Xiding is a very small city (yesterday village even) located on the west of Xishuangbanna prefecture. Someone says there is a little to expect here, still tourists are making the road to this far corner at least once a week. And it’s on purpose: the Thursday market is considered one of the best and authentic markets in the region.

I’ll explain: Yunnan province is a unique province in China which is very famous by various ethnic minorities and tribes (some even do not speak Mandarin Chinese). Xiding is a regional center that once in a week hosts a bazaar that serves both as a shopping and social event for all the nearby villages. Various minorities in their national clothes could be observed and even a bit photographed on the market. You will learn to distinguish between Aini, Bulang, Dai and Hani minorities and perhaps some others :)

Few tips:

◦Get there a day before. This is a typical route: take a bus from Jinghong to Menghai (that would be easy). From Menghai there are two buses to Xiding each day.
◦There is a modest “hostel” right at the place the Xiding bus stops. Hot shower and toilet are available in a separate building 10 meters away from your door. The place is a bit noisy, so some tourists recommend to get out of the bus toward the main “square” in Xiding (50m) and find a stairs up that lead to another village (some say that the people in that village are even more hospitable and the sleep is quieter).
◦Get up with the sun (for us it was near 7:00 am) to see the launch of the shopping party and to take the pictures while the shadows are still looong :)
◦Wherever you go – ensure you have at least the name of the place written on paper in Chinese. Lots of village names sound pretty same for the western ear, so you might find yourself kilometers away of the desired destination.
◦In case you are completely stacked without a bus to/from Xiding, the bike shop on the central square will do you a “favor”, delivering you and your luggage to any nearby village (beware: Lonely Planet defines the ride of that type as a “hair rising experience”). Be firm when negotiating a price.
◦There are some tracks opportunities from Xiding to nearby villages and more on that in the future lomolocations :)

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Day1 Pick up from Kunming airport then drive to Yuxi Huxianhu.

Day2 Drive from Huxianhu to Mojiang which is Hani minority.

Day3 Drive from Mojiang to Puer (which is plants Puer tea  places) then continue to Xishuangbanna.

Day4 Look around Xishuangbanna See tropical rain forest area and the wild elephant valley .

Day5 Drive from Xishuangbanna ethic customers park to Puer.

Day6 Drive from Puer to lingcang.

Day7 Drive from lingcang to yongde county then to tengchong county  See he shun ancient town.

Day8 See Tengchong atami crater 

Day9 Drive from Tengchong to Dali 

Day10  Look around dali see Three pagoda xizhou and er lake after drive to Lijiang.

Trip Itinerary:

Day 1,  Be picked up from Jinghong airport transfer to down town,  visit Manting park in the afternooon, over night at Jinhong.

Day 2, Tea mountain day tour, night at Menghai, you will Enjoy a soft hike to the tea mountain to see the old Puer tea planation on Nanuo mountain, picking Pu'er tea, making tea in the tea at the tea farms.  enjoy a traditional meal at Hani people's house,  tea tasting in the afternoon.  over night at local guesthouse on tea mountain or at Menghai.

Day 3,  Day tour of the tropical Botanical garden, tea factory.   Over night at Jinghong city.

Half day tour of Botanical garden, from where you will see many rare wild tropical plants and flowers.   visit Jinuo village and have lunch,    visit tea factory to see how the tea is being processed in the tea factory,  you will have a  chance to taste different type of Puer tea produce in Xishaungbanna. Return to down town hotel. In the evening you can visit Gaozhuang in the night.

Day 4,  Departure from Xishuangbanna to your next destination,  Transfer to the airport and service ends.

Quotation Include:

Private car with driver, English speaking guide

Quotation doesn't include:

Tourists' hotel, meal , flight tickets and entrance fee to scenic attractions

Note: The trip can be adjusted according to your timetable and interest. Please contact us  to tailor make the trip.