TOURS

Pre-conference tour(Cancel)

l Lhasa-Nyingchi (Mountain soil) - Chengdu；Cost: $1400

1  Lhasa

Lhasa, the capital of China's Tibet Autonomous Region, has a history of more than 1,300 years. It is the political, economic, cultural and transport center of the region. Lhasa covers an area of close to 30,000 square km. It has a downtown of 544 square km and a population of 400,000; 140,000 of its people live in the downtown area. Lhasa is home to the Tibetan, Han, and Hui peoples, as well as many other ethnic groups, but the Tibetan ethnic group makes up 87 percent of the total population. Lhasa has beautiful scenery. The Lhasa River, known as the "merry blue waves," runs through the snow-covered peaks and gullies of the Nyainqentanglha Mountains, extending 315 km. The river empties into the Yarlung Zangbo River at Quxu, forming a scenic wonder that features blue and white water waves. The ancient city of Lhasa stands by the Lhasa River. Inside the city towers the Potala Palace. The city features a combination of traditional and modern things, including prayer wheels and computers. Located at the bottom of a small basin surrounded by mountains, Lhasa has an elevation of 3,650 meters and sits at 91'06E and 29'36N, the center of the Tibet Plateau. Blessed with flat land and mild weather, Lhasa is free of frigid winters and unbearably hot summers, having an annual average daily temperature of 8 degrees C (43 degrees F). It enjoys 3,000 hours of sunlight annually, much more than all other cities in this regard, giving the city its title of "sunlit city." Lhasa enjoys an annual precipitation of 500 mm. It rains mainly in July, August and September. The rainy seasons in the summer and fall are the best seasons of the year, when it rains mostly at night, and is sunny in the daytime.

2  Nyingchi & Mountain soil

Nyingchi, "throne of the sun" in Tibetan, is located in southeast Tibet, where the Himalaya Mountains and Nyainqentanglha Mountains extend from west to east, like parallel huge dragons, to join the Hengduan Mountains in the east. It is adjacent to Yunan and Qamdo to the east and northeast, Naqu to the north, Lhasa to the west and Shannan to the southwest. It is a neighbor to India and Myanmar to the south with a border as long as 1,006.5 km. Nyingchi area, with a total area of 117,000 square km and a population of more than 140,000, has 7 counties under its jurisdiction: Nyingchi, Mainling, Gongbo'gyamda, Medog, Bome, Zaya and Nang. With green mountain slopes, snow-capped peaks and crystal-clear rivers, Nyingchi looks just like heaven on the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau.

²       Spt. 6  Chengdu/Beijing flight to Lhasa

²       Spt. 7  Lhasa sightseeing

²       Spt. 8  Namtso Lake

²       Spt. 9  Linzhi

²       Spt. 10  Linzhi Cypress Forest

²       Spt. 11  Linzhi airport dropping off (to Chengdu)

Mid-conference tour

lSanxindui (paddy soil) + Longqian Hill (purple soil)；Cost: free

1  Sanxingdui & Paddy Soils     

The site of Sanxingdui, located at Guanghan 40km from Chengdu, is recognized as the most important ancient remains of the Sichuan region for its vast size, long lasting period and enriched cultural contents. Sanxingdui is another source of Chinese civilization. The unique and wonderful Sanxingdui culture civilization tells us that the source of Chinese civilization is pluralistic. There was not only the Yellow River civilization, but also the Yangtze River civilization in China. Sanxingdui represents the Yangtze River civilization.

Paddy soils Paddy soils are formed in the processes of long term utilization and reclamation by mankind, their distribution is influenced not only by the natural conditions but also by the socio-economic activities. The paddy land has been developed since the Sanxindui culture (more than 4000 years ago)

Purple soils, derived from sedimentary rocks formed during Mesozoic Era (Periods of Triassic, Jurassic, Cretaceous) and Tertiary Period, are valuable agricultural soil resources in China. Purple soils are characterized by rapidity of soil formation, complexity of mineral composition, richness of nutrients in soils, loam in texture, good tilth and high productivity of soils.

lTour 1: Chengdu-Jiuzhaigou (Mountain soil)-Chengdu；Cost: $650  (Cancel)

1  Jiuzhai valley

Jiuzhaigou Valley, reputed as a "fairyland", is located in Jiuzhaigou County of the Aba Tibetan and Qiang Nationality Autonomous Prefecture in Sichuan Province. An integration of green lakes, multi-layered waterfalls, forests and snow-mountains with Tibetan culture and customs, it become a well known scenic area and a natural reserve for wild animals and plants in China with its naturally-endowed and uniquely beautiful sceneries. It was listed in the World Natural Heritages in 1992.

