buddhism's influence on Chinese life and culture, this adventure will see you traveling through five provinces as you witness wonders constructed as a result of Buddhist belief. The Hanging Monastery, which has been clinging to a sheer cliff face since the 5^th century in apparent defiance of gravity, is just one example of how Buddhist devotion has manifested itself in the most unexpected places in China. Go off the beaten path on this pilgrimage-like journey.

Detailed Itinerary | Featured Hotels

TRIP HIGHLIGHTS

- Buddhist Grottoes
- Buddhist Grottoes
- Sacred Mount Wutai
- Sacred Mount Wutai
- Chinese Buddhism

DETAILED ITINERARY

Day 1 | 3

Beijing

Begin your Beijing adventure in style as WildChina arranges private access to the concept store and gallery of Ma Ke's fashion house, Wuyong. • Explore the imposing Forbidden City, where emperors ruled for 500 years • Hike up jingshan and take in a commanding view over the Forbidden City • Weave your way through Beijing's ancient, interwoven hutong alleys • Uncover a treasure trove of Qing Dynasty curios in the Temple Hotel • Peking duck dinner • Enjoy a champagne picnic on the majestic Great Wall, built to protect China's heartland from invaders
Day 4

Datong

Stand before the awe-inspiring Yungang Grottoes, a classical masterpiece of Chinese Buddhist art constructed during Buddhism's peak in the 5^th to 6^th century • Admire the wondrous Hanging Monastery, an ancient, surreal structure of pavilions clinging to a sheer cliff
Day 5

Wutaishan

Visit Xiantong Temple, one of the oldest Buddhist temples in China with a dazzling Bronze Hall with ten thousand gleaming Buddha statues • Explore the wealth of monasteries on Mount Wutai, one of the Four Sacred Buddhist Mountains
Day 6 | 7

Pingyao

Visit the Chang Residence, former house of a distinguished merchant-scholar family • Enjoy a walk on Pingyao's turtle-shaped ancient city wall and take in a commanding view of the old town • Explore what used to be China's "Wall Street" by strolling through Pingyao's narrow streets • Head to the old merchant town of Jingsheng and visit the Wang Residence, a sprawling complex featuring Qing Dynasty architecture • Walk through the sutra chanting halls of Shuanglin Temple for a closer look at the countless bodhisattva figurines which grace the temple
Day 8 | 9

Xi'an

View the proudly unflinching, life-sized Terracotta Warriors • Learn about Xi'an's 1,300 year old Muslim community by visiting the Great Mosque • Practice the calming art of taichi in a private lesson on Xi'an's ancient city wall • Visit the grand Taoist Temple of the Eight Immortals • Wander through the exhibition halls of the "Treasure Chest of Ancient China," the Shaanxi History Museum • Admire the towering seventh-century Big Wild Goose Pagoda, built to hold sacred Buddhist texts and artifacts brought back from India
Day 10

Luoyang

Spend a day at the awe-inspiring Longmen Grottoes, where Buddhas hewn in stone tower above you • Optional: Learn about the history of Shaolin kung fu (re-popularized in the 2001 movie Shaolin Soccer) at Shaolin Temple
Day 11 | 13

Dunhuang

Set out for the Mingsha Sand Dunes, which Marco Polo dubbed "the rumbling sands" for the sound they make when the wind blows • Travel to Crescent Moon Lake, an oasis situated in the notoriously inhospitable Taklamakan Desert • Explore the Mogao Grottoes, also known as the Caves of the Thousand Buddhas, an ancient treasure trove filled with numerous manuscripts, frescoes, paintings, and sculptures (Optional special access with WildChina Expert) • Learn about Dunhuang's rich past by visiting Dunhuang Museum, home to thousands of ancient artifacts

Let's Plan Your Trip

FEATURED HOTELS

Tour Reviews

WildChina gave our family (party of 4 with two 20 something children) a truly memorable, first class touring adventure around China, a once-in-a-lifetime experience that we will remember and treasure forever. This was our first private tour anywhere. We tend to research a place and do it "our way." This trip changed my view of traveling—so much of what we did and saw could not have been accomplished on our own, and certainly without any knowledge of Mandarin. And throughout the trip, we luxuriated in the knowledge we were in the safe and savvy hands of WildChina. They made the trip extraordinary—I never could have arranged what they did and as seamlessly. We would highly recommend WildChina to anyone who is thinking about taking a trip to China and would not hesitate to book another tour with them again!
For more reviews, head to TripAdvisor

MMHLondon-Madison, Jan 2020

We had the most wonderful experience with WildChina! First, working with WildChina to plan our trip was a pleasure. They listened to where we wanted to go and the type of experiences we wanted to have, and then formulated a trip tailored to exactly what we had envisioned... I cannot say enough about our local guides and could not begin to choose which one we liked the best, because they were all fantastic. Each guide was very knowledgeable, fluent in English, and very helpful if we had a specific thing we were looking for or wanted to do in their city. The guides were amazing, the hotels were great, and, in short, our trip was perfect from start to finish, mainly because WildChina took care of all the details, large and small... If you are looking for a tour company for an amazing trip to China, I highly recommend WildChina. Cannot think of a single negative aspect of our trip. Thank you, WildChina, for orchestrating our amazing trip to China.
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Sheryl M, Oct 2019

My wife and I are vegan and were pretty worried about our ability to find decent food, but our guides were very helpful at identifying appropriate restaurants and checking with restaurant staff to make sure the dishes we ordered were vegan. Shelly in particular was the perfect combination of knowledgable, fun, flexible, kind, interesting, and accommodating. We were truly sad to say goodbye to her at the airport, and I suspect my wife is already thinking about making another trip to Yunnan province to visit her again!
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Rallanah, Jul 2019

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The Buddha Path

What we love

Basic Itinerary

About This Trip

TRIP HIGHLIGHTS

DETAILED ITINERARY

Beijing

Datong

Wutaishan

Pingyao

Xi'an

Luoyang

Dunhuang

FEATURED HOTELS

Garden Hotel Datong

Hilton Xian

Park Plaza Beijing

Silk Road Hotel Dunhuang

Tour Reviews

SIMILAR JOURNEYS