Yunnan Focus

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We had a wonderful time in Tibet. We have learned a lot about this unique destination because of the wonderful guide Degyi who is so knowledge and always available towards our tours. We stayed at the Shangri-La Hotel Lhasa, and we would never imagine a Tibet travel could be so nice and amazing without the help of Degyi.

Also, thanks a lot to our Tibetan driver Mr.Wongdun for his safe driving and a good sense of service along the way.

We shall return Tibet in the near future!

P.B. and A. A - Europe
Tibet Travel

June 2018 (Private Tibet Journey from Kathmandu)

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	Tour Name: Yunnan Focus Tour Code: M67D345 Duration: 21 Days &20 Nights Destination: Kunming, Nanjian, Lincang, Cangyuan, Zhenkang, Mangshi, Ruilin, Yingjiang, Tenchong, Baoshan, Dali, Shaxi, Lijiang, Shangri-la Features: Yunnan takes pride in its rich natural and cultural resources. If you only make one trip to China, make sure to visit Yunnan. The most attractive of Yunnan is the 26 ethnic minority groups which give a rich patina of diversity and color to the Yunnan scene. This epic journey starts in the "Spring City", Kunming. From here you will see a unique array of fascinating attractions, including the Stone Forest, less visited minority villages along the southwest border areas, tracing the footprints of the Ancient Tea and Horse Caravan Route and the year-round snow-capped mountains and glaciers, lakes and hot springs in Northwest and West of the province. Departure Date: You Choose! Tour Price: From $ P.P

Trip Summary

Detailed Itinerary

Dates & Prices

Tour Dates	Destinations	Tours & Services	Meals	Accommodation
Day01	Kunming	Arrive in Kunming, be met and transferred to hotel.	N/A	Kunming Jinjiang Hotel
Day02	Kunming	Visit Dragon Gate and Huating Temple, transfer to visit Stone Forest.	B, L, D	Kunming Jinjiang Hotel
Day03	Nanjian	Driven to Nanjian County, check in hotel.	B, L, D	Local Hotel
Day04	Lincang	Head out for Lincang and see the Mekong River.	B, L, D	Local Hotel
Day05	Cangyuan	Morning visit local market, drive to Cangyuan, en route visit Cangyuan Rock Paintings.	B, L, D	Local Hotel
Day06	Zhenkang	Drive to visit Rainforest and wild Asian Elephants at Nangun River Nature Reserve, then transferred to Zhenkang and visit villages on the way.	B, L, D	Local Hotel
Day07	Mangshi	Drive across the Salween River to Mangshi.	B, L, D	Local Hotel
Day08	Ruili	Transferred to Ruili and en route visit Wangdin Town and One Single Tree Forest in Mangling Village.	B, L, D	Local Hotel
Day09	Ruili	One day tour in Ruili to explore local market, Jiele Golden Pagoda, Nongdao Town, Jiegao Gate, and night market.	B, L, D	Local Hotel
Day10	Yingjiang	Drive to Yinjiang and en route sightseeing at the Big Yingjiang River.	B, L, D	Local Hotel
Day11	Tengchong	Head out for Tengchong, on arrival, visit Volcano National Park and Heshun Village.	B, L, D	Local Hotel
Day12	Tengchong	Full day visit in Tengchong covers Dieshuihe Waterfall and hot spring at the Hot Sea.	B, L, D	Local Hotel
Day13	Baoshan	Leave for Baoshan and en route sightseeing at the Gaoligong Mountains and Salween gorge.	B, L, D	Local Hotel
Day14	Dali	Drive across Mekong River to Dali.	B, L, D	Landscape Hotel
Day15	Dali	One day tour in Dali to visit Erhai Lake including boat cruise, Three Pagodas, and wander in The Old Town of Dali.	B, L, D	Landscape Hotel
Day16	Shaxi	Driven to Shaxi Town and en route visit Xizhou Village.	B, L, D	Local Hotel
Day17	Lijiang	Stone Grottoes on Jianchuan Mountain, drive to Lijiang and walk in the Ancient Town of Lijiang.	B, L, D	Lijiang Wangfu Hotel
Day18	Lijiang	Full day visit Jade Dragon Snow Mountain (including round trip cable car up to Spruce Terrace and overlook the Snow Mountain), Baisha Village Yufeng Temple, Dongba Culture Museum.	B, L, D	Lijiang Wangfu Hotel
Day19	Shangri-la	Drive to Shangri-la (Zhongdian). En route visit Tiger Leaping Gorge, First Bend of Yangtze River. Arrival Shangri-la walking in the ancient town.	B, L, D	Gyalthang Dzong Hotel
Day20	Shangri-la	Visit Songsamlin Monastery, Ringha Temple, Napa Lake and local Tibetan family. B, L	B, L, D	Gyalthang Dzong Hotel
Day21	Shangri-la	Free at leisure till be transferred to airport for your flight to Kunming where you will connect your departure flight.	B	N/A


