14-day Kunming Pu’er Jinghong Dali Yunnan Tea Business Trip

Upon arrival in Kunming, your tour guide will meet you and escort you to your hotel for a rest. Then you can have a free leisure around the city for the rest of the day.

Today you tour will  start with a morning visit to the largest tea leaves markets in Kunming. And then drive 86 km to visit the the Stone Forest. The Stone Forest covers 26,000-hectare and from a distance, it does indeed look like a forest of stones with its peaks and odd-shaped rocks standing straight up from the ground. You can walk around the forest on paths that have been built and there is some stair climbing involved if you want to walk around it.  Then back to Kunming to visit the Guandu Ancient Town, a famous historical & cultural town featured by architectural style of Tang, Song, Yuan, Ming, and Qing Dynasties.

After that, drive to Kunming airport, take the flight to Jinghong, the capital of Xishuangbanna Autonomous Prefecture.

A morning drive along the Mekong River to Ganlanba, an inhabitation area of Dai People for a visit to local market. Then drive to Yiwu, a small old town witnessed the rise and fall of tea plantation on the tea mountains and tea trade in the history and pay a visit to local families that are still producing Pu'er Tea in the traditional way.  Back to Menglun, visit the biggest Tropical Botanical Garden of China.

After breakfast you will continue to drive to Jinuo Tea Mountain Area where is habitats of Jinuo People, the last nationality classified by Chinese Government in 1979.  As one of the cradles of famous Pu'er Tea,  Wrap- charcoaled Tea and Salad Tea, The Jinuo people keep ancient tea plantations and tea making around  Jinuo villages in their traditional way.  

Then move to Simao to get view of vast tea plantation near Dadugang on the route of ancient tea caravan way.  There old local family hostel for tea transporting caravans stands by the paving stones and tells the past prosperity of tea trade. Stay in Pu'er city.

Continue to pay a morning visit to Cha An Village and Mohei Town, former stops on the Ancient Tea Caravan Way.  Learn from local people about their predecessors' life of tea transporting caravans. Then drive to Zhenyuan, then further to Jingdong Yi Autonomous County under the jurisdiction of Pu'er City. Stay in Jingdong.

After a morning visit to the Confucian Temple of Jingdong, you will drive to Weishan via Nanjian for a sightseeing on Mount Weibao, where Taoism temples built in Ming and Qing Dynasty as Taoist belief of local ethnic people.  Then visit Weishan Old Town, once was the capital of early Nanzhao Kingdom 1300 years ago. The old town, reconstructed during Ming Dynasty 600 years ago, has a layout in the shape of Chinese chess board  and a lots of well-preserved aged buildings along the streets. Leave Weishan for overnight in Dali ancient city.

After breakfast, you will take a morning high-speed train to Dali. Upon your arrival at Dali, you will visit the Three Pagodas. Then visit the Dali Ancient Town, where you can overview the Erhai Lake. Then visit Zhoucheng Village and the Bai people's Tie-dying cloth workshop where you can take some special Bai ethnic souvenirs.

A morning drive to Xizhou Town to visit Bai traditional courtyards, taste fragrant Three-Course Tea of Bai distinctive culture.  If your tour date is right, you also visit Shaping Bazaar in the morning of every Monday in Shangguan Town, gathering the Bai people from the villages around Lake Erhai, Dali, who come to buy and sell fruits, vegetables, poultry, animals, hardware, so-called "antiques". Then after 3 hours' drive, you will come to Shaxi Ancient Town at the foot of Fozhong Mountain, west of Yousuo Town in Eryuan County, where you can have a walk to explore the local ethnic life.

After 10km drive from Shaxi Ancient Town, you are to have a morning hiking around Shibaoshan Mountain for 3 hours. There are Baoxiang Buddhism Temple of Yuan Dynesty, Shizhong Temple and Grottoes of 800-year history on the mountains. In the afternoon you will be driven to Lijiang and explore the wonderful night of Lijiang Ancient Town.

After a morning sight for the sunrise at Lijiang Ancient Town, You will go ahead to the picturesque snow capped Jade Dragon Snow Mountain. On the way, you will see White Water Terraces and then take the chairlift up to view Ganhaizi Spruce Meadow and hike around on the mountains. After lunch, you will enjoy the Impression Lijang, a an outdoor ethnic culture show of the Naxi, Yi and Bai people's traditions and lifestyles at Ganhaizi Meadow. The show was produced by Zhang Yimou, Fan Yue and Wang Chaoge, with a cast of over 500 people, and a number of horses.     

After that you will come next to Baisha Village, an enchanting traditional Yunnan village with ancient murals of 600 years, listed as UNESCO World Cultural Heritage in 1997.

Today your tour will start with the visit to Black Dragon Pool is the water source of the Jade River in Lijiang Ancient Town. Then learn local minority culture and legend at Dongba Culture Museum. Then climb up to the top of the Lion Hill, you will get a panoramic view of Lijiang Ancient Town and Lijiang New City from Wangu Tower.

After lunch, you will pay a drive or cycle visit to Shuhe Ancient Town, a key stop on the Ancient Tea-Horse Trade Caravan from Yunnan to Tibet and India. It is an important part of Lijiang Ancient Town listed as UNESCO World Cultural Heritage.

Today you will be driven to visit Shigu Old Town and view The First Bend on the Yangtze River.  Then the Qiaotou Village to hike around the Tiger Leaping Gorge, the deepest gorge in the world. With 34 rapids of the Yangtze River, it is also locally called "Jinsha" because locals found gold in the river.

 In the late afternoon, you'll go ahead for Shangri La, old name as Zhongdian, where is well-known paradise for tourists.

Pay a morning visit to the Ganden Sumtseling Monastery, the largest Tibetan monastery in Yunnan with a fame as "the little Potala Palace". And go ahead to the tranquil Bita Lake & Shudu Lake in Pudacuo National Park, one of the most biologically-diverse regions with over 20 percent of the country's plant species, about one-third of its mammal and bird species and almost 100 endangered species.

On this day you will be free until your tour guide escorts you to the airport for your flight to your next destination.