Yunnan China & Ancestrial Tibet Culture, Textiles & Minorities

                            Itinerary For Yunnan & Ancestral Tibet

Day 4   Xizhou - Textile Workshops
Breakfast in hotel.   With your Bai guide, tour the nearby Zhoucheng village and visit the local family-run workshops to observe textile dying, tie-dyeing and weaving.  Interact with the weavers and dyers as your guide is fluent in all the local dialects and will help you.   There are beautiful fabrics hanging everywhere.  This may be a fun time to take home some fabric or finished products

Enjoy lunch in a local restaurant. 

Also tour Xizhou the Bai Minority Village, the name means "happy town" and is  known for the well preserved Bai traditional houses which are among the best examples of traditional Qing (1644 to 1912) architecture in China and exquisitely detailed.  One such home is the Yan Family Compound, which we will visit.  It has maintained its centuries old artistic and cultural traditions.  Transfer back to Linden v Centre for another great locally sourced dinner.  

Shaxi started as a trading point for tea and horses during the Tang Dynasty (618 – 907). The height of its prosperity was during the Ming and Qing dynasties (1368–1912). It is probably the most intact horse caravan town on the Ancient Tea  Horse Road leading from Yunnan into Burma and Tibet .
 
Visit the historic Sideng Market, also observe textile and embroidery techniques in the local cottage industries. The Square Street which is the center is covered with red sand bricks and a two centuries-old Chinese scholar tree stands in the middle. A stage and temple face each other making this the most complete surviving example of a trading center on the Tea Horse Road.  The unique massive stage has been restored along with some of the other buildings.  Time permitting we will  be able to attend a market here.

Next visit the 1300-year-old  Shizhongshan Buddhist Grottoes carved in the Tang and Song Dynasties with 16 caves and139 sculptured figures.  Check into a local guest house. 

Accommodation: The Old Theater Hotel or similar    B-L-D

Day 6 - Lijiang - City Tour - Black Dragon Pool Park -Village of Baisha 
Enjoy a locally sourced breakfast. Drive through amazing alpine scenery to Lijiang, upon arrival hotel check in.  After a Naxi cuisine lunch, meet your amazing Naxi guide Holly Li. Take an afternoon tour of the cobblestone streets and canals of the Ancient Old Town of Lijiang.  It is a well preserved old city of ethnic minorities with brilliant culture. It was first built in the Song Dynasty with a history of more than 800 years, a very prosperous trading area. Today has many restaurants and shops with ethnic goods. 
Continue on to explore the Black Dragon Pool Park which.is a famous pond, built in 1737 during the Qing dynasty.  Lijiang depends on water for its life. Black Dragon Pool is its main water source. It subdivides into many streams which reach every family and street. Due to these aqueducts, there are about 350 different styled bridges, some from the Ming & Qing Dynasties and willow trees grow everywhere. From the Black Dragon Pool you will have a spectacular view of the region's tallest mountain, Jade Dragon Show Mountain.  Visit the Naxi Dongba Culture Center.

Then drive to visit the village of Baisha, the original  settlement of the Naxi people where today they still keep the old traditions.  You will have the opportunity to observe plus have a class in the traditional embroidery techniques of this unique area.  View the mysterious Baisha Murals that were painted over 1,000 years ago, and display pictures of China's main religions. 
Dinner on your own this evening.

Accommodation:   Zen Garden Hotel Lijiang (deluxe room at Lion Hill Branch).           B-L

Day 8 Lijiang to Shangri-la - Himalayas - Tiger Leaping Gorge -  
Western and Chinese breakfast, travel by vehicle north into the Himalayas to Shangri-la (4 hour drive); along the way tour spectacular Tiger Leaping Gorge of the Yangzi River; over 10,0000 feet deep in parts, considered one of the deepest gorges in the world.

Observe spectacular Himalaya scenery along the way. Check into your lovely hotel upon arrival, later indulge yourself with the amenities at this spectacular retreat. 


Tour the residence of Duke Zong, next visit a local Tibetan Carpet weaving shop to see how these beautiful carpets are made.   

Visit the largest Tibetan Buddhist Lamasery in Yunnan Province, Songzanlin Lamasery, which was built in the style of Potala Palace in Lhasa and represents the Tibetan culture, housing Buddhist statues and many precious cultural treasures.


Accommodation:   Songtsam Retreat Hotel Shangri-la (superior room).   B-L

Day 10 -  Deqin to Shangri-la - Pudacuo National Park 
After breakfast drive back to Shangri-La, tour the stunning alpine scenery of UNESCO Pudacuo National Park, easy walking around Shudu Lake and Bita Lake.  Enjoy our farewell dinner and then spend another cozy and luxurious night at Songtsam Retreat Hotel.

Accommodations:  Songtsam Retreat Hotel Shangri-La      B-L-D

Day 11 - Shangri-La to Kunming - Departures
Good Morning, this is your last morning in Yunnan, China.  After breakfast transfer to the airport for your flight to Kunming.  This is where you will connect to your home bound flight.  This is the end of your amazing tour of Yunnan, China.  Have a good flight home and we hope to see you on another of our Judy's Creative Adventure Tours.

Beijing Extension -
If you have chosen to continue on to the Beijing Extension, you will fly to Beijing with a stop in Kunming.  You will be met in Beijing and transferred to your hotel.

For the Beijing Extension itinerary - Click Here
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