A pair of bullet trains numbered as G312/314 are operated daily to serve passengers travelling from Hong Kong to Kunming and from Kunming to Hong Kong. The travel time is around 7.5 hours and the ticket price for a second class seat is CNY 750.  For this 10 days Yunnan classic tour, you will visit the highlights of Kunming, Dali, Lijiang and Shangri-La. This is also a minority discovery tour, because you will find colorful and mysterious ethnic cultures during your trip, the minorities such as Yis, Bais, Naxis and Tibetan. Also, you will step into the famous ancient towns to find the profound history and culture of Yunnan. Moreover, you will see many natural wonderlands in the tour, including the Tiger Leaping Gorge and the Stone Forest. It will be a most impressive tour in your life.

Brief Itinerary

• Day 1: Shenzhen-Kunming
• Day 2: Kunming-Dali
• Day 3: Dali
• Day 4: Dali-Shaxi
• Day 5: Shaxi-Shangri-La
• Day 6: Shangri-La-Lijiang
• Day 7: Lijiang
• Day 8: Lijiang-Kunming
• Day 9: Kunming
• Day 10: Kunming Departure

Google Map

Detailed Itinerary

Day 1 Hong Kong-Kunming

Sightseeing and Activities:Arrive in Kunming
Accommodation:Kunming
Meals:Lunch

On September 23th, 2018, along with the opening of the much-anticipated Guangzhou-Shenzhen-Hong Kong High-Speed Railway, the bullet train between Hong Kong and Kunming also began operating. This daily train runs from Hong Kong’s West Kowloon Station and Kunming South Railway Station, and vice versa, passes popular tourist cities of Guilin and Guiyang.
Travel to Kunming from Hong Kong by high speed train. Arrive in Kunming, transfer to your hotel for check-in and relax.

Day 2 Kunming-Dali

Sightseeing and Activities:Stone Forest, Guangdu Old Town, Nanping Street
Accommodation:None
Meals:Breakfast and Lunch

In the morning, have the tour of Stone Forest. An old local saying says that ‘If you have visited Kunming without seeing the Stone Forest, you have wasted your time.’ Truly, the Stone Forest is one of the most important attractions of Yunnan.

Then transfer back to Kunming city, pay a visit to Guandu Old Town, one of the cradles of the ancient Dian civilization and culture in Yunnan, which is located in the southeast suburb of Kunming, about 10 km from downtown. Being a famous historic and cultural town, dated back to the Nanzhao Kingdom (738-937), as early as the Tang Dynasty, Guandu Old Town had been a big market town and communication center.

Finally, drop off at shopping area – Nanping Street nearby, you will stroll in this area before you take the High Speed Train to Dali (2 hours) from Kunming. Upon your arrival in Dali, meet your local guide and driver, transfer to the hotel in Dali.

Day 3 Dali

Sightseeing and Activities:Erhai Lake, Three Pagodas, Zhoucheng Village, Dali Old Town
Accommodation:Dali
Meals:Breakfast and Lunch

After breakfast, drive to cruise in Erhai Lake by the small boat. 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. 

Then go to visit Three Pagodas in Chongshen Monastery , which has a history of over 1,800 years. It is 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.

Later Visit Zhoucheng Village and the Bai people’s Tie-dying cloth workshop where you can take some special souvenirs with the Bai ethnic style. At last, you will visit the Dali Old Town

Day 4 Dali-Shaxi

Sightseeing and Activities:Xizhou, Shibaoshan Mountain, Shaxi Old Town
Accommodation:Shaxi
Meals:Breakfast and Lunch

You will head for Xizhou Town to fully appreciate Bai-style traditional architectural courtyards, taste their fragrant Three-Course Tea and explore their distinctive culture.

Then drive from Dali to Shibaoshan mountain. The most prominent sight at ShibaoShan is the Stone Bell Temple with its 139 well preserved stone carvings. These magnificent stone carvings dated back as far as 1300 years to the once powerful Nanzhao Kingdom during the Tang Dynasty (618-907). The carvings are testimony for a time when Mahayana Buddhism from Tibet started to spread in the Yunnan area. Another interesting sight is the ‘Suspending Temple’, also called the Baoxiang Temple. The Baoxiang temple was built on a ledge of a nearly vertical cliff and can only be reached by a long flight of stairs. On a clear day, the views from the Baoxiang Temple over the Shaxi valley are simply magnificent.

