Minority Culture tour to Nujiang
river in Yunnan
Departure Date: TBD
LOCATED in Southwest China's Yunnan
Province, Nujiang
Gorge is a mysterious area rich in ethnic culture. We have chosen to
start the tour during the Spring Festival because it is the time for
the Lisu minority people living in this region to celebrate their Kuoshi
Festival£¨New Year festival£©. On festival days, the Lisu people dress
in their holiday best, bring their families to the river region, set
up their yurts close to the river bank or in nearby fields, and come
together on sandy beaches for ¡°Zaotanghui¡°£¨public bath£©. An important
folk song competition is also held as part of the festival. You could
also try crossing the river hanging from a rope, the Liusuo, a traditional
way to cross the river in the olden days when there was no bridge.
Our second stop is the Baihualing Nature Reserve, famous
for its many varieties of plants and birds. The next day, we will make
a whole day hike along the ancient South Silk Road, over Mt. Gaoligongshan.
We will following the ancient road used in the olden days to transport
tea and jade between China and Myanmar(also called ¡°Tea-horse Old Trail¡±).
Our third stop is Tengchong, a city famous for its volcano and ¡°hot
sea¡±. Instead of a 4-star hotel in Tengchong city, we choose to stay
in a guest house in Heshun, an old town a short 10- minute-drive away£¬where
the local people will celebrate the Spring Festival with traditional
Dao¡¯s music and Dragon-dances.
The last stop is Ruili, one of the most-interesting towns
in South-west China. It¡¯s just a few kilometers from Myanmar and has
a real border-town feel to it. In this remote corner of China, we will
have a first-hand look at the lives of the Dai minority people.
Day-by-day Itinerary
Day 01. Beijing¨CKunming-Baoshan(by air)
Take the flight from Beijing to Kunming and then Kunming to Baoshan.
Upon arrival, we will be met by our English-speaking tour guide and
transferred to our 3* hotel in Baoshan, the capital city of Nujiang
Area. In the evening we will have a briefing of the tour ahead.
Day 02. Baoshan-Liuku (200km, about 3 hours)
Drive about 3 hours to Liuku. We will first check into our hotel, where
we will have a little rest before leaving for the Kuoshi Festival celebrations.
As the best celebration activities are held in the late afternoon, and
there is a bonfire and dancing at night, we will be absent from the
hotel the rest of the afternoon and the entire evening. There are many
activities going on: listening to the Folk Song competition, marveling
at the brave villagers who choose to climb up sharp knifes and walk
across hot coals with bare feet,and joining the local people on their
dizzying swings. We will even have time for the uninhibited to join
the locals in the public bath(Zaotanghui).After dinner, there is a bonfire
and dancing in the open air, a real carnival for the locals. Overnight
in the best hotel in Liuku.( 3* or similar)
Day 03. Liuku-Baihualing Nature Resort
Today we can sleep in. After breakfast we will drive 129km to Baihualing
Nature Resort, which will take us about 2.5 hours. This afternoon is
left free to enjoy some leisure time in the Nature Resort. We may take
a brief walk to the small hot spring, then on the way back watch Sandieshui
Waterfalls, and take pictures of strangely-shaped jungle trees. Dinner
with local dishes. Overnight in the hostel at Baihualing Nature Resort(with
private bathroom).
Day 04 Baihualing-Lin¡¯s House-Heshun(Picnic lunch and dinner)
Today we will hike over Mt. Gaoligongshan. The trail we will walk on
is part of the South Silk Road(the Tea-horse Old Trail from China to
Myanmar). This morning we will start early (7:30am) from Jiujiezhi,
which means ¡°old street¡± in Chinese. We can imagine caravans of horses
traveling trough this street with their valuable cargo hundreds of years
ago. We will hike up through 6 different climate zones from Jiujiezhi(altitude
1900m) to Nanzhaigongfang (3250m), enjoying the plants, trees, foliage,
vegetation, flowers, bushes, and animals found in the jungle. Then we
will walk from Nanzhaigongfang down to Lin¡¯s house along the western
slope of Gaoligongshan. The whole hiking should take about 9-10 hours.
At the end of the hiking, we will drive to Heshun (about 2 hours away).
Overnight in a comfortable guest house in the old town.
Day 05 Heshun
Today is left free for us to have a good rest after our hard hike over
Mt. Gaoligongshan. ¡°Heshun¡± means peace and harmony. We could walk leisurely
around the historical old town, built in earlier days by overseas Chinese
as a location for their retirement. The remaining old town is a very
beautiful place with many ornamental structures such as pavilions, memorial
halls, archways, and balustrades, and also with lotus ponds and wetlands
with many birds. The library in this town is worth mentioning-set up
in 1924, it possesses over 60,000 volumes of books, many of which are
rare editions of ancient works.
Day 06 Tengchong
Today we will take a day-trip to Tengchong, famous for its geothermal
area and its cluster of sleeping volcanoes. We will return back to Heshun
for the night. Stay in the same.
Day 07 Heshun-Ruili
It takes about 5 hours to drive first from Heshun to Mangshi. Visit
Dai Style Buddhist architecture, the Tree-Wrapped-Pagoda and Wuyun Temple.
We then drive to Ruili, visiting the Mono-Tree Forest on the way. Explore
the night market in Ruili. Stay in the 3 star hotel in Ruili.
Day 08 Ruili-Mangshi-Kunming
We will visit Jiegao, China's border gate to Myanmar. We will visit
the market which lies on the border between China and Burma. We will
also visit Wangdin city where there is a strong sense of the merging
of Burmese and Chinese life styles. Drive to Mangshi, take an evening
flight back to Kunming. Stay in a 4 star hotel in Kunming.
Day 09 Kunming-Beijing
Transfer from the hotel to Kunming airport for the flight back to Beijing.
The end of the tour.
Quotation: (based on at least 10 person in a group)
Tour Cost: RMB10950/person Single supplement: RMB1500/person
Tour Cost includes: Flights from Beijing to Kunming, and Kunming
to Baoshan, Mangshi-Kunming, Kunming to Beijing, 20-seat air-conditioned
tour bus for land transfer service, experienced driver, 3 meals daily,
service of an English-speaking guide, admission fees to all scenic spots
, 4 star hotels in the bigger cities, the best hotel/guest house in
small cities, and tourist liability insurance.
Tour Cost excludes: international or domestic flights
and related airport taxes not mentioned in the itinerary, tips to tour
guide and driver(generally RMB50--100/day/person), supplementary trips
and services not mentioned, visa costs, single supplement cost for those
who have booked single accommodations, other items of a personal nature,
and any extra cost due to unforeseen circumstances beyond our control.
Individual travel insurance is also not included and highly recommended.
