9 Days Yunnan Classic Tour with Muslim Culture Exploration

Day 1 Arrive in Kunming

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

Upon arrival at the Kunming airport/train station, your local tour guide and driver will meet you in the arrival hall and escort you to your hotel. You’ll begin your journey to the diverse and captivating land from the capital city, Kunming.

Day 2 Kunming-Stone Forest-Kunming

Sightseeing and Activities: the Stone Forest, Nancheng Mosque, Flowers and Birds Market
Accommodation: Kunming
Meals: Breakfast and lunch

After breakfast, drive 86 km to the renowned Stone Forest, the ‘First Wonder of the World’. You’ll marvel at its natural stone masterpieces and be bewitched by the intricate formations. The Stone Forest is in Shilin Yi Autonomous County, which is about 120 kilometers from Kunming and requires a three-hour drive. It covers an area of 400 square kilometers and includes both large and small stone forests, as well as many other scenic spots. 

After the tour, drive back to Kunming and visit Nancheng Mosque and  Flowers and Birds Market in the downtown.

Day 3 Kunming-Dali by Flight

Sightseeing and Activities: The Three Pagodas of Chongsheng Temple, Erhai Lake cruise, Dali Old Town
Accommodation: Dali
Meals: Breakfast and lunch

Take the morning flight to Dali, meet your local guide and transfer to the hotel in Dali Ancient Town. Dali, a historical and cultural ancient town of China, is renowned for its historical interest and Bai ethnic culture.

After that, you will visit the 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.

After lunch, 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.

Afterwards, visit Dali Old Town. It can be dated back to the year 1382 during the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) and it has been among the top listed historical cities of China since 1982. With Erhai Lake to the east, and Cangshan Mountain to the west, its grand city wall, traditional Bai ethnic minority folk houses and marvelous scenery have attracted many visitors. The tour in Dali Old Town will include the Foreigner Street, the Gate Towers and the Ancient City Wall. 

Day 4 Dali-Weishan-Dali

Sightseeing and Activities: Donglianhua Village, Donglianhua Mosque, Weibaoshan Mountain, Weishan Old Town
Accommodation: Dali
Meals: Breakfast and lunch

After breakfast, drive about one hour to Weishan Yi and Hui Autonomous County. Visit East Lotus Village(Donglianhua Village) before arrival in Weishan Old Town. Donglianhua Village has rich minorities and strong Muslim customs. The most outstanding representative is the Donglianhua Mosque in the village. Donglianhua Mosque is a major attraction in Donglianhua Village. This large-scaled mosque built in a unique folk style is a great destination for the admirer of Muslim architecture and culture. Drive to visit Weibaoshan Mountain, which is one of the 14 China’s most famous Daoist holy mountains.  

Go back to Weishan Old Town, visit Big and Small Temples on the way. You will explore Weishan Ancient Town in the afternoon. Weishan Ancient Town was built more than 600 years. There are a lot of ancient buildings in it. The magnificent Building Gongchen is the symbol of the ancient town.

After that, drive back to Dali.

Day 5 Dali-Lijiang

Sightseeing and Activities: Xizhou Old Town, Xizhou Morning Market, Zhoucheng Village, Bai Ethnic Tie-dying Cloth Workshop, Lijiang Old Town
Accommodation: Lijiang
Meals: Breakfast and lunch

In the morning, 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. This little village has been called ‘a living art museum’ due to its unusual concentration of nationally protected heritage sites, mostly including architecture that spans the Ming Dynasty (1368 – 1644) until the creation of New China in 1949, also including centuries old trees, parks, and wildlife preserves.

Strolling through the morning market and main walking street will reveal a vibrant town with a healthy mix of traditional Bai culture and modern influence from Eastern China and abroad. It is the balance of development and forward thinking that exists in Xizhou, which makes it special.

After Xizhou, visit Zhoucheng Village , which is the largest Bai ethnic village in China and the Bai Ethnic Tie-dying Cloth Workshop in which you can get some special souvenirs with the Bai ethnic style. The tie-dyeing products in Zhoucheng Village are well sought after, both at home and abroad. Do drop by and witness for yourself the process of this historical craftsmanship. Who knows, you will return home with some cheap and beautiful crafted cloths.

