CHINA ABOVE THE CLOUDS

Tour Program

Day 1. Hello, Kunming

Kunming is the capital of Yunnan Province and the first stop on the route. Thanks to its mild climate all year round, it is called the “City of Eternal Spring”. The city lies at an altitude of about 1,900 metres, and today around 8.7 million people live here.

At Changshui Airport you will be met with flowers and fruit and driven to your hotel in a private car.

The evening is free. You can take a stroll in the park around Green Lake (Cuihu), known as “the eyes of Kunming”. It was once a bay of Dianchi Lake. Two causeways cross the lake, and the pavilion on its central island was first built in 1692.

And for dinner, try “crossing-the-bridge rice noodles” from the town of Mengzi. Legend has it that a young scholar’s wife carried his lunch across a stone bridge to the island where he studied, and the chicken broth stayed hot under a layer of fat. The method of making the dish is on China’s national list of intangible cultural heritage.

Meals: not included.

Day 2. The Stone Forest and Dianchi Lake

In the morning, the Stone Forest, or Shilin, about 80 km from Kunming. Its grey limestone rocks resemble swords, towers and pagodas and stand so close together that maze-like paths wind between them. The limestone was laid down on the bed of a shallow sea, and the stone forest itself has been forming for more than 270 million years. Since 2007 it has been part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site “South China Karst”.

The Sani people, a branch of the Yi, live here, and your guide will tell you their legends. The best known is about Ashima, a girl who, according to legend, turned to stone. The Sani epic poem “Ashima” is on China’s national list of intangible cultural heritage.

In the afternoon, return to Kunming and Dianchi Lake at the Haigeng Dam. Dianchi is the largest lake in Yunnan, about 300 km², at an altitude of almost 1,900 metres; it is called the “Pearl of the Plateau”. From the dam there is a view of the Western Hills, which are known as the “Sleeping Beauty” because of their outline.

In the evening, free time on Nanqiang Street, a night market with Yunnan snacks.

Meals: breakfast, lunch, dinner.

Day 3. By high-speed train to Dali

In the morning, a transfer to Kunming South Railway Station and a high-speed train to Dali, about two hours on the way. In Dali you will be met at the station and driven to your hotel.

From 779 the city of Yangjumie here was the capital of the Nanzhao Kingdom, and from 937 to 1253 the capital of the Dali Kingdom. Today it is the centre of the Dali Bai Autonomous Prefecture, and the Bai are its titular people: their houses with white walls and grey tiles are built according to the canon of “three wings and a screen wall”. The local scenery is summed up in the “four sights of Dali”: the wind of Xiaguan, the flowers of Shangguan, the snow of Cangshan and the moon of Erhai.

After check-in, free time. You can walk through the gates of the old town and stroll along its main street, Fuxing Road, which runs from the South Gate to the North Gate. The present old town was built in 1382, under the Ming dynasty, and in 1982 it was included in the first list of 24 historical and cultural cities of China.

Meals: breakfast.

Day 4. Erhai Lake

A whole day on Erhai Lake. It is the second-largest lake in Yunnan after Dianchi: about 250 km² in area and about 42 km long, with the Cangshan Mountains rising above it to the west.

In the morning, the lakeside Haishe Park: a quiet spit with trees and mirror-smooth water. A bike ride along the ecological trail that runs 129 km around the lake, and a photo stop at the “Couple Trees”.

Then the old town of Xizhou. In the late Qing era a merchant association led by the Yan, Dong, Yin and Yang families formed here, and the town has preserved Bai houses from the Ming and Qing eras. Here you will taste the local Xizhou baba flatbreads, sweet or savoury.

Next, the fishing village of Shuanglang on the north-eastern shore, and afternoon tea at “Little Santorini”, a resort with white Greek-style buildings on a rocky shore, with a panoramic view of the whole lake.

Meals: breakfast, lunch, dinner.

Day 5. The Three Pagodas, Shaxi and the road to Lijiang

In the morning, the Three Pagodas of Chongsheng Temple, the symbol of Dali. The central Qianxun Pagoda, square, with 16 tiers and 69 metres high, was built in the first half of the 9th century, under the Nanzhao Kingdom. The two side pagodas, octagonal and with 10 tiers each, appeared later, under the Dali Kingdom. The pagodas have survived several strong earthquakes.

In the afternoon, the old town of Shaxi on the ancient Tea Horse Road: Bai houses, an old theatre stage and stone-paved lanes. On Sideng market square stands Xingjiao Temple, founded in 1415. In 2001 the World Monuments Fund put Shaxi on its list of endangered sites, at the same time as the Great Wall of China, as the only surviving market on the Tea Horse Road.

Towards evening, a transfer by private car directly from Shaxi to Lijiang, about two hours on the road, and check-in at the hotel.

Meals: breakfast, lunch, dinner.

Day 6. Jade Dragon Snow Mountain

A whole day at Jade Dragon Snow Mountain. Its thirteen snow-capped peaks stretch from north to south for about 35 km; the highest is Shanzidou, 5,596 metres. The mountain’s glaciers are the southernmost in Eurasia, and for the Naxi people it is the embodiment of their patron god Sanduo.

The big cable car takes you up to Glacier Park at an altitude of 4,506 metres, close to the snowy peaks. An oxygen canister, a down jacket and water — the “three treasures of the snow mountain” — are included.

At midday, the “Impression Lijiang” show on an open-air stage at an altitude of 3,100 metres, with the snow mountain itself as the backdrop. The show was directed by Zhang Yimou together with Wang Chaoge and Fan Yue. It premiered in 2006, and hundreds of local people of different ethnic groups perform in it, most of them Naxi.

Afterwards, Blue Moon Valley: four turquoise lakes in a chain on the Baishui River, with cascades between them. The name is explained by the shape of the valley, which resembles a crescent moon.

In the evening, a walk on your own around Lijiang Old Town: Sifang Square, ancient Naxi music and lights along the canals. The town is about 800 years old and has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1997. Water from the Black Dragon Pool flows through it in canals spanned by 354 bridges. And the town has no walls: legend has it that the ruling Mu family feared that the character of their surname, “wood”, framed by walls, would turn into the character meaning “besieged”.

Meals: breakfast, lunch, dinner.

Day 7. Until next time, China

Breakfast at the hotel and a private transfer to Lijiang Airport for your flight.

China is one of those countries you want to return to the moment you leave. So this is not goodbye — just until next time.

Meals: breakfast.