Erhai Lake

A deeply conversation with local Tibetan people while have a breathtaking view of Shangri la,the contrast of architecture between Tibetan and lijiang old town,a better understanding of Chinese culture diversity. finally bicycling around Erhai,the beautiful lake next to dali courtyard,or hanging around in Dali courtyard with colorful artefacts catches your eyes while the Chinese folk music surrounding you,let yourself emerge in the warm sunshine.

The price is only for English tour guide per day each person and it's negotiable,free to ask about accommodation or recommendation or anything else you want to know.

P.s.Sorry for the inconvenient without photos,anyone who wants to have a spoiler of this wonderful trip,messaging for more information.

Day 1: Kunming

You'll begin your journey to diverse and captivating Yunnan Province from the capital city, Kunming. Upon your arrival at the Kunming International Airport, meet your local guide who'll bring you to the hotel by private vehicle. If you have time, take a leisurely stroll along the Green Lake, a charming area of tea houses and small boutiques selling handicrafts and beautiful local paintings. If you have enough time, you can visit the interesting Kunming City Museum (9:30—17:00), where you can get informed about Kunming’s history and specifically on its role in the past decades (WWII).

Option for the evening: if you like you can visit the Dynamic Yunnan Show in Kunming's Art Theatre – an original ethnic dance musical. It was directed by Yang Liping and has been an outstanding gain to the Chinese stages in recent years. Primitive, unsophisticated folk dances and a fresh artistic concept converge in the program, giving audiences a unique "Yunnan Impression." The show starts at 20:00h and lasts for 1.5 hours. It is highly recommended by Wonders Of Yunnan Traveland tripadvisor. For people interested in minority culture, this is a must-see and not to be missed when in Kunming!

Day 2: Kunming - Stone Forest - Dali

Your guide picks you up from your hotel lobby in the morning at 9am. First, we will drive you to Stone Forest (about 90 km, 1.5 hours, mostly highway), and enjoy a local Yunnan lunch before we enter the scenic area. According to an old saying it is a pity not visiting the Stone Forest while you are in Kunming. After lunch, we will have a full afternoon to visit this wonderful landscape. Enjoy the beautiful views of the sight and spend about 2-3 hours in the park.

Afterwards you are driven back to Kunming and dropped off at Kunming train station from where the overnight train is leaving to Dali.

Day 3: Dali

Upon your arrival in the early morning, your local Dali tour guide and driver meet you at the train station and take you to have breakfast first. We enjoy the beautiful view from the outside of the Three Pagodas of Chongsheng Monasteryafterwards which are the symbols of Dali. Check into your comfortable hotel and take a rest. After having enjoyed a traditional Dali lunch we will visit Dali Old Town, climb the City Wall and stroll through the souvenir roads which are very famous in Dali. You are free to explore the lively Dali street culture, shop for souvenirs or whatever you are up to.

Travelers visit Dali Old Town for its traditional architecture, minority cultures (mostly Bai but also with many Yi and Hui nationalities) and simply to relax. 

Day 4: Dali - Lijiang

Today, we take you to the morning market of Xizhou Town to experience traditional local life. We will visit Bai-style traditional architectural courtyards, taste the typical fragrant Three-Course Tea and explore the Bai's distinctive culture. Xizhou is 19 kilometers north of Dali Old town and lies between Erhai Lake and the Cangshan Mountain Range. It is famous for Bai culture with its old and well-preserved folk houses. But it's not only a historically famous city but also a typical commercial center of Bai Ethnic Nationality. The Bai minority are very present at Xizhou. With a more mixed population and cosmopolitan background, it is considered a must for travelers. Here, you can enjoy lovely local clothes, decorative architectures and wonderful handicrafts.

Afterwards we are going on a cruise on close Erhai Lake to Jinsuo Island – a local fishing village. Enjoy the green Cangshan Mountain Range and the Three Pagodas from far as well as lots of birds flying over the lake.

