11 Days Southwest Yunnan Tea Culture Tour (Kunming-Dali-Lincang-Puer-Jinghong)

Dianhong Black Tea and Puer Tea are two famous teas in Yunnan Province and China. So to experience the Puer Tea and Dianhong Black Tea culture is an unique and special activity in Yunnan tour. The mysterious tea culture in Yunnan will make your tour memorable. 11 days tour prolongs your tea culture trip so that you can have enough time to visit the most famous tea plantation, tea factory and learn more about the history, development and tea-making process of Dianhong Black tea and Puer tea.

Highlights

• Experience the local life and ethnic culture.
• Appreaciate the charming landscape.
• Visit the charming destinations of tea production featuring diversified traditions saturated with tea elements.

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Breif Itinerary

• Day 1 Kunming to Dali by Train
• Day 2 Dali-Weishan-Nianjian-Xiaowan
• Day 3 Fengqing
• Day 4 Fengqing-Yunxian-Lincang
• Day 5 Lincang-Mengku
• Day 6 Mengku-Jingmai
• Day 7 Jingmai-Menghai County-Jinghong
• Day 8 Jinghong-Yiwu-Menglun
• Day 9 Menglun-Jinghong-Puer
• Day 10 Puer
• Day 11 Departure from Puer to Kunming

Google Map

Detailed Itinerary

Day 1 Kunming to Dali by Train

Sightseeing and Activities: Kunming to Dali by Train
Accommodation: Dali
Meals: Lunch

Welcome to Kunming, the Spring City of China! Upon arrival at the Kunming airport/train station, the driver will meet you in the arrival hall and escort you to Kunming train station. You'll take the speed train to Dali (2 hours).

Day 2 Dali-Weishan-Nianjian-Xiaowan

Sightseeing and Activities:Weishan Old Town, Nanjian Tulin Tea Factory, Xiangzhuqing village
Accommodation: Xiaowan
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch

You will arrive in Dali this morning, the local tour guide and driver will meet you at Dali train station. After breakfast, you’ll be driven to visit Weishan Old Town. Weishan old town was the cradle of Nanzhao kingdom(a kindom established by Yi Minority), the history can be traced back to 7th century. Its a very nice old town and not touristic. It was a important town on the ancient tea and horse road. You will also enjoy the traditional Bai people's building design. Then drive to Nanjian(6 hours), stop to visit Nanjian Tulin Tea Factory for few hours. Continue the driving to Xiangzhuqing village in Xiaowan township of Fengqing County. Pay a visit to Xiangzhuqing Acient Tea Trees)香竹箐古茶树). In Xiangzhuqing village, lies a massive, ancient tree. Colloquially referred to as the Mother tea tree, this magnificent giant is about 35 feet tall (which is extremely tall for a tea tree), and is so wide that it’s said that it takes eight people holding outstretched hands to full surround the tree. Besides her gargantuan size, this tree is also remarkable for its unmatched history. This ancient tree is recorded as being over 3,200 years old, it is called “the Mother of Tea Trees”.

Day 3 Fengqing

Sightseeing and Activities: Xiashan Organic Tea Factory and tea plantation, Dianhong Tea Factory and tea plantation
Accommodation: Fengqing
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch

Drive from Xiaowan to Mengyou Township to visit the Xiashan Organic Tea Factory and tea plantation. After breakfast drive to Fengqing County, you can enjoy a tour of the Dianhong Tea Factory and tea plantation where you can taste the black tea and learn about the drying process of the tea leaves and the production. 

Day 4 Fengqing-Yunxian-Lincang

Sightseeing and Activities: Chafang Township, Dazhai Township
Accommodation: Lincang
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch

This morning, drive to Chafang Township(茶房乡) in Yunxian County to visit acient tea trees and tea plantation. Then drive to visit Dazhai Township(大寨镇)to visit acient tea trees and tea plantation. Both Chafang Township and Dazhai Township are known as the lands of tea in Yunnan Province. After that drive to Lincang in the late afternoon.

Day 5 Lincang-Mengku

Sightseeing and Activities: Mengku Township, Bingdao village(冰岛)
Accommodation: Mengku
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch

In the early morning, drive to visit Mengku Township first, then drive to Bingdao village(冰岛), which is Luhu tribal village surrounded by green mountains and is the origin of the tea plantation in China. You will see several huge ancient tea trees over 2000 years old! You will have a chance to see this rare, unique village of the Lahu people. They are known to wear colorful, traditional clothes. 

You will stay overnight in Mengku Township.

Day 6 Mengku-Jingmai

Sightseeing and Activities: Jingmai Tea Mountain
Accommodation: Jingmai
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch

This morning, drive about five and half an hour to Jingmai Mountain. Visit Jingmai Tea Mountain and have a look at the flow of  ‘tea bosses’ by climbing up the hill. Admire the ancient tea gardens, the largest of their kind in the world. Jingmai is situated deep in the Southwest corner of Yunnan Province. These ancient forests border Burma and hide smuggler trade routes still in use today. This biodiversity of the region and the nearly untainted old world methods and rituals of tea cultivation and harvesting make this area unique among world tea production. The Chinese government in 2013 applied for the "Ancient Tea Plantations of Jingmai Mountain" to become an UNESCO World Heritage Site. There are 4 grape wine and 2 coffee related World Heritage properties already, but none yet for tea. If any place in the world deserves it, Jingmai would be it. 

