This schedule does not have qigong practice or discussion times in it.

Day 1: Meet at San Francisco Intl. Airport Cross the International Date Line. We will learn Qigong Techniques for Travelers before departure and have a “recovery from jet lag” session after we arrive.

 Day 2:  Arrive in Beijing . Transfer to our hotel at Fragrant Hills, a  beautiful 4,000 acre park overlooking Beijing. Free time to leisurely tour the park’s interesting sites including the Temple of The Azure Clouds and Diamond Throne Pagoda. We will also take a 20 minute chair lift to the summit to enjoy panoramic views of the forested hills and Summer Palace. Every evening, there will be an opportunity for our group to gather and discuss the lessons and activities of the day.

 Day  3:  Early morning Qigong class with Mark and  Rebecca. Then off to the Forbidden City, home to China’s emperors, with its 9,999 rooms, immense courtyards, and palaces. After lunch we will explore the Summer Palace. Peking Duck banquet followed by evening discourse and sharing.   

 Day 4: Early morning Qigong class, then travel to the Great Wall. We will explore a beautiful and less touristy part of the wall and take a leisurely stroll or practice Qigong on its summit. Dinner will be followed by evening discourse. 

 Day 5: Morning Qigong in Fragrant Hills Park, followed by flight to Chengdu. After settling into our comfortable accommodations we will have free time to explore the area. In the afternoon we will visit the Daoist at famous Qingyang (Green Sheep) Temple and tour the printing house with over 10,000 ancient, hand carved wood blocks still used to print the Daoist Canon.  Dinner will be a Banquet of famous Sichuan cuisine followed by evening discourse and sharing. In the evening we will enjoy the Sichuan Opera famous for its amazing performances, including the incredible mask changing show. (get a foot massage during the show)

 Day 6: Panda Research Center; photograph Giant Pandas and the smaller Red Pandas and their adorable babies in their natural habitat. (make a donation to hold baby pandas) In the afternoon tour section of the city recreating the Han Dynasty. Qingcheng Mt; Ride Scenic Cable Car; Ferry on Yuecheng Lake; Tianshidong Temple; Daoist Banquet; Lodging in the temple guesthouse under the protective branches of an sacred 1,000 year old ginkgo tree.

 Day 7:  Early morning Qigong in the temple courtyard followed by free time to explore the mountain trails and temples.  Special afternoon Chinese Calligraphy class by Mark is always a highlight of our trips. Even the local Chinese are fascinated by the evolution of their writing. Banquet Dinner then evening discourse and sharing

Day 8: Morning Qigong in Tianshi Dong Temple courtyard,, then we are on our way to visit several ancient temples as we leisurely journey to the foot of the mountain. Return to Chengdu. Afternoon fly to Kunming, and then to Dali, in Yunnan province. The town is a free wheeling hangout for both western and Chinese travelers, and a jumping off point for nearby Tibet, Burma, and Thailand. Many different tribal peoples live here. We will take a chair lift up a beautiful pine forest to a peak overlooking one of china’s largest lakes. Atop the peak is lovely Zhong Ye Taoist Temple. Dali.

Day 9: Spend the entire day at Weibao Mountain, which is covered with dozens of Taoist temples that originate back in the Tang Dynasty (6-9th cen). Each temple has a different theme, i.e. to the Planets, or to the Three Pure Ones, Temple of Green Vapor, etc. Many have enthusiastic young monks and nuns. Much of the art work was protected during the cultural revolution by local people and by the inaccessibility of the high mountain. Dali.

Day 10: Transfer by bus from Dali to Lijiang, absorbing the beautiful Yunnan scenery. We may stop to explore some ruins along the way. Lijiang has the spectacular Jade Dragon Snow mountain looming above it, and has the best preserved wooden old city of anywhere in China (UN declared the town a World Heritage Site). The market here is quite lively, with the fabulous Yunnan teas and lovely ethnic crafts. We will enjoy a tribal Naxi concert, which is actually classical Taoist music that has been preserved only in this part of China. Lijiang.

Day 11: Visit to Tiger Leaping Gorge, headwaters of the Yangtze River, the "Grand Canyon of China". We will do Primordial qigong next to these primal cataracts, which are threatened by dam planners. Yunnan - totally different pace of life from the rest of China. It primal landscape is well suited to the Taoist temperament.

Day 12: Lhasa, Tibet: one of the most spectacular places on earth. Lodging in a beautiful Tibetan style hotel near Jorkang Temple, the most sacred temple in Tibet. In the afternoon we will tour Barkhor Street Bazzar, a commercial hub of the Himalayas for 1,000 years, and an opportunity for some extraordinary international shopping.

Day 13: Tour the Dali Lama’s Summer Palace, Jorkang Temple, afternoon tour of the Tibetan Traditional Hospital to learn the unique Tibetan way of keeping healthy and get a free pulse diagnosis. In the evening we will enjoy a special Banquet of Tibetan food with Tibetan Dancing shows.

Day 14: Tour the Potala, one of the architectural wonders of the world; Tibetan Carpet Factory, Sera Monastery, if we are fortunate we will observe the monks debating Buddhism in Sera monastery. Dinner followed by evening discourse and sharing.

Day 15: Day trip to beautiful turquoise Yamdrok Lake, one of Tibet’s 4 sacred lakes. Along the way, we will travel over Kambala Pass where we will Ride a Yak at 16,000 feet. Then we visit a Tibetan family in their home and share in their daily life.

Day 16: Depart for Chengdu. Free time to explore Chengdu, do a bit of shopping and prepare for our departure to the US in the morning. Farewell Banquet followed by our last evening of discussion and sharing.

Day 17: In the morning we will have our last Qigong class. We will depart for the USA in the afternoon and arrive the same day after crossing the International Dateline.

Daily Classes in Qigong, Tai Chi, Meditation (optional)

Mark Johnson will teach: Early Morning Warm-Ups including Stimulation and Detox of every cell in the body; Five Healing Sounds and Colors; Joint Loosening; Eight Extra Meridian Qigong; Internal Alchemy; Brain Stimulation Techniques and Integrating our Physical, Meridian and Auric Bodies.