	Day01 Arrival Kunming Today you arrive in Kunming, the Eternal Spring City and capital of Yunnan Province. Greeted and received by your local guide who will escort you to your hotel. The rest of day is at your own disposal.


	Day02 Kunming (B, L, D) A full day guided tour in Kunming. You will explore the spectacular Stone Forest, a wonder of geology. About 200 million year ago the earth's crust shifted and forced the 200 acres of karst limestone stalagmites rise up from what was once a huge expanse of water. Paths wind through its spectacular valleys and around the weird rock formations and its reflecting pools. There are pavilions perched high on these pillars that offer sweeping views. Since the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644), Stone Forest has long been one of the most famous scenic spots in China. Then you will be transferred back the city to visit the Dragon Gate and Huating Temple on the Western Hills where you could get a nice view to the Dianchi Lake. Transfer back your hotel.


	Day03 Kunming - Nanjian (B, L, D) Today you will drive 6 hours from Kunming to Nanjian following the Burma Road. Nanjian is a Yi minority autonomous county in central Yunnan. On arrival, you will check in hotel and have a walk in the town if desired.


	Day04 Nanjian - Lincang (B, L, D) Morning visit local market, drive to Lincang and see the Mekong River.


	Day05 Lincang - Cangyuan (B, L, D) Morning visit local market, drive to Cangyuan, on the way you will visit Cangyuan Rock Paintings. Cangyuan rock paintings were first discovered in January 1965. The rock paintings can be seen only as one draws near. The pictures cover a space thirty meters wide on the cliff, and the top of the pictures is about five meters from the ground. All individual images are not big but concentrated. The rock paintings here, as elsewhere, have suffered from erosion by rain and magma. Except for those blurred by erosion, the images are still very clear and bright.


	Day06 Cangyuan - Zhenkang (B, L, D) Drive to visit Rainforest and wild Asian Elephants at Nangun River Nature Reserve, then transferred to Zhenkang and visit villages on the way. Approximately five kilometers from the China-Burma border, the Nangun River Nature Reserve in Cangyuan Wa Autonomous County has been enjoying a good ecological environment. This has attracted a large variety and quantity of wild animals, including the wild Asian elephants, one of most endangered species in the world. Later of the day you arrive in Zhenkang, a Chinese border town with Burma.


	Day07 Zhenkang - Mangshi (B, L, D) Drive across the Salween River to Mangshi. The drive today takes about 6 hours.


	Day08 Mangshi - Ruili (B, L, D) You will be transferred to Ruili and en route visit Wangdin Town and One Single Tree Forest in Mangling Village. Ruili is a birthplace of the Dai ethnic group. The Ruili River looks like a white jade belt winding around green mountains and fields. Ruili is a prosperous border trade city.


	Day09 Ruili (B, L, D) One day tour in Ruili to explore local market, Jiele Golden Pagoda, Nongdao Town, Jiegao Gate, and night market. Built 2,500 years ago, the 47-meter-high main tower of the Jiele Golden Pagoda was clustered round 16 small towers. It is believed to contain an interred bone of the Buddha. The Nongdaobingmao Por or Nongdao Town is an important trading point along China's southwestern border leading to Burma and further to India and Nepal.


	Day10 Ruili - Yingjiang (B, L, D) Drive to Yinjiang and en route sightseeing at the Big Yingjiang River.


