China’s Sacred Landscapes:

May 9 – 29, 2010
Led by Professor Robert Thorp


This tour beckons us to experience China as it was in ages past: its walled cities, vibrant temples and mountain scenery. The emphasis is on three regions, each distinctive in character and landscape, where a significant quantity of ancient architecture survives into the 21st century. Shanxi province boasts more ancient buildings than any other part of China today, and we experience several of its jewels–the ancient temples of Wutaishan and Datong, as well as the grottoes at Yungang and Tianlongshan. The area around Mount Tai in Shandong offers not only the most important of China’s sacred peaks, but also the enduring shrine to Confucius, with its temples and tombs. Lastly, Hangzhou seduces the traveler with its own attractions amid the rolling hills and waterways surrounding West Lake, long a premier beauty spot in China. There is time in this tour to wander in smaller towns, where life goes on oblivious to the pressures of our modern age.

Sunday, Monday, May 9 & 10: BEIJING: Independent departures from our home cities, arriving into Beijing on Monday. We will transfer to the Sino-Swiss Beijing Airport Hotel.

Tuesday, May 11: DATONG: Our tour begins with a drive to Datong by way of the historic Nankou Pass through the Great Wall and across the steppe margins, China’s historic northern frontier. This afternoon we visit the new City Museum and, time permitting, walk the old city. Garden Hotel.
Meals: Breakfast, lunch & dinner

Wednesday, May 12: DATONG: Influenced by Buddhist ideas brought via the Silk Road, the Northern Wei court and nobility created the Yungang Cave-Chapels, now a World Heritage Site, with 45 major caves and over 50,000 images. We will see all of the twenty major chapels in our morning tour. Our touring continues with major monuments built during the eleventh and twelfth centuries: Huayan Temple (Liao and Jin, 1038 and 1140) and Shanhua Temple (Jin, 1123-48). The main halls of these temples contain a wealth of mural painting, ceramic sculpture and fine architectural details.
Meals: Breakfast & lunch

Thursday, May 13: DATONG: We will spend the full day out of Datong visiting the Xuankong (Suspended in Air) Temple, built high up on the side of a cliff on the Hengshan Mountain (Sacred Peak of the North) and a true feat of engineering. From there we continue to the Yingxian Pagoda, at nine stories and 67 meters in height, the oldest wooden pagoda in all of China (Liao, 1056).
Meals: Breakfast, lunch & dinner

Friday, May 14: WUTAISHAN: This scenic day’s drive brings us to Wutai (Five Terrace) Mountain, the sacred Buddhist mountain dedicated to Manjusri, the Great Bodhisattva of Wisdom, and now a popular summer retreat. We will enter by the Eastern Terrace (the “Ocean Viewing Terrace”) and walk to its summit. We overnight in Taihuai, the center of the 108 temples on the mountain, at the Wufeng Hotel.
Meals: Breakfast, lunch & dinner

Saturday, May 15: WUTAISHAN: Wutai has been a religious center at least since medieval times and was a popular destination for pilgrims who hoped to meet the bodhisattva while climbing the five peaks. Today we will visit three of the “five great temples,” including Pusa Ding, center for the Tibetan Yellow Hat sect; Yuanzhao Si, known for its glazed-ceramic Luohan; Xiantong Si, the seat of the ranking clerics of Wutai and renowned for its Wuliang Dian (hall without beams), and the Tayuan Si, with the largest Tibetan dagoba in all China (1407).
Meals: Breakfast, lunch & dinner

Sunday, Monday, May 16 & 17: PINGYAO: This morning we will visit two Tang (618-907) temples, Nanchan Temple, the oldest wooden structure in all of China (782), and Foguang Si. Its main hall, built in 857, is the most impressive example of Tang architecture still extant. We then drive to Pingyao, an intact Ming-period walled city (ca. 1570) and now a World Heritage Site, with its wonderful old narrow streets lined with elegant Ming and Qing shops and houses. Our touring will include a visit to the Shuanglin Temple (Ming period) to see its extraordinary Buddhist clay sculptural ensembles (over 1,500 images). There will be time to explore this delightful old town from our restored historic hotel, the Yun Jin Cheng Hotel.
Meals: Breakfast & lunch & 1 dinner