Day 7 Jingmai-Menghai County-Jinghong

Sightseeing and Activities:Learn tea-making process, Nannuoshan Mountain
Accommodation: Jinghong
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch

Wake up and breathe fresh air in the mountain, experience local ethnic culture by walking around in Jingmai village. You could visit some families to learn tea processing.

Then drive about two and half an hour to visit the tea plantation of Nannuoshan Mountain in Menghai County. Nannuo Mountain is famous in China and abroad as the home of the "King of Tea Tree," a human cultivated 800+ year old tree. Fine tea tree varieties and superior natural conditions produce outstanding Nannuo Mountain tea products. Nannuo Mountain Peacock tea is a 400 gram fresh Pu-erh cake. It possesses a green, glossy luster and has leaves and buds that are plump, strong, and tender. The strips of tea unfold with prominent fine hair. When brewed, the tea liquor is a bright golden yellow with a strong, but mellow and refreshing flavor. It has a sharp kougan(feeling in the mouth) and stimulates salivation. The tea has strong and distinctive aroma.

After that, drive to Jinghong City.

Day 8 Jinghong-Yiwu-Menglun

Sightseeing and Activities: Yiwu Old Town, local family, tea mountains and plantation
Accommodation: Menglun
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch

Today, you will head for Yiwu Town, a small town once boomed due to tea trade in the history, see the old part of town and the stele erected in Qing Dynasty that recorded the trade situation at that time. It is a main planting area of traditional Puer Tea. Visit the Yiwu Old Town, then pay a visit to local families that are still producing Pu’er Tea the traditional way. Afterwards, visit the tea mountains and plantation.

After that, visit Menglun Botanical Garden. Menglun Botanical Garden is in Menglun town of Menglai county around 80km away from Jinghong city, Menglun tropical botanical garden is the largest tropical botanical garden in China. It was established in 1959 by Chinese famous botanists including Prof. Cai Xitao, who devoted all his life to related scientific research with remarkable achievements. The garden boasts more than 4000 species of tropical plants covering an area of 900 hectares, quite a few of which are rare elsewhere, forming a colorful botanical landscape.

Stay overnight in Menglun.

Day 9 Menglun-Jinghong-Puer

Sightseeing and Activities: Jinuo Acient Tea Mountain, Puer Tea Expo Garden(中华普洱茶博览苑), Tea picking, Learn tea-making process
Accommodation: Puer
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch

Get up in the early morning, you are going to go on your tea tour in Puer City. On the way to Puer, you will visit Jinuo Acient Tea Mountain(another name: Youle Mountain, 攸乐山). It is one of the famous ancient tea mountains in China. Then visit Dadugang tea garden.  After arriving in Puer city, you will head for the Puer Tea Expo Garden(中华普洱茶博览苑) for tea-leaf picking experience and learn how Puer tea is processed. This garden shows the origination, history, development, plantation, making process, and tasting of Puer tea.

Day 10 Puer

Sightseeing and Activities: Puer Tea Research Institute and Tea Garden and tea factory, Nakeli Village
Accommodation: Puer
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch

You are going  to visit a Puer Tea Research Institute and Tea Garden and tea factory in the morning. After lunch, visit Nakeli Village(那柯里村), Nakeli, an important station on the Ancient Tea-Horse Road. Located 16 km south from the County seat of Ning’er or 25 km from Simao District, Nakeli used to be an important station on the Ancient Tea-Horse Road. It is also the birthplace of the famous Love Song of the Caravan once played on China Central Television. Nakeli village is located by rivers and near mountains. With superb geo environment, the village has well preserved vestiges of the Ancient Tea-Horse Road including caravansary, lanterns and stone troughs etc. Many adventurers from USA, Japan and Hong Kong etc have visited the village for many times.

Day 11 Departure from Puer to Kunming

Sightseeing and Activities: Departure from Puer
Accommodation:
Meals: Breakfast

 You will fly from Puer to Kunming. Service ends.

Recommended Hotels

Service Included:

1. Admission fees for all of the sightseeing spots listed in the itinerary;
2. Meals as listed in the itinerary;
3.Accommodation with breakfast as listed in the itinerary;
4.Private English-speaking tour guide and vehicle for transfers & sightseeing;
5.Service charge & government taxes;
6. Luggage transfers between airports and hotels;
7. Two bottles of mineral water each day;
8.Travel Agency's Responsibility Insurance.
9. Train tickets from Kunming to Dali;
10.Domestic air tickets from Puer to Kunming(Economy Class).

Service Excluded:

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

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