Drive 3 hours to Rebkong, a Tibetan town with lots of culture and local flavor.
Eat lunch at a local Tibetan restaurant
Spend the afternoon exploring the labyrinthine alleys of the monastery to find out what life as a monk is really like. Then hike above the Rebkong Monastery for an excellent view of the town. Eat dinner in town including some freshly made yak yoghurt
Sleep at a nice hotel or homestay in Rebkong town

Spend the morning viewing two historically important icons of Rebkong town: a traditional Tibetan boot handicraft shop and a small monastery outside of town that is famous for its hand painted Tibetan Thangkas. We will watch professionally trained artists as they meticulously paint gold leaf images of Buddha and colorful portraits of Buddhism and its surrounding lore. We will eat lunch in Rebkong and spend the afternoon strolling alongside the bustling merchants of the local Tibetan market.
Eat dinner in town
Sleep at a nice hotel or homestay in Rebkong town

From Rebkong, drive 2 hours to Labrang Monastery at an elevation of 2900m / 9512 feet.
Labrang was by far the largest and most influential monastery in Amdo and is Tibetan Buddhism's most important monastery town outside the Tibetan Autonomous Region. Today it has 1,500 active monks and nuns. In the afternoon we will get a chance to see the Tibetan monk debates where they debate important theological principles using a loud clapping of the hands.
Eat lunch at a local Tibetan restaurant.
Walk around Labrang monastery in the afternoon and see the monk debates in the monastery.
Sleep in a hotel in Labrang.

We will view the markets around our hotel and then take off out of Labrang town to begin a two day horse trek into the mountains and grasslands.
Sleep in Tibetan Homestay or Tibetan nomad tent

Horse trek back to town in morning
Lunch in Labrang or on the way back to Xining.
It is a 6 hour drive back to Xining and on the way we will drive through some of the most expansive and ecologically important grasslands on the Tibetan Plateau. We will also drive through a very deep gorge alongside a rushing river that waters the high altitude grasslands. Return to Xining for a late dinner.