Yunnan Minority Tour

Day 01 Kunming (L)

Arrive in Kunming, the Spring City of China. Meet you tour guide at the airport and transferred to 4-star New Era Hotel. After lunch, pay a visit to Yunnan Museum of Minority Nationalities where has a rich collection and shows the nationalities cultures in Yunnan Province.

Day 02 Kunming (B, L)

A full day excursion takes you to the Stone Forest, one of the natural wonders of the area, and a typical Karstic Landscape. On the way, you will enjoy a visit to a typical Yi minority village and meet the local people.

Day 03 Kunming / Wuding / Yuanmou (B, L)

Following breakfast, drive about 200 kilometers from Kunming to Yuanmou County via Wuding County. Proceed to visit the Earth Forest. The colorful and grotesque Earth Forest in Yuanmou was formed by geological movement and soil erosion about 1.5 million years ago. It is named after its shape like immense forest and the main composition of the expansion earth. There are numerous figures resembling human beings or various kinds of animals and birds. They all make up a wonderful landscape. Check into local best Yao Dong Hotel.

Day 04 Yuanmou / Dayao / Chuxiong (B, L)

In the morning, drive 2.5 hours to Dayao. You will tour around Shiyang Old Town. As one of Yunnan's three historical towns, Shiyang Old Town was founded in the Han Dynasty. It enjoys a long boom in salt trade lasting until the Ming Dynasty, making it a key stop on the Southern Silk Road. Till today, people in the town still make salt traditionally, in big cakes stamped with their ancient seal. After lunch in Shiyang Old Town, continue to visit Yi minority village. On the way you will pass by Santan Waterfall. With a series of water falls ranging in height from 19 to 121 meters, you will enjoy the magnificent view. Continue to visit a typical Yi minority village and meet the local people. Check into local best Yi Ren Old Town Hotel.

Day 05 Chuxiong / Weishan / Dali (B, L)

In the morning, you will be guided to visit Chuxiong Museum where you can appreciate the replica of Yuanmou Man fossil. Then drive about 3 hours to Weishan County. You will take a visit to Dong Lian Hua Village (East Lotus Village), one Muslim village in the Weishan valley where you can visit the traditional local quart yard. It was an important stop along the ancient Tea and Horse Road. After lunch, continue to WeiBaoShan which is one of China's 13 sacred Taoist mountains. Drive to Dali and check into 4-star Landscape Hotel.

Day 06 Dali (B, L)

Following breakfast today is drive to Xizhou Village which is located about 18 kilometers north of Dali. Xizhou Village is one of the Bai ethnic minority villages around the Erhai Lake. You are escorted to visit the houses of local residents which are characterized by a traditional Chinese rectangular courtyard with a screen wall facing the gate. You will be greeted with the genuine tea ceremony of the Bai minority and treated to a song & dance performance by local Bai people.

Enjoy the authentic local food at Linden Center where resides in an expansive and luxurious courtyard home in Xizhou village. After lunch, you will drop in on some local farming families and be guided to see the local Bai people's typical way of life by taking a visit to the pretty Fishing Village of Shuanglang. Also you can stroll along Erhai Lake for a while. Following this is a visit to local Indigo Workshop where you can appreciate the traditional way of indigo dying. In the afternoon, continue to visit Three Pagodas. Originally built a thousand years ago, they still stand intact as a marvel of architecture. Drive back to Dali.

Day 07 Dali / Shaxi (B, L)

Following breakfast is drive to Nuodeng Village which is an old Bai village settled down a thousand year ago. All the houses are built in the traditional style with clay walls and tile roofs. You will be guided to visit the family and get to know the real life of the Bai Minority people. Then drive to Shaxi Ancient Town where is the only survival ancient bazaar on the tea-horse ancient road. Nestled in a beautiful green valley, Shaxi is a good place for traveling. Check into the best local guesthouse, Shaxi Lao Ma Dian Guesthouse.

Day 08 Shaxi / Lijiang (B, L)

Today you will take a leisure stroll in Sidengjie Village. It was once an important market where three major lines of the Ancient Tea and Horse Road met during the Qin and Han dynasties. In 2002, Sidengjie village in Shaxi was listed as a protected world architectural heritage site by the World Architecture Foundation. Every Friday morning from 9am-3pm, you will have chance to pay a visit to the historic Sideng Market which is assumed as the only surviving market along the Ancient Tea and Horse Road. Then drive to Lijiang Old Town which has been inscribed by UNESCO on the World Natural and Cultural Heritage List. Check into Lijiang He Xi Hotel, located in the ancient town.

Day 09 Lijiang (B, L)

Following breakfast today is the visit to Black Dragon Pool Park which is located at the foot of Elephant Hill. It was built in 1737 during the Qing Dynasty and offers a spectacular view on the Jade Dragon Snow Mountain. Proceed to visit the Dongba Culture Exhibition Museum, which represents the Dongba Pictographic Characters and Naxi Minorities mysterious Culture, some of which still use the matriarchal social system up till today.

Day 10 Lijiang (B, L)

After breakfast, drive to Puji village. You can take a short hiking, passing through rolling hills and pine forests before arriving Puji Monastery which is a Tibetan Buddhism monastery built three hundred years ago. The hike on the way down gives you a beautiful view over the entire valley. After lunch, transfer to the next destination. Service concludes.