Summary

For this 9 days Yunnan classic tour, you will visit the highlights of Kunming, Dali, Lijiang and Shangri-La. This is also a minority discovery tour, because you will find minority diversity during your trip, the minorities such as Yis, Bais, Naxis and Tibetan. Moreover, the Tiger Leaping Gorge will be the most impressive part of your trip, you could be shocked by the ruggedness and magnificence of Tiger Leaping Gorge and the mountains around when you are there. This part can not be missed. You will have one day to visit the Muslim area in Wenshan County of Dali.

Day 1 Arrive in Kunming

Sightseeing and Activities:Arrive in Kunming

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Welcome to Kunming, the Spring City of China! Upon arrival at the Kunming airport/train station, the local tour guide and driver will meet you in the arrival hall and escort you to your hotel.You'll begin your journey to the diverse and captivating province of Yunnan from the capital city, Kunming.

Day 2 Kunming - Stone Forest - Kunming( B , L )

Sightseeing and Activities:the Stone Forest, Nancheng Mosque, Flowers and Birds Market

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After breakfast, you’ll be driven 86 km to the renowned Stone Forest, the 'First Wonder of the World'. You'll marvel at its natural stone masterpieces and be bewitched by the intricate formations. You feel like come into a 'stone world'. You'll marvel at its natural stone masterpieces and be bewitched by the intricate formations. You feel like come into a 'stone world'.The Stone Forest is in Shilin Yi Nationality Autonomous County, which is about 120 kilometers from Kunming and requires only a three-hour drive. It covers an area of 400 square kilometers (96,000 acres) and includes both large and small stone forests, as well as many other scenic spots. The Stone Forest has unique karst topography which is one of the best of its kind within China.

Afterwards, visit a minority village of Sani People, to admire their colorful minority costumes and exotic tradition cultures. You'll have a nice chance to listen to the touching love story of Ashima told by local old people. The Sani minority people are one group of the branches of the Yi. The Sani Minority Villages around the Stone Forest cluster many small Yi ethnic villages.

After the tour, be transferred to Kunming and visit Nancheng Mosque and Flowers and Birds Market in the downtown.

Day 3 Kunming - Dali by Train( B , L )

Sightseeing and Activities:The Three Pagodas of Chongsheng Temple,Erhai Lake cruise, Jinsuo Islet, Dali Ancient Town, the Ancient City Wall, the Foreigner Street

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Take the morning flight to Dali, meet your local guide and transfer to the hotel in Dali Ancient Town. Dali which is a historically and culturally famous city of China, is renowned for her historical interest and Bai ethnic culture.

After that, you will visit the Three Pagodas in Chongshen Monastery which has a history of over 1,800 years located at the foot of Cangshan Mountain facing to the Erhai Lake. Three Pagodas are made of three ancient independent pagodas forming a symmetrical triangle.

After lunch, cruise in Erhai Lake by the small boat to the Jinsuo Islet in the east Erhai Lake. There are 200 Bai ethnic families around 1000 people in Jinsuo Island.In Erhai Lake cruise, you will enjoy the green Cangshan Mountain and the Three Pagodas from a far as well as lots of birds and seagulls flying over the lake.

Afterwards, visit Dali Ancient Town which is 13 kilometers away from Xiaguan in Dali City. It can be dated back to the year 1382 during the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) and has been among the top listed historical cities of China since 1982. With Erhai Lake to the east, and Cangshan Mountain to the west, its grand city wall, traditional Bai ethnic minority folk houses and marvelous scenery have been attracting many visitors. The tour in Dali Ancietn Town will include the Forigners Street,the Gate Towers and the Ancient City Wall.Walk along the ancient street and arrive the south entrance to Dali Ancient Town,pay a visi to the Ancient City Wall of Dali which was built in the 15th year of Hongwu in the Ming dynasty (AD1382) after the Ming army occupied Dali. Backing on the Mt. Cangshan and facing the Erhai, it is 7.5 meters high and 6 meters deep rounding an area of 36 square kilometers. Nowadays, only some parts of the north and south ancient wall were still standing.