Transfer to Lijiang in the afternoon. You will stroll around Lijiang Old Town, a well-preserved old town of ethnic minorities with brilliant culture, which is a central town of the Naxi Ethnic Minority in Lijiang, Yunnan Province. Located on the plateau which is 2,400 meters above the sea level and embraced by the tree-covered Lion Mountain in the west, Elephant and Golden Row Mountains in the north, vast fertile fields in the southeast and crystal clear water running through, the old town looks like a big jade ink slab, therefore got the alias, the Town of Big Ink Slab (Dayanzhen).

Day 6 Lijiang

Sightseeing and Activities: Ganhaizi, Spruce Meadow, Baishui River, Jade Dragon Snow Mountain, Impression Lijiang Show, Baisha Old Town, Baisha Murals
Accommodation: Lijiang
Meals: Breakfast and lunch

Enjoy the sunrise of the Jade Dragon Snow Mountain and Lijiang Ancient Town 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 in Blue Moon Valley, then take the chairlift up to visit 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 Spruce Meadow(3200 meters).

After lunch, enjoy Impression Lijiang Show which is A Spectacular Show with Jade Dragon Snow Mountain as the Backdrop, directed by the famous director Zhang Yimou. Impression Lijiang is a magnificent outdoor singing and dancing performance demonstrating the tradition and lifestyle of the local ethnic people. It is another creation of famous Chinese director Zhang Yimou. The show is innovatively staged in the morning and afternoon, at 3100 meters above sea level with Jade Snow Mountain as the breathtaking backdrop.

Stroll through Baisha Old Town, which is an enchanting traditional Naxi style old town. Visit the Baisha Mural about 600 years old, which is a part of the World Cultural Heritage by the UNESCO 1997. 

Transfer back to hotel in the late afternoon.

Day 7 Lijiang-Tiger Leaping Gorge-Shangri-la

Sightseeing and Activities: the First Bend of Yangtze River, Tiger Leaping Gorge, Songzanlin Monastery
Accommodation: Shagri-la
Meals: Breakfast and lunch

From Lijiang, we’ll drive about 60 km to the First Bend of the Yangtze River with imposing gorge scenery.

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 well-known as the paradise destination for each 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. Visit the Ganden Songzanling 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.

Day 8 Shangri-la

Sightseeing and Activities: Napa Lake, Hamugu Village, Baiji Monastery, Dukezong Old Town, Daguishan Monastery, Giant Prayer Wheel
Accommodation: Shangri-la
Meals: Breakfast and lunch

In the morning, drive to visit Napa Lake, hike around Hamugu Village(哈木谷村). Transfer back to Shangri-la for lunch. The lake spans roughly 23 square kilometers, or about 2300 hectares, during the height of the runoff season (besides the direct runoff from the surrounding mountains into the lake, there are a dozen or so rivers that empty into the lake after snaking their way through the grasslands), shrinks to about 1/5 of its size (500 hectares) during late fall, though changing global climatic conditions may eventually reduce this figure even more, or increase it, depending on the direction of the change.

In the afternoon, you will have a hike to Baiji Monastery(白鸡寺), enjoy the panoramic view of Dukezong Old Town and Shika Snow Mountain from a far.

Hike down back to Dukezong Old Town, pay a visit Guishan Hill Park including the Daguishan Monastery and the Giant Prayer Wheel on the top of Guishan Hill.

Dukezong Ancient Town is an important town of the Ancient Tea-horse Trade Caravan from Yunnan to Tibet and India. The Square Street in the old town, the center of the old town, is the main tour area gathering a maze of cobbled lanes, white stupas, renovated tourist shops, café, bars, etc. Further away from the square street, the narrow winding lanes will give you a quieter shelter and unveil you more authentic local touch with the unrestored structures and real local life.

Day 9 Departure from Shangri-la

Sightseeing and Activities: Departure from Shangri-la
Accommodation: Shangri-la
Meals: Breakfast

Depart from Shangri-la. Service ends.