The Buddha Path

Step off the plane in Beijing and meet your local guide in the airport arrivals hall • Explore the Forbidden City, a 600-year-old imperial palace once exclusive to royalty • Walk through ancient hutongs, stopping by the homes of some of the city’s more traditional residents • Savor Peking duck: watch lacquer-crisp skin crack like caramel, then cradle imperial perfection in whisper-thin pancakes • Conquer Jinshanling Great Wall while hiking along ramparts that defended China’s northern frontier.

Board the high-speed train and travel to Datong • Marvel at the 5th-century Yungang Grottoes, where cave art represents the successful fusion of Buddhist religious symbolic art and Chinese traditions • Admire the wondrous Hanging Monastery, an ancient, surreal structure of pavilions clinging to a sheer cliff.

Journey to sacred Mount Wutai (Wutaishan), the “Five Terrace Mountains” and earthly abode of Bodhisattva Manjusri, where pilgrims and gaokao students alike seek wisdom • 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. Immerse in devout serenity, breathing incense-laced air alongside saffron-robed monks and pilgrims.

Visit the Wang Family Residence, the sprawling courtyard estate of a once-prosperous local family • Enjoy a walk on Pingyao’s turtle-shaped ancient city wall and take in a commanding view of the old town • Explore Zhangbi Underground Castle, an ancient defense structure with a network of underground tunnels • Stroll down 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.

Ride to Xi’an on bullet train • Walk atop Xi’an’s ancient city wall and enjoy a commanding view of the old city • Pilgrimage to the Great Mosque, where Islam thrived in China after arriving via the Silk Road a thousand years ago • Follow the scent of cumin and grilled lamb through Xi’an’s vibrant Muslim Quarter, where Silk Road flavors have thrived for 1,300 years • Marvel at 8,000 life-sized Terracotta Warriors standing guard for China’s first emperor over 2,200 years • Admire Xi’an’s iconic Big and Small Wild Goose Pagodas blending Indian, Persian, and Chinese influences • Experience Xi’an with more than just your eyes by sampling some of Xi’an’s famous dumplings at a renowned local restaurant.

Spend a day at the awe-inspiring Longmen Grottoes, where Buddhas hewn in stone tower above you • Visit legendary Shaolin Temple to learn kung fu alongside student monks.

Fly to Dunhuang • Set out for the Mingsha Sand Dunes, which Marco Polo dubbed “the rumbling sands” for the sound they make when the wind blows. Hidden within these golden waves lies Crescent Moon Lake, an oasis situated in the notoriously inhospitable Taklamakan Desert • Score a thrift haul at Shazhou night market, bargaining for handicrafts, tea and local products as Silk Road traders once did • 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 • Learn about Dunhuang’s rich past by visiting Dunhuang Museum, home to thousands of ancient artifacts • Your local guide will escort you to the airport and help you check in for your flight home.