14 Days Southwest China Tour

Tour Highlights:

 This 14 Days Southest China Tour is arranged to visit Guilin and Yunnan Province,

 The amazing journey experience to enjoy the best of natural scenery and the unique and the most diverse minority custom.

 Spend days exploring the fabulous Li River and  the famous rice terraces and Zhuang and Yao minority villages in Longsheng beyond Guilin.
 

Best Travel Time: Suitable for the whole year, best from April to November.

Day 1Arrival Guangzhou

Transfer service to hotel

Meals: No meal

Accommodation: In Guangzhou

Arrive in Guangzhou, you will be met at the airport & transferred to your hotel. Free at leisure for the rest of the day.

Day 2Guangzhou - Guilin

Dr. Sun Yat-sen's Memorial Hall, Temple of Chen Family, Temple of the Six Banyan Trees, Take high speed train to Guilin

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch

Accommodation:In Guilin

Today, you will take a half day city tour of Dr. Sun Yat-sen's Memorial Hall - one of the most important historic buildings in Canton and is built to honor Dr. Sun Yat-sen, the great architect of Chinese revolution, Temple of Chen Family - one of the most culturally unique complexes in Southern China, Temple of the Six Banyan Trees, which enshrines three Buddhist statuses in its Grand Hall, which were cast in the Qing Dynasty in 1663.  then in the late afternoon, be transferred to railway station to take high speed train for Guilin.

Day 3Guilin - Yangshuo - Guilin

Li River Cruise

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch

Accommodation:In Guilin

Depart from hotel in the morning, you will be transferred to the Pier for the Li River Cruise (about 4 hours and the lunch will be served on board). Savor the fairy-tale scenery when sail down the meandering river to Yangshuo. Be transferred back to Guilin in the late afternoon. Optional Four Lakes Night Cruise is available tonight.(your own expense).

Day 4Guilin

Longji Rice Terraces, Ping'an Zhuang Village, Drive back to Guilin

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch

Accommodation: In Guilin

Depart from hotel in the morning, you will take about 2.5hours driving to Longsheng and visit the marvelous Longji Rice Terraces and Ping'an Zhuang Village. After the tour, drive back to Guilin City.

Day 5Guilin - Kunming

Reed Flute Cave, Elephant Trunk Hill, Fly to Kunming

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch

Accommodation:In Kunming

In the morning, visit Reed Flute Cave and Elephant Trunk Hill which is regarded as the symbol of Guilin. After the tour, be transffered to the airport for your flight to Kunming

Day 6Kunming

Green Lake, Flower and Bird Market, Stone Forest

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch

Accommodation: In Kunming

Our guide will meet you up at the hotel lobby and visit the Spring City. Enjoy morning leisure tour to Green Lake which is peaceful and a public park for local people. You will see musicians singing and playing and you can also take a paddle boat out and relax on the lake. After that, go directly to Flower and Bird Market, which is the biggest and most exciting market in Kunming where antiques, jewelry, and other handmade crafts can be found. This is a perfect place for entertainment and observing local lifestyle. After lunch, visit to The Stone Forest which is known as the First Wonder of the World and typical karst landform. The magnificent, strange and steep landscape of the Stone Forest creates countless labyrinthine vistas, all of which feature stones in various formations. Animals, plants, and even human figures can be found here.

Day 7Kunming - Dali

West Hill & Dragon Gate, Take bullet train to Dali

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch

Accommodation:In Dali

In the morning, Transfer to take a visit to West Hill & Dragon Gate. Located at the west bank of the Dianchi Lake of Kunming, it is set in mountains well covered by evergreen woods and filled with sweet songs by lovely birds. We will arrange cable car services up & down as well as sightseeing car in the scenic spot. When you get on the mountain, you will have a breathtaking view of the panoramic Dianchi Lake. There are also some interesting places waiting for you to explore on the mountain, especially the Dragon Gate. After lunch, transfer to Kunming South Train Station to take a D-train to Dali (duration: 2.5 hours). You will see different landscape of Yunnan on the train.

