| On a day at the beginning of the 20th century, an English aeroplane lost its direction in southwest of China and had to find a place for a emergency landing in the valley, the English were so surprised that there are such fascinating scenery before them: high snow-covered Moutains, blue sky, dense primeval forests, deep and serene gorge, green grass-land, crystal Clear water ... Because of the language trouble, they could not comnicate with the local People when they ask where they are. However, they heard a word and rembered: shangri-la. According to the describtion, there are two places in southwest of China named DaoCheng in Sichuan and ZhongDian in Yunnan are suited to Shangri-la. There is still a good deal of controversy on two places. You may make a juge when you travle along this route.
You will have a better understanding of the ancient Tea-Horse-Exchange road (the Tibetans exchanged tea with horse in the past). The road is part of the southwest Silk road, linked Tibet, Sichuan and Yunnan, reached the east coast of the Mediterranean Sea,via Laos, Burma, India and other countries and oceans. You may understand the various Local customs along the route as there are more than 2/3 of Chinese minority nationalities Live in southwest of China
Day 1 Arrive in Beijing, fly to Chengdu
Arrivie in Beijing in the morning, transit to the flight to Chengdu, capital of Sichuan province, meet at the airport, transfer to hotel.
Day 2 Chengdu
Drive to Guanghan city in the morning. Visit San Xing Dui museum in which many magnificent cultural relics with 4000 years history of Ancient Shu Kindom are kept. His musem would be one of the highlight of todays tour. Visit the Divine Light Monastery and the Panda Breeding Base in the afteroon on the to Chengdu.
Day 3 Chengdu-Kangding
Drive for Kangding in the morning. You will enjoy the fabulous landscap of the countryside as well as the folklore. Arrive at Kangding - the capital of Garze Prefecture.
Day 4 Kangding
Visit Muge Tso Natural Reserve, highland lakes, ancient town of Kangding.
Day 5 Kangdin-Litang 290km
Drive along Hengduan Montain Ranges from north to south. Enjoy the beautiful glacier, ice-covered mountains, highland lakes. Arrive at Litang which also known as "highland city". Visit the Litang Lama-Monastery.
Day 6 Litang Guetshouse
Take part in the horse racing festival, if you come here on 01. August.
Day 7 Litang-Xiangcheng Guesthouse
Drive to Xiangcheng via Mt. Haizi Shan, a right place to study the structure of terrain and the formation of glacier. Visit Sangpi Lama-Monastery.
Day 8 Xiangcheng-Zhongdian 228km
Drive along the beautiful scenery to Zhongdian, a Tibetan region in Yunnan province.
Day 9 Zhongdian
Zhongdian is at 3200 meters and very close to the Tibetan border. In mid-June Zhongdian plays host to a horse-racing festival that sees several days of dancing, singing, eating and of course, horse racing. About an hours walk north of town is the Songzanlin Monastery, a 300-year-old Tibetan monastery complex with several hundred monks.
Day 10 Zhongdian-Tiger Leaping Gorge 110 km Tiger Leaping Gorge - Lijiang 70 km
Today drive to Tiger Leaping Gorge and Lijiang. After making its first turn at Shigu, the might Yangzi River surges between the Haba Mountains and the Jade Dragon Snow Mountain, through what is one of the deepest gorges in the world. In the afternoon arrival in Lijiang. The town of Lijiang is set in a beautiful valley and is separated into old and new towns that are as different as day and night. The old town is not to be missed. Black Dragon Pool Park is on the northern edge of town.
Day 11 Lijiang
Today youll enjoy the Baisha Frescoes and the visit to Naxi village as well as the Yufeng Monastery.
Day 12 Lijiang-Dali 160 km
In ther morning drive to Dali. On the way visit Xizhou - an old town with even better preserved Bai architecture than Dali and Butterfly.
Day 13 Dali
Visit Cangshan Mountain by taking the cable car up and down. Youll also boating in Erhai Lake. The highlight today is the cycling along the lake and visit Bai villages.
Day 14 Dali-Kunming
In the morning drive to Kunming. At an elevation of 1890 meters, Kunming has a milder climate than most other Chinese cities, and can be visited at any time of year. In the afternoon youll visit Western Hill (also known as the "Sleeping Beauty Hills"), and Huating Temple. Trek to Dragon Gate at the top of the Western Hill to visit a group of grottoes, sculptures, corridors and pavilions hacked from the cliif between 1781 and 1835 by a Taoist monk and coworkers, who must have been hanging up there by their fingertips.
Day 15 Kunming
Today youll drive for 100 km south-east of Kunming to visit the "stone forest". The Stone Forest is a massive collection of grey limestone pillars, split by rain water and eroded to their present fanciful forms, the tallest standing 30 m high.
Day 16 Kunming-Beijing
Transfer to the airport then fly to Beijing, free in the afternoon.
Day 17 Fly back to sweet home
Best time: April - October.
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