After lunch, get driven to Lijiang (about 170 km, 2.5 hours, mostly highway), check in your hotel and enjoy your free and easy evening in Lijiang.

Day 5: Lijiang

The next morning starts with a visit at the Black Dragon Pool and Dongba Museum to explore the rich Naxi minority culture. Then we'll visit to the Jade Lake Village (Yuhu Village): from here, you will enjoy a fantastic view over the Jade Dragon Snow Mountain. We visit the museum dedicated to the life of Joseph Rock, an explorer and biologist who lived in the area in the early 20th century.

We then have the opportunity to join a 2-hour guided horse trek leading you along the mountain slopes. The trek passes ancient Naxi deer farms, the ruins of Jujian Temple, the King Ranch of the Naxi, ancient tree populations, stone inscriptions and many other nice and interesting places. We meet our driver again afterwards and get driven back to the hotel.

Day 6: Lijiang - Tiger Leaping Gorge - Shangri-La

Today after breakfast, we'll drive about 60 km to the First Bend of the Yangtze River, which is close to Shigu and can be marveled at before we head further north to the Tiger Leaping Gorge with an imposing gorge scenery (about 88 km, 1.5 hours, partly highway, partly country roads). It's one of the deepest gorges in the world with 34 rapids. The gorge measures 16 km long and a steep 3900m from the waters of Jinsha River to the snow-capped mountain tops of Haba Snow Mountain to the north-west and Yulong (or Jade Dragon) Snow Mountain to the south-east. The inhabitants of the gorge are primarily the indigenous Naxi people, who live in a handful of small hamlets. The Tiger Leaping Gorge is another top attraction of Yunnan!

Later in the afternoon the tour proceeds to Shangri-La (102 km, 2.5 hours), the former Zhongdian which is well-known as the paradise destination for every traveler. 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.

Day 7: Shangri-La

After the breakfast we go to see the Ganden Songzanlin Monastery, the largest Tibetan monastery in Yunnan. Then we’ll visit a local family and get close to the real life of Tibetans.

After lunch we have a closer look at Baiji Temple which is very close to west of the Dukezong Ancient town, from where a great view over the city can be enjoyed. 

We then invite you to a relaxed break in Shangri-La’s High Mountain Resort to enjoy a cup of coffee, facing beautifulNapa Lake and enjoy great views into the local nature. Spend a free and easy evening around Dukezong Ancient Town.

Day 8: Shangri-La (Departure)

Have breakfast in your hotel. Your driver is already waiting for you to take you wherever in town you need to be brought to this morning (Shangri-La Airport, bus terminal, etc.). This tour comes to an end and we’d be happy welcoming you in Yunnan again!

• 8:30            I will pick you up at your hotel and then go to Dali.
• 13:00          After 4.5-5 hrs driving, we will arrive Dali Wase Town and check in the hotel. (We can choice one hotel face to Erhai)
• 14：00        Have lunch and rent an electric bicycle or electric car then go along the easter side of Erhai Lake to enjoy the beautiful scenery of the lake and the culture and architecture of one of Yunnan's minorities-Bai People. After arriving Shuanglang we can stay there for one or two hrs.
• 18:00        Go back to the hotel and have some snack. Then have a good rest.
• 8:30          Get up and have some breakfast. Then go along the other side. Visit the small temple and walk along the Erhai for somewhile.
• 9:30          Take the electric bicycle or electric car along the western side of Erhai. Arriving Xiaguan Town we can stay there for 1 hrs and then go to Dali Old Town.
• 12:00         Have some lunch and then go to the Three Town or Batterfly Park.
• 16:00         Go back to the Old Town and hanging on the street with different customers from different places.
• 18:00        Go to the train station and take night train back to Kunming. 

In the morning we will meet to have a nice mixed breakfast of western and chinese style in the Old town.

Right away having more power in the body we will go to visit CangShan, the mountain on top signalized. There's three destinations i will give you to choose depending on your interests.