Day 4 Dali-Weishan-Dali( B , L )

Sightseeing and Activities:Weishan County, Weibaoshan Mountain, Weishan Old Town, Donglianhua Village, Muslim Mosque

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After breakfast, drive about one hour to Weishan Yi and Hui Autonomous County. Visit East Lotus Village(Donglianhua Village) before arrival in Weishan Ancient Town. Donglianhua Village also has rich minority and strong Muslim customs. The most outstanding representative is the Donglianhua Mosque in the village. Donglianhua Mosque is a major attraction in Donglianhua Village. This large-scaled mosque built in unique folk style is a great destination for the admiration of Muslim architecture and culture. Drive to visit Weibaoshan Mountain at the first which is one of the 14 China's most famous Daoist holy mountains.

Come back to Weishan Ancient Town, visit Big and Small Temples on the way. You will explore Weishan Ancient Town in the afternoon. Weishan Ancient Town was built more than 600 years ago. There are a lot of ancient buildings in it. The magnificent Building Gongchen is the symbol of the ancient city.

After that, drive back to Dali.

Day 5 Dali-Lijiang( B , L )

Sightseeing and Activities:Xizhou Old Town, Xizhou Morning Market,Zhoucheng Village,Bai Ethnic Tie-dying Cloth Workshop,Lijiang Old Town

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In the morning,you will head for Xizhou Town to fully appreciate Bai-style traditional architectural courtyards, taste their fragrant Three-Course Tea and explore their distinctive culture. Xizhou is our home. This little village has been called ‘a living art museum’ due to its unusual concentration of nationally protected heritage sites, mostly including architecture that spans the Ming Dynasty (1368 – 1644) until the creation of New China in 1949, but also includes centuries old trees, parks, and wildlife preserves.

Strolling through the morning market and main walking street will reveal a vibrant town with a healthy mix of traditional Bai culture and modern influence from Eastern China and abroad. It is the balance of development and forward thinking that exists in Xizhou that makes it special.

After Xizhou,visit Zhoucheng Village which is the largest Bai ethnic village in China and the Bai Ethnic Tie-dying Cloth Workshop where you can take some special souvenir with the Bai ethnic style. The tie-dyeing products in Zhoucheng Village are well sought after, both at home and abroad. Do drop by and witness for yourself the process of this historical craftsmanship. Who knows, you will return home with some cheap and beautiful crafted cloths.

Transfer to Lijiang in the afternoon. You will be relaxed around Lijiang Old Town, a well-preserved old city of ethnic minorities with brilliant culture, is a central town of the Lijiang Autonomous County of the Naxi Ethnic Minority in Yunnan Province. Located on the plateau which is 2,400 meters above the sea level and embraced by the tree-covered Lion Mountain in the west, Elephant and Golden Row Mountains in the north, vast fertile fields in the southeast and crystal clear water running through, the old town looks like a big jade ink slab, therefore got the alias the Town of Big Ink Slab (Dayanzhen).

Day 6 Lijiang( B , L )

Sightseeing and Activities:Jade Dragon Snow Mountain,Spruce Meadow,Baishui River and Terraces ,Impression Lijiang Show,Yuhu Village and the Former Residence of Joseph Rock,Baisha Old Town,Baisha Murals

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Enjoy the sunrise of the Jade Dragon Snow Mountain and Lijiang Ancient Town in the morning, drive about 30KM to Ganhaizi Meadow(3100M), you will take the sightseeig bus for a short visiting through the Baishuihe River in Blue Moon Valey, take the chairlift up to visit Jade Dragon Snow Mountain. The cableway will be arranged according to the condition of the mountain. You will hike around 1 hours in the original forest in Spruce Meadow (3200M).

After lunch, enjoy Impression Lijiang Show which is A Spectacular Show with Jade Dragon Snow Mountain as the Backdrop, directed by the famous director Zhang Yimou.

Impression Lijiang is a magnificent outdoor singing and dancing performance demonstrating the tradition and lifestyle of the local ethnic people. It is another creation of famous Chinese director Zhang Yimou.The show is innovatively staged in the morning and afternoon, at 3,100 meters (10,100 feet) above sea level with Jade Snow Mountain as the breathtaking backdrop.

Transfer to visit Yuhu Village and the Former Residence of Joseph Rock who was an Austria-American botanist and explorer, lived in Yuhu village and other places in that region from 1922 to 1949. He was also a naturalist and Photographer, and the first foreign scholar to introduce Lijiang ethnic culture to the western world.

