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The Shangrila of Yunnan Province - Lijiang to Zhongdian Eight
Nights / Nine Days In a Nutshell: Step
back into time and enjoy some interesting cultures in the North of
Yunnan Province, West China. We start by flying to the city of Eternal
Spring Kunming. This is our jumping off place to the far North
of the Province. From Lijiang, with its grand views of Jade Dragon
Mountain, and preserved past, we start our cycling journey. We
will see up close the lives of the Naxi, Yi and Tibetan peoples.
Two major events in our trip will be the Tiger Leaping Gorge and the
Jade Dragon Mountain.
Schedule
and Pricing Information. Itinerary: Day
1: Flight
from Hong Kong to Kunming. Met and transferred for an overnight in the
Horizon hotel (5). We will enjoy a walk about and a coffee house in
this most pleasant of China’s cities. Day
2: Morning
flight to Lijiang . Transferred to the Old Town Inn (3*). Fitting on bikes
and a warm up ride back in time around this ancient city and beyond to the
surrounding Naxi villages. Night show of Naxi music. Lijiang
with its spectacular mountain backdrop is home to the matriarchal society
of the Naxi. This people group are descendents of Tibetan nomads and
number around 280,000. Day
3: Commence
cycling 90km on mountainous roads to Qiao Tou. Today we will come to the
first bend of the Yangtze River. We will also see a lot of Naxi
minority villages enroute. Beautiful mountains with terraced fields full
of mustard flowers and other plants. Our guide will arrange frequent stops
and drop-ins of villages for you to interact with local villagers. If the
hilly ride turns out to be too hard, we will recommend a bus ride in the
late afternoon. We stay in a little town called Qiao Tou (Bridge
Head) in Jiao Tong (Communication) Hotel (1*). Day 4: Cycling 98km to Zhongdian (also named Shangrila). Today we will ride in some of the most impressive mountains of Yunnan. We will ride along the Tiger Leaping Gorge for about 16km. As we go further, we will see some Tibetan villages. We will pass Little Zhongdian, a small town. Overnight in Diqingzhou Hotel Zhongdian(3*). Note: Elevation of Zhongdian is 3200 meters. Zhongdian is a town smaller than Lijiang. Day
5: Rest
day. Local tour by bike visiting Jietang Songlin Monastery, a major
Tibetan monastery complex with several hundred monks, ShuDu Lake and
Tibetan villages. Cycling distance: <20km. Overnight in Diqingzhou
Hotel Zhongdian(3*). Day
6: Coach
90km back to Tiger Leaping Gorge, off bus and cycling 20km on a small
country road to Walnut Garden, overnight in a local Inn(Shan Quan local
Inn. Very basic. (1-). Optional hiking up the beautiful mountain where the
inn is located. Day 7: Cycling 15km to DaJu, up the foothills of Jade Dragon Mountain. Cycling distance: approx. 60km including a major climb of 1000 meters up in elevation. Afternoon visit to the mountain using the gondola to see the snow-capped peak. Overnight at the foothill Snow Mountain Garden (1 star). Day
8: Cycling
40km mostly downhill to Lijiang. Free afternoon in Lijiang.
Overnight in Old Town Inn(3*) Day
9:
Take
flight
MU4343 at 8:20,arrive in Kunming about 9:00am, connecting with flight
CZ341 at 10:35 arriving in Hong Kong at 12:30. *Itinerary subject to Change *Subject to our Terms/Conditions
and Inclusions as published.
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(click any image
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All photos Copyright Tim Obendorf
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