16-day Beijing Xian Yunnan Kunming Dali Lijiang Shangrila Chengdu Tour

Upon your arrival at Beijing's airport, your local guide will meet you and escort you to your hotel. The rest of the day is yours to relax, or explore the city.

After having breakfast in your hotel, your guide will meet you and you will be driven to visit The Forbidden City, home to China's Emperors for over 500 years. After lunch, you will be driven to The Summer Palace, where you will marvel at the opulence of this imperial summer getaway. You will then be drive to visit The Temple of Heaven, which was where China's Emperors prayed to heaven.

After having breakfast in your hotel, your guide will meet you and you will be driven to visit the majestic Great Wall (Badaling Section). After lunch next to the Great Wall you will be driven to visit the Sacred Road, the road leading to the tombs of the Ming Dynasty's Emperors. You will then visit the Ding Tomb, the only excavated imperial Ming Dynasty Tomb.

After having breakfast in your hotel, your guide will meet you and you will be taken on a rickshaw ride through the ancient lanes and alleyways of Beijing's Hutongs. After seeing how local Beijingers have been living for centuries, you will be driven to the airport for your flight to Xian, another of China's ancient capitols. Upon arriving in Xian, your local guide will meet you and take you for a bicycle ride along the top of Xian's Ancient City Wall to get a bird's eye view of this amazing ancient city.

After having breakfast in your hotel, your guide will meet you and you will be driven to visit the incredible Terracotta Warriors. After lunch you will be driven to the Shaanxi Provincial Museum to see Xian's amazing history. You will then be driven to visit Xian's Ancient Bell Tower, which signaled the time in Xian for centuries.

After breakfast in your hotel, your guide will meet you and you will be driven to the airport for your flight to Kunming. Upon your arrival in Kunming, your local guide will meet you and you will be driven to the Western Hills. Because of their beauty it is often said that if you haven't been to the Western Hills, you haven't been to Kunming. The beauty of the mountains and the bird's eye views that they offer never fail to take visitor's breaths away.

After breakfast, today tour start with Kunming Flowers & Birds Market. Then drive 1.5 hours (90 KM) to visit 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. Drive back to Kunming for overnight train with sleeper seat to Dali city.

Upon arrival in Dali, you will be transfered to visit Zhoucheng Village for local Bai people's traditional Tie-dye cloth art workshop. Then visit Three Pagodas in Chongsheng Monastery which has a history of over 1,800 years located at the foot of Cangshan Mountain facing to the Erhai Lake. Three Pagodas are made of three ancient independent pagodas

forming a symmetrical triangle. In the afternoon, you will visit the Ancient Dali Town, walk around the Foreigner Street and enjoy the relax time with local people. Standing on the city wall of Dali, you will have panoramic view of the Erhai Lake.

After a morning visit to local market at Xizhou Town and Yan Family Mansion full Bai-style traditional architectural courtyards, taste their fragrant Three-Course Tea and explore their distinctive culture. Then drive about 180 km (3 hours) to Lijiang. You'll head for the scenic Black Dragon Pool and the Dongba Museum to explore the rich Naxi minority culture.
         
    In the evening, explore Lijiang Old Town. It has a history more than 800 years; it was listed as the World Cultural Heritage by the UNESCO 1997. Here you will see the wonderful wooden architecture of Naxi ethnic people.

After breakfast, you will pay a morning visit to Yuhu Village (Jade Lake Village), where you have overlook view of the Jade Dragon Snow Mountain, a holy mountain for the Naxi people that is located 15km north of Lijiang city. Then visit Locke's Former Residence.

    Stroll through Baisha Old Town, which is an enchanting traditional Naxi style old town, where houses Baisha Murals made in succession from the early Ming dynasty to the reign of Emperor Qianlong in the Qing dynasty. These mural paintings, with their fine and smooth lines, bright colors, vivid pattern and balanced and harmonious composition are a wonderful sight. Today's tour will end with Shuhe Ancient Town.

From Lijiang, you'll drive about 60KM to the First Bend on the Yangtze River with imposing gorge scenery, visit the Iron Chain Bridge, the Red Army's Long March Memorial Monument in the Shigu Old Town. The town of Stone Drum got its name from a large, cylindrical, marble tablet shaped like a drum. The scenery is magnificent as the road running through the Lijiang valley which is filled with wheat fields and drying haystacks.

    Continue to visit the Tiger Leaping Gorge, the deepest gorge in the world.  Located on the Jinsha River of the upper reaches of the Yangtze, 105 kilometers south of Shangrila County. The gorge is 17 kilometers long with a drop of 213 meters. Tiger Leaping Gorge is divided into three sections: Upper, Middle and Lower Hutiao. At the narrowest spot the river is only 30 meters wide. The mouth of the gorge is 1,800 meters above sea level. The river is flanked by Yulong and Haba snow mountains, with a height difference of 3,900 meters.

    In the late afternoon, you'll head for Shangri La, formerly named Zhongdian where is well known as the paradise destination for every tourist. Upon arrival in Shangri La, you will have entered the Tibetan cultural area and a landscape of barley fields and yaks scattered in the valleys.

In the morning, you will visit Songzanlin Monastery located at the foot of Mt. Foping, four kilometers north of Zhongdian County, a monastery was first built here in 1679 and has been rebuilt many times.

    Then you'll visit the tranquil Bita Lake & Shudu Lake in Pudacuo National Park. Pudacuo National Park is located in one of the most biologically-diverse regions of the world. While the region comprises only 0.7 percent of China's land area, it contains more than 20 percent of the country's plant species, about one-third of its mammal and bird species and almost 100 endangered species. Visit Dabao Monastery on the way back from Pudacuo National Park.

Morning transfer by flight to Chengdu. Your guide will meet and bring you to visit Chengdu Big Panda Breeding Center, to see lovely Panda. Then back to Chengdu city to visit Kuanzai Alley.

After breakfast, will transfer you to visit Huanglongxi Ancient Town which has 1,700 years of history. Then take bus to Leshan, to see the world's largest stone Giant Buddha. Then visit the Lingyun Temple, the ancient Plank Cliff Path and the Stele Forest. After visiting will take bus to Emeishan, stay overnight in Emei.

After breakfast will take cable car up the Mt. Emei. Visit the Wannian Temple. Then walk through Qingyin Pavilion - the biggest natural ecology reserve area for monkeys. Then take the tourist bus down to the foot of the mountain. To visit the Fuhu Temple, one of famous nuns temple. Then transfer back to Chengdu.

On this day you will be free until your guide meets you are driven to the airport for your flight to next destination.