After lunch, drive to Shaxi , have a tour of Shaxi Old Town.

Day 5 Shaxi-Shangri-La

Sightseeing and Activities:Tiger Leaping Gorge, Dukezong Old Town
Accommodation:Shangri-La
Meals:Breakfast and Lunch

This morning, drive about 2 hours to Qiaotou Town. Take the tour of Tiger Leaping Gorge(Shangri-La section), 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.

After the tour, continue driving to Zhongdian which is well known as the paradise destination for every tourist. Check in your hotel after arrival. 

Then stroll around Dukezong Ancient Town, an important town of the Ancient Tea-horse Trade Caravan from Yunnan to Tibet and India. Walk 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 Shangri-La and Dukezong Ancient Town. 

Day 6 Shangri-La-Lijiang

Sightseeing and Activities:Pudacuo National Park, Ganden Sumtseling Monastery
Accommodation:Lijiang
Meals:Breakfast and Lunch

In the morning, 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. Even though 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 mammal and bird species and almost 100 endangered species.

Continue to visit the Ganden Sumtseling Monastery, the largest Tibetan monastery in Yunnan. Songzanlin Monastery has another alias – ‘the little Potala Palace’, because the whole monastery is in the traditional style with mysterious atmosphere.

Around 15:00, you will transfer to Lijiang. Check in your hotel in Lijiang.

Day 7 Lijiang

Sightseeing and Activities:Ganhaizi Meadow, Baishuihe River, Yak Meadow, Impress Lijiang Show, Baisha Old Town, Baisha Murals
Accommodation:Lijiang
Meals:Breakfast and Lunch

In the morning, drive about 30 km to Ganhaizi Meadow(3100 meters), you will take the sightseeing bus for a short visit through the Baishuihe River, then take the chairlift up to visit Yak Meadow(3700 meters) of Jade Dragon Snow Mountain. The cable-way will be arranged according to the condition of the mountain. You will hike around 1 hour in the original forest in Yak Meadow.

After lunch, you will enjoy the Impression Lijang Ethnic Show (regular seat) directed in Ganhaizi Meadow(3100 meters). A cultural show demonstrates the traditions and lifestyles of the Naxi, Yi and Bai peoples of the area. The show takes place in an outdoor theater of Jade Dragon Snow Mountain Park at 3500 meters. 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 Old Town, which is an enchanting traditional Yunnan village.  Visit the Baisha Mural about 600 years old, which is a part of the World Cultural Heritage by the UNESCO 1997.

Day 9 Kunming

Sightseeing and Activities:West Hills and Dragon Gate, Huangting Temple, Green Lake
Accommodation:Kunming
Meals:Breakfast and Lunch

Arrive in Kunming in the morning, meet your local guide, then drive to West Hills. You will take the chairlift to visit Dragon Gate. It is a group of grottoes, sculptures, corridors and pavilions that were hacked from the cliff between 1781 and 1835 by a poor Taoist monk Wu Laiqing and his friends with simple tools. It consists of three stone chambers chiseled out of the cliffs and connected by a spiraling passageway that allows only one person to pass at a time. The passage ends at the Pavilion Leading to Heaven (Datiange). A stone archway was built at the entrance with the inscription Long Men (Dragon Gate) at the top. Standing here you will have a chance to view the thrilling sight of the Dianchi Lake below.

Later, have a tour of Huating Temple. The temple was first built in 1063, during Song Dynasty, covering an area of 12,000 square meters in rectangle. Huating Temple is the largest temple in Yunnan province. It was released as one of the Kunming municipal cultural relics protection units.

You will take a leisurely stroll along the Green Lake, a charming area of tea houses and small boutiques selling handicrafts and beautiful local paintings. 

Recommended Hotels

Service Included:

• Admission fees for all of the sightseeing spots listed in the itinerary;
• Meals as listed in the itinerary;
• Hotels as listed in the itinerary;
• Private English-speaking tour guide;
• Private vehicle for transfers & sightseeing with skilled driver;
• Service charge & government taxes;
• Luggage transfers between airports and hotels;
• High speed train tickets(2nd class seat).

Service Excluded:

• Any arrival and departure international airfares or train tickets;
• Chinese visa fees;
• Excess baggage charged by Airlines;
• Single room supplement;
• Tips to guides and drivers;
• Personal expenses and gratuities to service staff;
• Personal travel accident insurance;
• All optional programs.