9 Days Kunming Dali Lijiang Tour with Dongchuan Red Land

Welcome to Kunming, the Spring City of China! Upon arrival at the Kunming airport/train station, the local tour guide and driver will meet you in the arrival hall and transfer to Kunming downtown.

Then stroll around the most picturesque park in Kunming urban area - the Green Lake Park, a charming area of tea houses and small boutiques selling handicrafts and beautiful local paintings. If you come on winter, the animal friend red-billed gull which fly from Siberia say 'Hello' to you.

At the night, you may choose wondering at the bustling street or silent alley, chatting with the local people to learn the history of Kunming city, while you may also stay at the hotel for rest and prepare for the coming tour.

When you finish delicious breakfast At 8:30 am this morming, you will be picked up and drive to Dongchuan Red Land (3-3.5hrs ) where 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) where is near 'Flower Stone' (Huashitou 花石头 /hwaa-shrr-toe/) village, known as "the best place for photography".

Then 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).

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.

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.

Enjoy the sunrise view in Damakan.
Transfer to Guniushan Mountain(牯牛山) for glider adventure tour(around 30minutes).The foothills of Guniu Mountain was located in the Xiaojiang River valley(小江河谷), with an elevation of only 695 meters and a relative height difference of over 3,300 meters, which is indeed quite rare. Guniu Mountain stands steeply and vertically, soaring into the clouds; since ancient times, very few have reached the summit
Transfer back to Kunming in the afternoon.

After  yummy breakfast, you’ll transfer to the renowned Stone Forest, with appromixmately 86km, the 'First Wonder of the World'. You'll marvel at its natural stone masterpieces and be bewitched by the intricate formations.
You feel like come into a 'stone world'. The Stone Forest is in Shilin Yi Nationality Autonomous County, which is about 120 kilometers from Kunming and requires only a three-hour drive. It covers an area of 400 square kilometers (96,000 acres) and includes both large and small stone forests, as well as many other scenic spots. The Stone Forest has unique karst topography which is one of the best of its kind within China. Use your emagination with the introduction of local guide, you will see different kinds of animals, people, plants, and other interesting things.

After the tour, be transferred to Kunming and visit the Flowers and Birds Market in the downtown.
Take a bullet train to Dali in the morning, meet your local guide and transfer to the hotel in Dali Ancient Town. Dali, a historically and culturally famous city of China, is renowned for her historical interest and Bai ethnic culture.

In the morning,  you will 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, 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 Ancient Town which is 13 kilometers away from Xiaguan in Dali City. It can be dated back to the year 1382 during the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) and 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 been attracting many visitors. The tour in Dali Ancietn Town will include the Forigners Street, the Gate Towers and the Ancient City Wall.

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.

After Xizhou, visit Zhoucheng Village which is the largest Bai ethnic village in China and the Bai Ethnic Tie-dying Cloth Workshop where you can take some special souvenir with the Bai ethnic style.

Transfer to Lijiang in the afternoon. You will be relaxed around Lijiang Old Town, a well-preserved old city of ethnic minorities with brilliant culture, is a central town of the Lijiang Autonomous County of the Naxi Ethnic Minority in 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).

Enjoy the sunrise of the Jade Dragon Snow Mountain and Lijiang Ancient Town in the morning, drive about 30KM to Ganhaizi Meadow(3100M), take the sightseeing bus for a short visiting through the Baishuihe River, take the chairlift up to visit Spruce Meadow 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, enjoy Impression Lijiang Show which is A Spectacular Show with Jade Dragon Snow Mountain as the Backdrop, directed by the famous director Zhang Yimou. The show is innovatively staged in the morning and afternoon, at 3,100 meters (10,100 feet) 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 one part of the World Cultural Heritage by the UNESCO 1997.

In the morning, you will have a go - kart tour around Baisha Old Town. You will drive go - kart along a small trail from Baisha to Yuhu Village, and arrive at Yuhu Lake, take the other way back to visit Yufeng Monastery and drive back to Baisha Holiday Resort.
Take a helicopter tour around Jade Dragon Snow Mountain in the afternoon.

Service ends.