Stroll through Baisha Old Town, which is an enchanting traditional Naxi style old town. Visit the Baisha Mural about 600 years old, which is one part of the World Cultural Heritage by the UNESCO 1997.

Transfer back to hotel in the later afternoon.

Day 7 Lijiang - Tiger Leaping Gorge - Shangrila( B , L )

Sightseeing and Activities:Shigu Old Town, the First Bend of Yangtze River,Tiger Leaping Gorge,Xiaozhongdian Grassland,Songzanlin Monastery

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From Lijiang, you'll drive about 60KM to the First Bend on the Yangtze River with imposing gorge scenery.



Visit the Tiger Leaping Gorge, the deepest gorge in the world. With 34 rapids of the Yangtze River, it is called the Jinsha in this area because you can find gold in the river. Afternoon, you'll head for Shangri La, the former Zhongdian which is welknown as the paradise destination for every tourist.

Upon arrival in Shangri La, you will have entered the Tibetan cultural area and a landscape of barley fields and yaks scattered in the valleys. Visit the Ganden Sumtseling Monastery, the largest Tibetan monastery in Yunnan. Songzanlin Monastery has another alias - 'the little Potala Palace ', so named because the whole monastery is in the traditional style with mysterious atmosphere.

Day 8 Shangrila( B , L )

Sightseeing and Activities:Napa Lake,Hamugu Village, Baiji Monastery,Dukezong Old Town,Daguishan Monastery and the Giant Prayer Wheel

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In the morning,drive to visit Napa Lake, hike around Hamugu Village(哈木谷村).Transfer back to Shangrila for lunch.The lake proper, which spans roughly 23 sq km , or about 2300 hectares, during the height of the runoff season (besides the direct runoff from the surrounding mountains into the lake, there are a dozen or so rivers that empty into the lake after snaking their way through the grasslands), shrinks to about 1/5 of its size (500 hectares) during late fall, though changing global climatic conditions may eventually reduce this figure even more, or increase it, depending on the direction of the change.

In the afternoon, you will have a nice hiking to Baiji Monastery(白鸡寺),enjoy the panoramic view of Dukezong Old Town and Shika Snow Mmountain from a far.

Hike down back to Dukezong Old Town, pay a visit Guishan Hill Park including the Daguishan Monastery and the Giant Prayer Wheel on the top of Guishan Hill.

Walk around Dukezong Ancient Town, an important town of the Ancient Tea-horse Trade Caravan from Yunnan to Tibet and India.The Square Street in the old town, at the heart center of the old town, is the main tour area gathering a maze of cobbled lanes, white stupas, renovated tourist shops, café, bars, etc. Further away from the square street, the narrow winding lanes will give you a quieter shelter and unveil you more authentic local touch with the unrestored structures and real local life.

Day 9 Departure from Shangrila( B , L )

Sightseeing and Activities:Departure from Shangrila

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Today, drive to Shangri-la airport, departure from Shangri-la. Service ends.

What's Include

Admission fees for all of the sightseeing spots listed in the itinerary.

Meals as listed in the itinerary.

Accommodation with breakfast as listed in the itinerary.

Private English-speaking tour guide and vehicle for transfers - sightseeing;

Service charge - government taxes.

Luggage transfers between airports and hotels.

Two bottles of mineral water each day.

Train tickets from Kunming to Dali.

What's Exclude

Any arrival and departure international airfares or train tickets.

Chinese visa fees.

Excess baggage charged by Airlines.

Single room supplement.

Tips to guides and drivers.

Personal expenses and gratuities to service staff.

Personal travel insurance.

All optional programs.

Travel Tips

Visitors are advised to always carry changes of clothing due to the large variations in temperature between day and night.

The climate is relatively dry, so drink more water every day.

Protecting oneself from strong UV radiation at high altitude.

Protecting oneself from altitude sickness. Lessen the effects of altitude sickness, avoid strenuous exercise and have plenty of rest.

Respect local customs , habits, and religious beliefs.

Situated on the northern edge of the tropical zone, Xishuangbanna area is hot, humid and rainy; don’t forget to take an umbrella or a raincoat when go out.

When take photos, please pay attention to your safety, do not shoot in dangerous areas.