	Day11 Yingjiang - Tengchong (B, L, D) Head out for Tengchong, on arrival, visit Volcano National Park and Heshun Village. Around the town of Tengchong, there are 70 volcanoes surrounding, some of which are still active. Tengchong is located on the lava's flow way from the Laifengshan volcano. The Daying Mountain, which is 10km from Tengchong, is hailed "the King-Volcano". It is 640 meters high, 100 meters deep and has a diameter of 300 meters. From the ancient times, Heshun has been a rich land with prosperous culture. In Heshun, you could see antique ancestral halls, honorable archs, galleries and pavilions. The scenery in Shuiqi is so beautiful, which is just like poems and pictures. The water face of the Yuanlong Pool is like a mirror, reflecting the antique Yuanlong pavilion, which make tourists linger on it with no thought of leaving.


	Day12 Tengchong (B, L, D) Full day visit in Tengchong covers Dieshuihe Waterfall and hot spring at the Hot Sea. Dieshuihe Waterfall plunges to the west of the town. The water drops a dramatic 30 meters down from an impressive cliff, resulting in billowing mist and magnificent rainbows. The "Hot Sea" is 20km away from southwest of Tengchong, covering an area of 9 square kilometers. There are over 80 hot springs in this area, including 10 springs over 90 centigrade. Tengchong is pervaded by hot springs, whose large acreage and quantity are really rare in the world.


	Day13 Tengchong - Baoshan (B, L, D) Leave for Baoshan and en route sightseeing at the Gaoligong Mountains and Salween gorge. Extending more than 300 miles along Yunnan's border with Myanmar, the narrow, jagged Gaoligong mountain range meets with the Salween River in a dramatic 500-mile-long gorge. The mountains form a divide between two major rivers in Asia, with the Salween, known to the Chinese as the Nu River to the east and the Irrawaddy to the west. Two more great rivers, the Yangtze and the upper Mekong, converge where the mountains meet the Nujiang River gorge. Remote and rugged, the Gaoligong Mountains are recognized as a global biodiversity hotspot and the epicenter of plant endemism in northwest Yunnan.


	Day14 Baoshan - Dali (B, L, D) Drive across Mekong River to Dali. On arrival Dali, you will check in your hotel in the old town and free leisure time for at your own disposal.


	Day15 Dali (B, L, D) Full day tour in Dali. You will have a boat ride on the Erhai Lake, visit Three Pagodas in the Chongsheng Temple and stroll in the Dali Old Town. With an altitude of 1972 meters above sea level, Erhai Lake is a beautiful highland lake of Yunnan Province and one of the seven largest fresh water lakes in China. Three Pagodas is a symbol of the history of Dali City, and a record of the development of Buddhism in the area. As its name implies, Three Pagodas are made of three ancient independent pagodas forming a symmetrical triangle. Dali Old Town, also called Yeyu City, Forbidden City, Zhonghezhen, lies 3 kilometers north from Xiaguan, the capital of Dali Prefecture. Embracing Erhai Lake in the east and adjoining Cangshan Mountain in the west, Dali City was first established in the early period of the Ming Dynasty.


	Day16 Dali - Shaxi (B, L, D) This morning you will head out for Shaxi in Jianchuan County. Shaxi is an ancient town on the famous Tea and Horse Caravan Road linking Yunnan and Tibet. En route you will visit the traditional houses of the Bai People at Xizhou where you have chance to see the local market if available.


	Day17 Shaxi - Lijiang (B, L, D) In the morning you will visit Stone Grottoes on Jianchuan Mountain and walk at the Siden Street at Shaxi. Then you will head northwards to Lijiang, which is perhaps China's most famous old town. Splendid landscapes, the exotic ways of the Naxi ethnic group and the precious Dongba Culture make up the unique city of Lijiang. Each year it attracts a great number of visitors from home and abroad. To find a fairyland far from the bustling metropolises, please do not hesitate to come to Lijiang. You will have a walking at the Sifang Jie and the Black Dragon Pool in the old town.


