Yunnan Highlights 14D: Kunming, Red Land, Jianshui, Yuanyang, Dali, Lijiang, Shangri-La

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.

Take 2-hour speed train to Dali which is a historically and culturally famous city of China, is renowned for her historical interest and Bai ethnic culture. 

After landing, you 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, you’ll 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. 

At last, you will visit the Ancient Dali Town, walk around the Foreigner Street and enjoy the relax time with local people. After climbing up to the City Wall of Dali, you will have panoramic view of the Erhai Lake.

You will head to Xizhou Town to fully appreciate Bai-style traditional architectural courtyards . 

Afterward, transfer to Jianchuan County(2-2.5hrs) and visit Shibaoshan Mountain. Located 25 km southwest of Jianchuan County, the Shibao (Stone Treasure) Hills are also called the Shizhong (Stone Bell) Hills. Built during the Tang and Song Dynasties, it is considered an official historical site.   

Then, you will visit Shaxi Old Town. The remains of an ancient market town and once an active trade stop on the Southern Silk Road that connected Tibet and China with Southeast Asia and on to Europe. This Road is actually older than the more famous Silk Road (in the North), predating it by at least 300 years. Shaxi has been listed by the World Monuments Fund as one of the world's 100 most endangered sites.

In the morning, drive to Lijiang along the beautiful express way. After arrival, you’ll head for the scenic Black Dragon Pool and the Dongba Museum to explore the rich Naxi minority culture. And then, you’ll start a memorable tour from Lijiang Ancient Town (Dayan Ancient Town). Pay a visit to Ming-dynasty style Mufu Palace, the “Forbidden City” of Lijiang to know Tusi’s ruling history and appreciate Naxi people’s brilliant culture and fine arts. 

Then, you will wander through the old alleys, old bridges, featured shops and bars to Sifang Street Square, a mingling ground to enjoy lively atmosphere and unwind yourself.

In the morning, drive about 30KM to Ganhaizi Meadow(3100M), you will take the sightseeing bus for a short visiting through the Baishuihe River, take the chairlift up to visit Jade Dragon Snow Mountain. You will hike around 1 hours in the original forest in Spruce Meadow (3200M). 

 After lunch, you will enjoy the Impression Lijang Ethnic Show directed in Ganhaizi Meadow(3100M). A cultural show demonstrating the traditions and lifestyles of the Naxi, Yi and Bai peoples of the area. The show takes place inside Jade Dragon Snow Mountain Park at 3500m in an outdoor theater specifically designed to showcase the mountain which is used as a backdrop. The production itself was designed by Zhang Yimou, Fan Yue and Wang Chaoge, a cast of over 500 people, and a number of horses.

In the afternoon, you'll stroll through Baisha Village, which is an enchanting traditional Yunnan village.  

From Lijiang, you'll drive about 60KM to the First Bend on the Yangtze River with imposing gorge scenery, visit the Iron Chain Bridge,the Red Army's Long March Memorial Monument in the Shigu town. The town of Stone Drum got its name from a large, cylindrical, marble tablet shaped like a drum. The scenery is magnificent as the road running through the Lijiang valley which is filled with wheat fields and drying haystacks. 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. Walk around Dukezong Ancient Town, an important town of the Ancient Tea-horse Trade Caravan from Yunnan to Tibet and India. 

-- Tiger Leaping Gorge is on the Jinsha River of the upper reaches of the Yangtze, located 105 kilometers south of Shangrila County. The gorge is 17 kilometers long with a drop of 213 meters. Tiger Leaping Gorge is divided into three sections: Upper, Middle and Lower Hutiao. At the narrowest spot the river is only 30 meters wide. The mouth of the gorge is 1,800 meters above sea level. The river is flanked by Yulong and Haba snow mountains, with a height difference of 3,900 meters. It is one of the deepest gorges in the world.

In the morning, 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. 

Afterwards you'll visit the tranquil Bita Lake & Shudu Lake in Pudacuo National Park. It is located in one of the most biologically-diverse regions of the world. While the region comprises only 0.7 percent of China's land area, it contains more than 20 percent of the country's plant species, about one-third of its mammal and bird species and almost 100 endangered species. 

 Visit Dukezong Tibetan Ancient Town in the late afternoon, climb up to the top of Guishan Hill or tortoise Hill, you will see the largest Prayer Wheel of the world and have a panoramic view of shangrila county and Dukezong Ancient Town. --Shangri-La is the "Eden in dream". Since it first appeared in British novelist James Hilton's Lost Horizon in the 1939, it has been associated with the mystique of a place which could not possibly exist here on Earth. In Tibetan, Shangri-La means the "sun and moon in heart", an ideal home only found in heaven. There the lofty and continuous snowy mountains, endless grasslands, steep and grand gorges, azure lakes and the bucolic villages always offer a deep impression to visitors.

Transfer you to the Shangri-La Airport as per your flight time, where the wonderful tour concludes.

Please note: Small deviations in the tour program are sometimes necessary, depending on weather, road conditions, flight schedules and room availability.