Day 1
Arrival - Kunming
· Arrive Kunming by air.
· Your tour guide will be waiting to greet you in the Arrivals Hall at the Kunming Airport, holding a sign with your group name.
· Transfer to hotel to check-in.
Day 2
Kunming
· Visit bamboo Temple
· City tour of Jinmabijiincluding bird and flower market, Cuihulake and park district.
· Dinner at Guoqiao Minxian (Local food including the famed Yunnan rice noodles).
Day 3
Kunming - Dali
· Drive 4 to 5 hours to Dali (central Bai minority area) by bus
· Visit Dali old town and famed Three pagodas.
· The Three Pagodas are made of brick and covered with white mud. As its name implies, the Three Pagodas comprise three independent pagodas forming a symmetric triangle. The elegant, balanced and stately style is unique in China’s ancient Buddhist architectures, which makes it a must-see in the tour of Dali. The Three Pagodas, visible from miles away, has been a landmark of Dali City and selected as a national treasure meriting preservation in China. The Three Pagodas were initially built for auspicious reasons. According to local legends, Dali was once a swamp inhabited by breeding dragons before the humans arrived. As the dragons, which were believed to deliberately create natural disasters to dispel human intruders, revered pagodas, the Three Pagodas were built to deter the dragons.
Day 4
Dali
· Visit butterfly spring village, Bai ethnic minority’s village.
· Dali is an important stop along the Southern Silk Routeas well as The Ancient Tea Horse Roadtransporting goods between Southwestern China and Southeast Asia, and as far as India and Afghanistan including Yunnan’s teas to Sichuan and Tibet.
Day 5
Lijiang
· Drive 4 to 5 hours to Lijiang and take the remainder of the day to wander the old town.
Day 6
Lijiang/Baisha
· Visit Baisha Naxi village, Baisha moral painting, residence of Joseph Rock,and Suhuo town.
· Lijiang, a UNESCO World Heritage Site meaning “Beautiful River,” was named by Kublai Khan in 1254.
· Lijiang is famed for being a main portion of the Ancient Tea and Horse Caravan Trail, a trade route that began in the Tang Dynasty (618 AD-907 AD) with the main goods being hardy Tibetan horses and tea from Sichuan and Yunnan provinces to Burma, Tibet and India. Pu’er tea from Yunnan, in particular, was prized by traders, as Tibetans used it to make butter tea, providing invaluable daily nutrients for life on the Tibetan Plateau. This leaf’s taste is described as being bitter at first with a sweet finish.
· Yugu village the former residence of Joseph Rock, an Austrian-American who spent over two decades in the early 20th century researching and documenting the flora and cultures of southwestern China.
Day 7
Lijiang/Shangri-La
· After breakfast this morning, depart for the scenic five hour drive to Gyalthang, also known as Shangri-La or Zhongdian.
· En route, we will stop to visit the famous Tiger Leaping Gorge, one of the world's deepest gorges, tucked between the Jade Dragon Snow Mountain and the Haba Mountains. Legend has it that a tiger once leaped across in flight from a hunter, hence the name. With more than 3048 meters (10,000 feet) of vertical relief between the mountain summits and the river, Tiger Leaping Gorge is one of the most spectacular gorges on earth. After a 30-minute drive off the main road, we leave the vehicles to travel by foot. It is a 45-minute walk to a viewpoint with stunning vistas of the gorge.
· Walking in old town. Visit Thangka Academy (www.thangkaacdemy.com)and Shangrila Association of Cultural preservation in old town (www.shangrilaassociation.org).
Day 8
Shangrila
· Morning visit Sungzanlin monastery built by the 5th Dalai Lama in 1681, the temple is the largest Tibetan Buddhist lamasery in Yunnan. It was almost completely destroyed during the Chinese Cultural Revolution (1966 - 1976), but has since been reconstructed, and today, Songzanlin Monastery houses 800 monks and lamas and is often called “Little Potala” for its resemblance to the Potala Palace in Lhasa, the former home of the Dalai Lamas.
· Afternoon visit Pudatso national park.
· Pudatso is China’s first national park, opened in 2007, Nestled deep in the mountains of northwest Yunnan at an elevation ranging from 3,500 to 4,000 meters (11,500 to 13,100 feet), Pudatso is an integral part of the Three Parallel Rivers Scenic Area, as it is the source of China’s three most famous rivers: the Yellow, Yangtze, and Mekong. The area is recognized for its dramatic topological contours and rich biodiversity. Foremost among the lakes in the park are the Bita and Shudu lakes, though the extended wetlands area extends far beyond to encompass forested mountains, grasslands in river valleys and a great abundance of rare plants and animals.
· Although the Pudatso region comprises only 0.7 percent of China's landmass, it contains more than 20 percent of the country's plant species, about one-thirdof its mammal and bird species, and almost 100 endangered species.
Day 9
Shangri-La
Home stays commence
· Home stay will comprise 20 days with families who speak Chinese and will follow up with some home stays in farm village, speaking Tibetan and Chinese. Some days and nights will be spent in the Thangka Academy studying Tibetan Thangka painting.
· One day hike to Tsowaka- nomads pasture (picnic lunch) along what is known as the Tsowaka Hike, an easy hike of 3~4 hrs. First, hike uphill and cross a mountain pass, then descend to a meadow of nomads where 6 families of nomads who stay there for 4 months.
· Lunch with nomads and head back to Trinyi village.
· Home stays:
1. 07:30 - breakfast
2. 08:30 to 10:30 - work in the field.
3. 11:00 - Lunch break
4. 11:30 to 15:30 - working in field
5. 15:30 to 16:00 - supper break
6. 16:00 to 19:00 - herding animals/teaching English to the local students
7. 19:00 to 20:00 - tending animals or Yaks and Dri milking
8. 20:00 to 21:00 - dinner with family around fire
Thangka Painting
1. 08:00 to 08:30 - prayer ceremony (Puja)
2. 08:30 to 09:00 - breakfast
3. 09:00 to 12:00 - Thangka painting class
4. 12:00 to 13:00 - Lunch
5. 13:00 to 14:00 - teach English to local artisan
6. 14:00 to 17:00 - Thangka Painting Class
7. 17:00 to 18:00 - teach English to local artisan
8. 17:00 to 18:00 - dinner
9. After 6 pm, prayer ceremonies or Tibetan cultural discussions
· During the Thangka Academy students have chance to Speech about Buddhism and Happiness (2 hours lecture by Ven Kedrup).
· Shangri-La (Gyalthang) and Nature (2 hours lecture by Dakpa
Day 28
Shangri-La
· Back to town and hotel.
· Farwell diner and party.
Day 29
Shangri-La
· Depart for home
For more information please contact us. The Above program is flexible and can be talioured to fit your requirments.
