Amazing Yunnan 8D: Kunming - Red Land - Jianshui - Yuanyang

Upon arrival Kunming by bullet train/flight, our Chinese-speaking driver picks you up at Kunming station/airport. Transfer to hotel for overnight.

At 8:30 am you will be picked up and drive to Dongchuan Red Land (3-3.5hrs ) which  is a new rising tourist destination near Kunming, loved by photographers and backpackers, and praised as "God's palette". These red lands, extending for nearly 50 kilometers (30 miles), are the most striking and distinctive in the world.  Arrive at Dongchuang, make the tour of Music Hollow(Yuepuao) which is near 'Flower Stone' (Huashitou 花石头 /hwaa-shrr-toe/) village, known as "the best place for photography". Get some sunset and sunset glow photos in Wafang Liangzi, or catch the sunset glow in 'Music Hollow' after the sunset.

And enjoy the sunset of the beautiful red land of Luoxianggou Valley. Surrounded by mountains, Luoxiagou looks like a sunken depression from a distance. Traditional local villages adorn the colorful fields. A great place for photography blockbusters that you should not miss, a telephoto lens is recommended to shoot villages in the distance. Photographers should arrive at Luoxiagou around 4:30 pm. Late afternoon is the best time.

Early in the morning, enjoy the Sunrise of Damakan, a large spread of red fields are in the arms of continuous mountains at the skyline. Due to its local topographical advantage, Damakan is the best site to see a sunrise. In order to get a favorable position for perfect pictures, travelers should get up at 5:00. Leave the hotel at 5:30 and arrive at Damakan within 30 minutes.

Continue to visit Seven-Color Slope(Qicaipo) Near 'Embroidery Garden'. 'Seven-Color Slope' gets its name from seven fields with seven different colors (when the right crops are planted and growing). However, usually travelers are not lucky enough to see the seven colors, so we don't suggest visiting it.

Later move to visit Jinxiuyuan that has a vast expanse of many rolling hills with red fields. A great location for shots of the colorful fields, a traditional village and some trees also offer a vivid countryside picture.

After lunch, drive back to Kunming (3-3.5hrs ) in the late afternoon.

Drive to Jianshui (4-5hrs ). You will visit Shuanglong Birdge and Tuanshan Village as well as the Garden of Family Zhang in Tuanshan Village. Tuanshan Village is a rare surviving example of an intact-albeit neglected-traditional walled Yunnan village compound in southwestern China, and has been added to the 2005 list of internationally significant sites by the World Memorial Fund for Architecture (WMF), an international fund for the protection of world heritage sites. Later , you'll visit the Jianshui Old City and the Chaoyang Gateway Tower, which was built in Ming Dynasty (1389). It is also known as 'Miniature Tian'an men' because the out shape of it is similar to Tian'anmen Square in Beijing.

In the morning, visit the Confucius Temple, which has a history of 700 years. It is the second largest Confucius Temple in China. Then visit Zhu Family Garden.

In the afternoon, you will transfer to Yuanyang and enjoy the sight of terraced fields of Laohuzui (Tiger Mouth) at sunset. 

Get up every early in the morning, you'll drive to visit Duoyishu Village and enjoy the sunrise of Duoyishu Rice Terrace Fields when the sun appears above the eastern horizon. The terraced fields are ring upon ring and cascade one by one. They go along the hillside up to the sky. You will see the scenery of the terraced fields from the top of the mountains to the bottom. They are all farms under the sunshine and cloud and mist. The landscape is spectacular. 

Then, you will visit Qingkou Village and rice terraces where Hani people for generations inhabit. Visit Bada Hani Rice Terrace, Shengcun Market as well. You will enjoy the sunset of Longshuba Rice Terraces in the late afternoon about 5KM away from Xinjie Town.

This morning, you will depart to Stone Forest ( 5-6hrs ). There is a local saying: 'It is a waste of time not to visit the Stone Forest while visiting Kunming', which vividly expresses the deep love of the local people toward this world wonder. The quintessential karst landscape makes every tourist lost in wonder. 

After the tour, drive back to Kunming (1.5hrs )  in the late afternoon.

Today is departure day, you will be transferred to Kunming Airport where the wonderful tour concludes. Note you can book our another Kunming-Dali-Lijiang-Shangri La tour to visit more destinations in Yunnan.