YM-27 Kunming-Dali-Lijiang-Kunming (6D5N)

Day 1 Arrive in Kunming, meet the local guide and take a visit to Bamboo Temple where you can see "the sculpture treasure of Orient" - 500 colorful clay Buddhas, which were made 100 years ago.     

Day 2 After 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".

Day 3 After breakfast drive to Dali. Then visit Three Pagodas which known as the Chongsheng Santa and situated on top of the ruins of Chongsheng Monastery, the Three Pagodas lie one kilometer northwest of Dali and located on the slope of Mount Cangshan. In the afternoon you could take a pleasant stroll in Dali Old Town which was the capital city of Nanzhao Kingdom 1000 years ago.

Day 4 In the morning visit Xizhou morning market, Bai Nationality Zhouchen Village. Then go to Stone Temple in Shibao Shan Mountain ( 81KM ). The Shibao Shan rock carvings are over 1300 years old and evidence of the spread of Mahayana Buddhism into Yunnan from Tibet. Representations of the bodhisattva Guanyin and other Buddhist images are carved into the rocky mountainside. Spend your time at the grottoes or just hike around the temples through the lush forest. In the afternoon drive to Lijiang. Visit Lijiang Old Town, which belongs to the World Culture Heritage of UNESCO.

Day 5 Today go to visit Tiger Leaping Gorge, 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. Then drive back Lijiang and visit Black Dragon Pool, somewhat idiosyncratically known as Black Dragon Pool, the Jade Spring Park to the north of Lijiang derivers its name from the waters, which sparkle like jade and are as clear as spring water. The entire park is green with grass and shaded by swaying willow trees. Under the Shuocui Bridge, a waterfall creates a constant roar as it cascades downstream.