	Day18 Lijiang (B, L, D) You will have a wonderful day in Lijiang. First of all you will proceed to Jade Dragon Snow Mountain (including round trip cable car up to Spruce Terrace and overlook the Snow Mountain), then you get to Baisha Village to see the ancient fresco painting and visit lama temple Yufeng Si where grows the "king of camellia" . Located 15 km north of Lijiang old town, Jade Dragon Snow Mountain stretches 35 km from north to south with 960-square-kilometers of snow-capped area. Experts say that it has the southernmost glacier in the North Hemisphere. Of all the 13 peaks on the mountain, Shanzidou is the highest with an altitude of 5,596 meters above sea level. Looking from afar, you can see that the mountain just looks like a huge dragon lying in the cloud. Jade Dragon Snow Mountain is the holy mountain - 'God of Sanduo' of Naxi people. Transferred back your hotel in the old town. On your way back to your hotel you will learn more about Lijiang and the Naxi people at the Dongba Culture Museum.


	Day19 Lijiang - Tiger Leaping Gorge - Shangri-la (B, L, D) In the morning set off for Zhongdian (Shangri-la County). You will have 220 kilometer drive along the Jinsha Jiang River (Golden Sand River), the upper reaches of the Yangtze River (the longest river of China, 6380 km). The Tiger Leaping Gorge, itself is tucked neatly between the Yulong Snow Mountain and Haba Snow Mountain, which surround its two sides, as the turbulent water of the Jinsha River is forced by Hailuo Shan standing in its way to turn abruptly 100 degrees northeastwards and thus gives birth of the "First Bend of the Yangtze River". In the afternoon you will arrive in Zhongdian and have a walking in the Zhongdian Old Town.


	Day20 Zhongdian (Shangri-la) (B, L, D) A full day guided tour in Zhongdian. You will visit Songzanlin Monastery, which was created in AD1679 by the Fifth Dalai lama. often called Ganden Sumtseling Monastery or Guihua Monastery, is located at the foot of Foping Mountain near Shangri-La County in Yunnan Province. The monastery was built on a hillside and looks like an ancient fort. The Songzanlin Monastery is often called as the little Potala Palace because of its traditional Tibetan architectural style. Then you will visit Napa Lake and have some time in the home of a local Tibetan family. Afterwards you will have some nice walking to the Ringha Temple, also been called as the 'Temple of the Five Wisdom Buddha'. The temple still remain the mysterious, it keeps an essential place in the Tibetan community that they consider there as the one of the five most important Tibetan monasteries among Yunnan. Date back for at least 700 years; the temple was visited by the 5th Dalai Lama. While the principal buildings were destroyed during the Cultural Revolution (1966-1976), the villagers raised the funds to rebuild the principal lobby, with a simple and modest structure. Today there are three small original statues in the temple. Driven back your hotel after the walking.


	Day21 Depart Shangri-la (B) Drive to airport according to your flight schedule. End of your journey to Yunnan.

Tour costing varies upon group size, travel season and hotel accommodation levels etc. For price details please email us at info@splendidchinatours.com.

Price inclusions:
01). All accommodations based on two persons sharing one room (single occupancy is subject to supplement);
02). China internal flights with airport tax or train as stated in the program;
03). Round-trip transfers between airports or railway stations, hotels, and scenic spots in each city by private air- conditioned vehicles with experienced licensed drivers;
04). All admission fees and activity expenses as listed in the itinerary;
05). One good quality SUV for the driving journey (2 drivers each SUV);
06). Chinese Temporary driver's license;
07). Tolls and fuel/gas with well designed driving map/route with GPS navigation system for the driving holiday;
08). Daily meals as specified in the itinerary: B denotes breakfast, L denotes lunch, and D denotes dinner (SD signifies special dinner);
09). Services of a local English speaking guide throughout (other languages can be arranged upon request, supplement may apply);
10). Travel Agency Liability Insurance during the tour;
11). Governmental taxes and fees.

Price excluded:
01). International airfare to/from China;
02). Chinese Visa fees;
03). Expenses of personal natural such as laundry, telephone, drinks, mini bar etc;
04). Personal shopping, optional activities and excess baggage charges;
05). Gratuities for local tour guides, drivers and hotel bellboy etc;
06). International travel insurance;
07). Services and activities that are not mentioned in the itinerary.