We will have a very nice lunch near to the mountain or also it will depends to the destination you've choosed.

The afternoon have also to ways to spend, going to the Erhai lake, or visiting some interesting not so tourist places in the town.

For dinnner we will enjoy a delicious chinese food, local or from other parts of china, i will give you the diferent options.

We will end our day sharing some drink in some of the musical bars are located in the center of the old town.

  Day 1 Arrive in Kunming, can visit Green Lake and Bird and Flower Market if time allows. O/N Kunming

  Day 2 Drive 1.5-2 hrs to visit Stone Forest, about 1-2 hrs there, then lunch in a local tasty restaurant, then drive 1.5 hrs further to visit Jiuxiang Caves. Then drive 2.5 hrs back to Kunming. O/N Kunming

  Day 3 Drive 5 hrs or take day train (12:10-17:16) from Kunming to Dali. Visit the Erhai Park for very nice lake view, Dali Museam to get an idea about this antient cultural land, then Dali Old Town in the evening. O/N Dali

  Day 4 Drive 20 minutes to the tea plantation on the Cangshan Mt., where has got beautiful view of Dali area, and nice to walk around. Then we drive 10 minutes further to Xizhou, visit the daily morning market there, then walk around the local Bai People's residence, and take a horse carriage through the fileds to the lake area and some local hidden temple, for Bai people are very religious people and their worshipping to female gods are quite unique. Take a fishing boat to the lake to enjoy birds fishing show on the lake, then visit some local bamboo weaving family. Then drive 2 hrs to Shaxi. Visit Shibaoshan with  the Baoxiangsi Temple built up on a big roack, with wild monkeys as residence, and very beautiful stone carvings from antient times.  O/N in Shaxi.

  Day 5 From Shaxi drive 2.5 hrs to the premitive Laojunshan Mountain Jianchuan, where is very little developed and very few people would make it there. But it has got such beautfil nature, from premitive forest, mountain streams and lakes, azealea bushes, wild birds and flowers, as well as grssland for animals. The altitude varies from 2200  meters up to 4000 meters high. We can take walks on the wooden paved path into deep forest, along with the sound of streams and lots of wild berries and mushrooms. About 3-4 hrs up there, tHen we drive2.5-3 hrs to Lijiang. O/N Lijiang

  Day 6 Exlpore the Lijiang Old Town, Local Vege Market, Black Dragon Pool, Sanduoge Village for nice walk, Baisha, Shuhe, and Lashi Lake for horse riding and boating. O/N Lijiang

  Day 7 Visit Jade Dragon Snow Mountain, enjoy the amazing Impression show, Blue Moon Valley where the glacier water is naturally blue and green, and then cable car up to Spruece Meadow, or Yak Meadow or Glacier Park. O/N Lijiang

  Day 8 Drive 1.5 hrs to Tiger Leaping Gorge, visit the tourist site of the gorge, then hire a local minivan up to the Halfway Guesthouse along the hiking trail, where has breathtaking view of the gorge. We can do one hour walk futher to Fairy Waterfall on the flat path, and walk back another one hour. This is often the highlight for many people, but can be done only if people don't have hight sickness. Then drive down to meet our driver again, and drive another 2.5 hrs up to Shangrila, along with stops for amazing mountain views.

  Day 9 Visit Songzanlinsi Lama Temple, and Napa Lake for a walk through Tibetan villages. One choice for today is the Putacuo National Park, the first national park in China, where has got beautiful lakes, vast grassland with yaks and horses around, and primitive forest. Another choice is to visit the Dabaoji Temple area for beautiful country walks for 1-2 hrs, and enjoy swimming and sauna from the natural Tianshengqiao Hotspring. Night in Shangrila.

  Day 10  Fly from Qiqing Airport to your next destination.

  For price details, please contact me directly, as the tour price depends on the number of people together. Thanks a lot.