Tuesday, May 18: TAIYUAN: We continue to Taiyuan, an important regional center since the Bronze Age and a secondary capital for the Northern Qi (550-77) and Tang. We will visit the Shanxi Provincial Museum, rich in archaeological artifacts from the Eastern Wei and Northern Qi dynasties (sixth century) and the Tang. South of the city is the ancient Jin Ci (Jin Shrine, main hall, 1023-31), with its many lovely buildings and springs. Also outside the city, amid spectacular scenery, we visit the Tianlongshan Cave-Chapels (Eastern Wei, Northern Qi and Tang periods). World Trade Hotel.
Meals: Breakfast, lunch & dinner

Wednesday, May 19: QUFU: This morning we will fly via Beijing to Jinan, capital of Shandong province, a handsome city known for its many hills and bubbling springs. We will visit the new Provincial Museum, where a wealth of recent discoveries is on display. We then continue to the charming walled town of Qufu, birthplace of Confucius (551-479 BCE). Queli Hotel.
Meals: Breakfast, lunch & dinner

Thursday, May 20: QUFU: Our day will be spent visiting the Temple of Confucius (Kong Miao), his tomb and family cemetery (Kong Lin) and the Confucian Mansion (Kong Fu), all World Heritage Sites and a complex that rivals the Forbidden City in Beijing in complexity and variety. This evening we will attend an evening cultural program.
Meals: Breakfast, lunch & dinner

Friday, May 21: TAISHAN: We will spend the full day on Taishan (Mount Tai, the Sacred Peak of the East, elevation 1,545 meters), the most important of the Five Holy Mountains associated with the imperial cult and Taoism. Our ascent will be by minivan to the Middle Gate of Heaven and cable car to the Street of Heaven. We will walk to the Grand View Terrace, with its notable rock-cut inscriptions, and climb to the true peak (1,545 meters); here six emperors performed the august Feng and Shan sacrifices. We will also pay our respects to the powerful goddess of the mountain, Bixia Yuanjun (Our Lady). Ramada Plaza Hotel.
Meals: Breakfast, lunch & dinner

Saturday, May 22: JINAN: Today we drive to Zibo City to explore the ancient capital of the kingdom of Qi at Linzi. The most populous and wealthy of the Warring States, Qi was the last to surrender to the Qin in 221 BCE. We also visit the nearby Qingzhou Museum, with a notable collection of hundreds of excavated Buddhist images dating from the sixth to eleventh centuries, some shown recently in Washington, DC. Huibao Hotel.

Meals: Breakfast, lunch & dinner daily

Sunday, May 23: HANGZHOU: Our short tour around Jinan will feature the Lingyan Si in a magical setting below an imposing cliff with an ancient hall, magnificent Ming Luohan sculptures, one of the oldest pagodas (994) and an impressive grove of burial pagodas. We then take an afternoon flight to Hangzhou, the southern terminus of the Grand Canal, renowned for its natural beauty, and a capital during the Southern Song (1127-1279). We will spend the next four nights at the luxurious Sofitel West Lake Hotel.
Meals: Breakfast, lunch & dinner

Monday, May 24: HANGZHOU: Today we begin our touring of Hangzhou on West Lake, with an initial stop at the Leifeng Pagoda for a panoramic view. The afternoon features a visit to Lingyin Si, a large and active center of Buddhist devotions, and Feilai Peak, with its Yuan-era cliff-face carvings. As we travel from island to island amid the flowering lilies, we will experience the atmospheric landscapes that have inspired artists and poets for centuries.
Meals: Breakfast & lunch

Tuesday, May 25: HANGZHOU: Our touring today will include the Zhejiang Provincial Museum, rich in jades and celadons, Guo Zhuang, an elegant garden estate on the West Lake shore, and the impressive mansion of Hu Xueyan, one of the largest domestic complexes preserved in China.
Meals: Breakfast & lunch

Wednesday, May 26: HANGZHOU: Our last day features the newly refurbished Confucian Temple, site of the Song Imperial Academy, with its unique steles, and the Southern Song Guan Yao Site and Museum, the most important imperial kiln excavated in all of China. The remainder of the day will be at leisure to enjoy this place on our own.
Meals: Breakfast

Thursday, Friday, Saturday, May 27, 28 & 29: SHANGHAI: We will return to Shanghai by morning train. This evening we will celebrate our farewell dinner in one of Shanghai’s fine restaurants. Our last morning will be spent at the Shanghai Museum. The afternoon will be at leisure for last-minute shopping and strolls on the Bund. Saturday we will transfer to the airport for our departure flights. Westin Bund Center Hotel.
Meals: Breakfast daily & 1 dinner