Day 8Dali

Three Pagodas, Erhai Lake, Dali Ancient Town

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch

Accommodation:In Dali

Dali enjoys a very high fame for its four grand scenes, namely, Xiaguan's wind, Shangguan's flowers, Mt. Cangshan's snow and Erhai's moon. In the morning, enjoy leisure tour to Three Pagodas. The elegant, balanced and stately style is unique in China's ancient Buddhist architectures, which makes it a must-see in the tour of Dali. Hiking to the top is highly recommended where you can get full view of Dali old town and Erhai Lake. The reflection park is also a nice place to capture the classical photo with three Pagodas’ reflection. People nowadays regard Xizhou as a town that is famous for the Bai minority culture. After that, get on a small boat for Erhai Lake tour. Erhai Lake was formed by the subsidence of geological fault. It is reputed as the pearl on plateau for its beautiful scenery. Then we will have a visit to Zhoucheng, where you can enjoy the typical Bai architectures and you have chance to learn tie-dyeing. Back to hotel and enjoy your free time at Dali Ancient Town. Unlike any other Chinese town, the traditional Bai ethnic folk houses give the town distinctive feeling

Day 9Dali

Cangshan Mountain, Xizhou Bai's House

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch

Accommodation:In Dali

After hotel breakfast, you will spend the morning on Cangshan Mountain. The cable car service will be arranged up to Jade Belt gallery road and you can hike on Cangshan Mountain and have chance to visit Taoist temple and find the precious vegetation on the mountain. In a sunny day, the crystal water of Erhai Lake and the snow mantled Mt. Cangshan radiate with each other forming a beautiful picture. In the afternoon, take a short visit to Xizhou Bai's Houses. People nowadays regard Xizhou as a town that is famous for the Bai minority culture. The old houses and streets are well preserved, through which visitors may still find some traces of past glory. And then you can choose to take a bicycle riding along Erhai Lake by yourself. A leisure day is arranged for you today.

Day 10Dali - Lijiang

Take train to Lijiang, Lijiang Old Town

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch

Accommodation: In Lijiang

Enjoy your peaceful time in the morning at the ancient town and then check out. You will be transferred to train station to take train (duration: around 2 hours) to Lijiang, where the local guide is waiting for you.  Check in at the hotel in Lijiang Old Town after lunch and take a rest in the room. In the afternoon, enjoy your free time at Lijiang Ancient town, which is perfectly adapted to the uneven topography of this key commercial and strategic site. We will give you a map of Lijiang old town. We would suggest you Sifang Street for the vivid nights and Lion Mountain for the panoramic view of Lijiang old town.

Day 11Lijiang

Jade Dragon Snow Mountain, Yufeng Temple, Baisha Mural, Black Dragon Pond Park

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch

Accommodation: In Lijiang

Our guide will meet you up at the hotel lobby and start today’s tour. Drive to Jade Dragon Snow Mountain and take cable car up to the Mountain. We will arrange the visit to Glacier Park at 4506 meters above sea level and get real close to the Snow Mountain. You can choose to hike on the mountain and get to the top at 4680 meters or just stroll around at Glacier Park and appreciate the holy Mountain peacefully. After lunch, visit Yufeng Temple. The whole temple shows a distinctive and conjunct architecture style of Han Buddhism, Tibetan Buddhism, Taoism and the local Naxi Dongba Religion. Afterwards, pay a visit to Baisha Mural, which is the cradle of the Naxi culture and ancient capital of the Naxi Kingdom. Go back to Lijiang, on the way, have a short visit to Black Dragon Pond Park where is the perfect place to take photo of the Jade Dragon Snow Mountain with reflection in the Pond.

Day 12Lijiang - Shangri-La

Drive to Shangri-La, Tiger Leaping Gorge, Dukezong Ancient Town

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch

Accommodation: In Shangri-la

Our guide will meet you up at the hotel lobby and leave for Shangri-La, the lost horizon. Visit Tiger Leaping Gorge en route. Tiger Leaping Gorge is a canyon on the Yangtze River which can be divided in to upper, middle and lower sections, winding 25 km and it is one of the deepest valleys in the world. The narrowest part of the gorge was just 30 m, which is so narrow that a tiger can jump over the gorge, hence the name. We will drop you at upper Tiger Leaping Gorge and you hike down to the viewing deck about half an hour. After lunch, continue driving to Shangri-La. Upon arrival, check-in at your hotel and explore the Dukezong Ancien Town, which is the largest and best-preserved Tibetan city among China 147 Tibetan counties.

Day 13 Shangri-La

Sumtsaling Monastery, Potatso National Park

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch

Accommodation: In Shangri-la

Our guide will meet you up at the hotel lobby and start to find out the lost horizon, Shangri-La. You will reach the Sumtsaling Monastery, which is the largest Tibetan Buddhism monastery in Yunnan Province. Take a family visit to local resident home and with help from our guide, you will learn about a local family’s history and way of life. After lunch, visit Potatso National Park which is the first national park in mainland China. Bitahai Lake and Shuduhu Lake are two major parts of the park. Besides these two lakes, forest, marsh, valley, alpine meadow and so on can be seen in the park. All major spots are connected by footpath which offers a closer distance for travelers to experience the natural environment.

Day 14Shangri-La - Kunming, Departure

Fly to Kunming for departure