Colorful
Yunnan
Located on China’s southwest frontier, Yunnan Province shows not only picturesque landscape and pleasant climate, but also rich and intense ethnic folk customs.
A plateau and mountainous province, Yunnan has an average altitude of 2,000 meters above sea level. The fact that 94 percent of Yunnan’s land is mountains provides the region with divergent and imposing landscapes from tropical rainforest to icy Tibetan highlands. Yunnan is the home of 26 ethnic groups, 15 among whom are the sole ones of China, thus making the land China’s only province with the greatest number of ethnic minority groups.
Itinerary – 8 Days/7 Nights Kunming (2N), Dali (1N), Lijiang (2N) & Shangri-La (2N)
Key: B = Breakfast L = Lunch D = Dinner SD = Special Dinner N = Nights
Day01 Arrive Kunming
Upon arrival you will be greeted and transferred to your hotel. Rest of the day will be at leisure.
Day02 Kunming (B/L)
Take full day excursion to the Stone Forest, an extremely rare geological phenomenon dating back to 270 million years ago. It is a collection and gray limestone pillars split by rain water and eroded to their present fanciful forms. Visit a Yi minority’s village on the way.
Day03 Kunming – Dali (B/L)
Take an early morning flight to Dali – the home to Bai minority as well as capital of Nanzhao and Dali Kingdom as early as 1,300 years ago. Upon arrival you will be met and have full day tours including cruise on the Erhai Lake, the 1000-year-old Three Pagodas at Chongsheng Temple, and the old city of Dali.
Day0 4 Dali – Lijiang (B/L)
Drive to Lijiang after breakfast with stop at Xizhou to visit the morning market and typical architecture of Bai minority. Upon arrival visit the old city of Lijiang that is reputed to be a “living museum”, the Dongba Culture Museum that is in a purpose to study, document and preserve the ancient Naxi culture of the dongbas, and the Black Dragon Pool Park – the best known and most frequently visited park in Lijiang.
Day0 5 Lijiang (B/L)
Take full day excursion to the Yak Meadow, a plateau of the Jade Dragon Snow Mountain where you will take a chair-lift and have a panoramic view of the snow-clayed mountains. Then visit the Baisha Fresco, dating back to the Ming Dynasty and the Yuhu Village which to some extent resembles the past Lijiang. Enjoy the Naxi Classical Music Show in the evening.
Day0 6 Lijiang – Shangri-La (B/L)
A 210km drive of around 5 hours through forest reserves alongside the extreme upper reaches of the Yangtze River brings you to Shangri-La (named as Zhongdian or Gyalthang in Tibetan in the past), a peaceful and quiet land situated at an altitude of 3200m. Visit the First Bend of the Yangtze River and Tiger Leaping Gorge on the way.
Day0 7 Shangri-La (B/L)
The full day tours today take you first to the Songzanlin Monastery, the one founded in the 17th century and is nicknamed by local the Lesser Potala Palace. Holding about 700 monks and one living Buddha, the monastery is a must go in the region. You will also visit the Napa Lake Reserve with its vista of blossoming flowers and lush grassland dotted with sheep and cattle, a local Tibetan family and a local market.
Day0 8 Shangri-La – Kunming (B/L)
Take a morning flight back to Kunming where upon arrival you will visit the West Hills before going to airport for onward flight.
Price per person in $US
2 up = 2 or more persons; *S/S = Single Supplement is the surcharge of a single person occupying a room
City |
Hotel |
Season |
Superior |
Deluxe |
Superior |
|
2 Up |
S/S |
2 Up |
S/S |
Kunming |
Kunming
***** |
Grand Park
***** |
Apr ,08 |
1474 |
286 |
2362 |
1018 |
Dali |
Asia Star
**** |
Regent
***** |
May - Oct , 08 |
1474 |
286 |
2464 |
1120 |
Lijiang |
Grand
*** ** |
Banyan Tree
***** |
Nov , 08 - Mar , 09 |
1474 |
286 |
2391 |
1046 |
Shangri-La |
Gyalthang
***** |
Banyan Tree
***** |
