Kingdom of Bai & Yi Ethnic Minorities with Brilliant Culture
Dali, sandwiched between Cangshan Mountain and Erhai Lake, is an exhilarating old city with romanticism from ancient history till now. If you only have a short time to visit in and around Kunming, select Dali into your bucket list for 1~2 days' discovery by flight from Kunming (about 35 minutes). In 4 days, it will never let you down and you’ll be attracted by its peculiar stone forest, colorful ethnic culture, harmonious atmosphere, time-honored history, exquisite handcraft...
Highlights of this tour
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Welcome to Kunming, the Spring City of China! Upon arrival at the Kunming airport/train station, the local tour guide and driver will meet you in the arrival hall and escort you to your hotel.
After some rest, enjoy a tour to Western Hills which is called “Sleeping Beauty Hills”, looking like a beautiful young lady lying beside Dian Lake (the largest freshwater in Yunnan and famed as the “Pearl on the Plateau”). It will be a perfectly lovely trip to walk in this long wedge of parkland and explore the famous temples (Huating Temple and Taihua Temple included) and other cultural relics. There is a saying: If you do not visit Western Hill, you haven't visited Kunming; if you do not come to Dragon Gate, you haven't been to Western Hills. Make some effort to climb up to magic Dragon Gate where you’ll appreciate the panoramic view of Dian Lake as well as see a group of grottoes and sculptures.
Then, continue your trip to Yunnan Nationalities Museum, the largest minority museum in China. You’ll lift the mysterious veil of China’s 52 ethnic groups and learn through many interesting exhibits like ethnic clothing, textiles, musical instruments, folk masks, folk arts and folk pottery, literature and so on.
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After breakfast, drive 85 km to the typical Karst landform - Stone Forest. Walk into the Greater Stone Forest, marvel at groups of gray-black stone peaks and climb up a pavilion to have a panoramic view of the intricate stone forest. Visit the Lesser Stone Forest and listen to the legendary story of “Ashima”. It will be a real treat to visit the extraordinary natural stone forest. You feel like come into a "stone world".
After stone wonderland exploration, drive back to Kunming city. Later, enjoy a walk to the most picturesque park in Kunming urban area - the Green Lake Park. Here you can share the happiness of local people’s doing tai chi, performing local opera, and other vibrant activities. If you visit the park in November or December, you will see the grandeur of huge flocks of black-headed gulls that migrate there from Siberia.
Have a good rest tonight.
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On this day, you'll be escorted to Kunming Changshui Airport and take a morning flight to Dali (about 1 hour). Welcome to Dali, a historical and cultural city for Bai ethnic group. Upon arrival, you will be welcomed by the local tour guide and transferred to begin today’s sightseeing.
Begin your visit to the symbol of Dali - Three Pagodas and Chongsheng Temple. Built in 10th century in Nanzhao Kingdom, Three Pagodas is made of one big pagoda and two small pagodas forming a symmetric triangle. If you look at it from a distance, the pagodas are like three giant ballpoint pens breaking up the landscape of the never-ending mountains. Here, you’ll get close to look at the pagodas to know more history and stories, visit the royal temple in Dali - Chongsheng Temple, take awesome photos of Three Pagodas and the reflections…
Later, head to Erhai Lake (Ear-shaped Sea) and take a cruise to Jinsuo Island in the east Erhai Lake. There are 200 Bai ethnic families around 1000 people in Jinsuo Island. On Erhai Lake cruise, you’ll enjoy the green Cangshan Mountain and Three Pagodas from afar as well as lots of birds and seagulls flying over the lake.
After the peaceful time, be followed a trip to explore Dali Old Town. Used to be the ancient capital of Nanzhao and Dali Kingdoms, Dali Old Town is formed the square-shaped structure, laid out on a typical north-south, east-west axis with five north-south and eight east-west streets. Wander leisurely through the elegant streets with weeping willows dancing and colorful flowers blooming in the sunshine, if you like have a cup of coffee when visiting the famous Foreigner Street, visit the bustling shops selling Yunnan specialties, get on the city wall or gate tower for a bird’s eye view of the large old town area. You will feel like going back to old times.
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After breakfast, you’ll be driven 18 kilometers to Xizhou Ancient Town, an authentic old town where local Bai people really live and work. Walk into the “the Museum of Bai Architecture” and appreciate the exquisite residential complexes decorated fabulous sculptures, paintings, pointed eaves and wall screens. Taste Bai’s Three-Course Tea and experience the tea ceremony. Set eyes on the local morning market - a place for local people trading daily supplies, including fresh vegetable, fruits, meats, and many kinds of food and daily necessities. It is a great opportunity for getting close to local living conditions.
Then, transfer to “Hometown of Bai People’s Tie-dye Art” for an appreciation of Tie-dye. Tie-dye is a typical feature to present the Bai’s excellent handcraft with various colors and elegant designs. You’ll visit local Indigo workshop in Zhoucheng and know the way of making. (Optional experience: If you are interested, you can follow the local Bai people to learn some traditional skills of how to knot and view your works to be dyed into different colors with beautiful designs. This whole experience takes about 1.5 hours.)
After the tour, you are free until be escorted to airport / railway station for your flight or train to next destination.
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Dali / Shaxi Ancient Town / Lijiang
Kunming / Dali / Lijiang
Kunming / Dali / Lijiang / Shangri-La
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“Very good experience”
“WONDERFUL 25 DAYS IN CHINA - PRIVATE TOUR”
“Awesome China tour from north east to south west”
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