Huanglong (Yellow Dragon) Scenic Area, also in northern Sichuan’s Aba Tibetan and Qiang Autonomous Prefecture, neighbors the Jiuzhaigou Scenic Area. It was named after the ancient Huanglong Temple within the area. The main attraction of the valley is the 3.6-kilometer-long and 30 to 70-meter-wide pale yellow calcareous deposits. At the end of the valley, water from melting snow mixes with limestone water from underground, flowing down the mountain terraces, depositing the calcium carbonate from the limestone water on the rocks, stones, and fallen branches in its path. The calcium carbonate, in turn, develops into solid, low travertine banks and reacts chemically with organic and inorganic substances, resulting in various kinds of calcareous deposits that reflect a golden color in the sunlight in the water that flows down the slopes just like a huge yellow dragon flying down the snow mountain. When water flows into two separate streams, it naturally turns into more colorful lakes and waterfalls, forming a ladder-shaped lake group.

²        Spt. 16  Chengdu-Jiuzhaigou Day01 

²        Spt. 17  Jiuzhaigou

²        Spt. 18  Jiuzhaigou-huanglong-Maoxian

²        Spt. 19  Maoxian-Dujiangyan-Chengdu

lTour 2: Chengdu-Chongqing-Zhongxian(Purple soil)-Yichang；Cost: $900  

1  Chongqing & Three Gorges Museum

Chongqing is one of the China's biggest municipality as well as one of the very large cities in the world; the economic center; the hub of water, land, and air transportation in Southwest China with busy rivers and highways radiating in all directions; and an inland river port with foreign trade in the west of China. And reputed for its wonderful scenery.

The Three Gorges Museum is situated opposite the Chongqing People's Hall. It is not only the largest monographic museum, but is also a public undertaking for the preservation, education, scientific research in respect of cultural relics and the natural environment of Chongqing and the Three Gorges area. The exterior of the museum has cambered walls and vitreous dome, representing the historical culture of Three Gorges project and its origins. In addition, there are large-scale reliefs, bronze sculptures and an 'Ecological Corridor' that is one kilometer in length (about 1,094 yards).

Zhongxian County is located at the central zone of Chongqing covering a land area of 2,184 km² with a population of 969,400. The County has a long history; it is one of the birthplaces of the ancient Ba Civilization. There are rich tourist resources including the Pearl of River - Shibaozhai Castle, which is one of the world’s 8 architectural wonders. As the central of the Three Gorges area, the county is mostly covered by purple soils.

Yichang City is located at Longitude 110°15' E to 112°04' E, Latitude29°56' N to 31°34' N . At the west of China's Hubei Province,Yichang is where the middle and upper reaches of the Yangtze River are divided. Thanks to its advantageous geographic location, Yichang has been defined as a distributing center, an important trading port and a transportation hub along the Yangtze river linking west Hubei and east Sichuan since ancient times. For a very long time, it has been renown as "Gateway to the Three Gorges", and "Throat between Sichuan and Hubei". Today,Yichang remains a brisk river port of China, controlling the access to Chongqing City to its southwest.

²        Spt. 16  Chengdu-Chongqing (bus)

²        Spt. 17  Zhongxian (bus)

²        Spt. 18  Zhongxian-Yichang (overnight ship)

²       Spt. 19  Yichang airport dropping off

lTour 3: Xian(Terra-cotta Warriors; loess)-Beijing(Great Wall)；Cost: $850  

The museum is located 1.5 kilometers east of the Mausoleum of the First Emperor Qin Shihuang. The emperor's terra cotta army was found in three underground timber lined vaults. Pit 1 contained chariots and ranks of six thousand soldiers. Pit 2 held fourteen hundred figures of cavalrymen, horses and infantrymen, along with ninety wooden chariots. Pit 3 contained about seventy figures. Excavating them has been a massive undertaking. To date, more than a thousand warriors have been reassembled.

The Loess Plateau is a plateau that covers an area of some 640,000 km² in the upper and middle parts of China's Yellow River. Loess is the name for the silty soil that has been deposited by wind storms on the plateau over the ages. Loess is a highly erosion-prone soil that is susceptible to the forces of wind and water. The Loess Plateau was formed over long geologic times, and scientists have derived valuable information about global climate change from samples taken from the deep layer of its silty soil. Hundreds of years of deforestation and over-grazing, exacerbated by China's population increase, have resulted in degenerated ecosystems, desertification, and poor local economies. However in 1994 a project known as the Loess Plateau Rehabilitation Project was launched to help try and reverse this desertification and this goal has been achieved for a sizeable area of the Loess Plateau.

The Great Wall was built in Qin Dynasty by the first emperor of China. Countless slaves used earth, brick and stone to build it in order to keep our invaders and Hun from the attack. Now the Great Wall is over 6000 kilometers and also one of the seven great wonders of the world.

²        Spt. 16  Chengdu-Xi’an (flight)

²        Spt. 17  Xi’an (overnight train)

²        Spt. 18  Beijing (Great Wall)

²        Spt. 19  Beijing airport dropping off