YM-30 Kunming-Jianshui-Yuanyang-Dali-Lijiang-Shangri-la-Lijiang (9D8N)

Day 1 Arrive in Kunming by flight. Then visit the Bamboo Temple where you can see "the sculpture treasure of Orient" - 500 colorful clay Buddhas.  

Day 2After breakfast visit Stone Forest, a typical Karst formation, which covers an area of more than three hundred square kilometers. Scientific research has shown that what is now the Stone Forest was 270 million years ago an immense expanse of water with a vast stretch of limestone sediment formed over the years on the seafloor. As a result of the crustal movement, the seabed rose gradually and a large piece of land thus came into being. Exposed to rains and winds, eroded by the elements, the strange-looking limestone ranges were shaped by time. About 200 million years ago numerous stone peaks, pillars, and stalagmites rose abruptly from the ground and towered into the sky, extending now as far as the eye can see, looking like a vast forest of stone, hence the name "the Stone Forest". In the afternoon drive to Jianshui. Visit the 400 years old Chaoyang Tower which is even 24 years elder than Tian An Men in Beijing.  

Day 3 Drive to Yuanyang and experience one of the high points of this trip. Get up early in the morning to see the beautiful cloud sea on the way then the first wonder in the world: Endless Terraced Rice Fields on the mountains, made by local Hani people for thousands of years. Then Drive back to Jianshui. 

Day 4 The small city Jianshui is the cultural center of southern Yunnan province. In the past, the people of this city became very rich due to the natural deposits of tin. So now, you can see many private houses with typical Chinese architecture style in the city. You will have a chance to visit one of them - Zhu Family Garden which is formed by 250 rooms and 42 courtyards, It's even much better than the gardens in Suzhou. You can also visit the second largest Confucian-temple in China. After breakfast visit Zhang Family Garden ( Tuanshan Village ), then drive back to Kunming via Fuxian Lake which is the second deepest fresh water lake in China. 

Day 5 Morning go to Dali by coach. After lunch cruise on Erhai Lake, is the largest highland lake next to Dianchi and one of the seven biggest fresh water lakes in China. It means, "sea shaped like an ear", in Chinese. Implying that the lake is ear shaped and as large as a sea, hence it was so named. The lake covers an area of 250 square kilometers and is located about two kilometers east of Dali. Then you could take a pleasant stroll in Dali Old Town which was the capital city of Nanzhao Kingdom 1000 years ago. 

Day 6 In the morning visit Xizhou morning market, Bai village Zhouchen Village, then drive to Lijiang. In the afternoon visit Lijiang Old Town, which is one
of the best-preserved ancient towns of the minority ethnic people of China. Lijiang old town belongs to the World Culture Heritage of UNESCO.  

Day 7 After breakfast drive to Shangri-la. In the afternoon visit Songzanlin Tibetan Buddhism Monastery, which is 5 km from the seat of Shangri-la County.
Then visit Napa Lake, which is a seasonal lake. In the evening go to the central square in the old town to enjoy local people nightly dance. 

Day 8 Morning drive back to Lijiang, visit Tiger Leaping Gorge on the way, which is believed to be one of the deepest gorge in the world. From the top of the
gorge you look down the steeply angled ( 70-90 degrees ) mountain sides to the rushing Golden Sands River ( up reach of Yangtze River ) with its 18 frothing rapids more than 200 meters ( about 700 feet ) below. In the afternoon visit Black Dragon Pool, somewhat idiosyncratically known as Black Dragon Pool, the Jade Spring Park to the north of Lijiang derives its name from the waters which sparkle like jade and are as clear as spring water.