Mysterious Land of Yunnan Camper Tour - 17 Days

Upon the arrival at Kunming Airport, the clients will meet our guide and transfer to the hotel. After lunch, you will have a tour to the Ethnics’ Village. Then enjoy the dinner and have a good rest in hotel.

Overnight in the hotel.

After breakfast, go to the traffic police station to have a quick physical checking for the China Driving Permit. After lunch, pay a visit to the Birds & Flowers Market. Kunming Bird and Flower Market is the token of real life in Kunming, and you can stroll along this market to enjoy the multiple types of flowers, birds, fishes, antiques, featured jewelries, handicrafts, etc.

Overnight in the hotel.

After breakfast, check out the hotel and take over the campervan. Then go shopping for food in Wal-Mart. After shopping, you will drive to the Stone Forest where mainly Yi ethnic people live. Stone Forest is a spectacular set of limestone groups and the representative of south China’s karst landscape. Known since the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) as the 'First Wonder of the World', it is one of the most important attractions of Yunnan.

Overnight in the campervan at the parking lot of Stone Forest.

Drive to Chengzi Village for a visit and then to the parking lot by the Huquan Lake in Mile. Yi, Hani, Dai and the other Ethnic people all live in here. In this minority area, it is interesting that Chengzi village is built and inhabited by Han people, the majority of China.

Overnight in the campervan by the Huquan Lake.

Today is full of interests by visiting to the Tuanshan Village, old Jianshui Town and Confucius Temple which is the biggest one in the southwest of China.

Tuanshan Village, built in the Qing Dynasty, regarded as the Gem of Chinese Civil Houses. Visiting the village is like travelling to another China. Small, cobbled lanes and old women with bound feet blend leave you with impressions of timelessness, art and architecture. It has been enlisted by the World Monuments Fund (WMF) as one of the 100 Most Endangered Places for the year of 2006. Jianshui, an ancient town, is one of the national famous historic and cultural towns of China. With a history of about 1200 years and an abundant distinctive cultural heritage, the Ancient Town enjoys a great reputation as a “Museum of Ancient Buildings and Residential Houses”.

Park at the parking lot of the Rice Terraces at Yuanyang.

Overnight in the campervan.

Today is free at leisure. You may visit the most beautiful terrace and Hani Ethnic villages by yourself. Yuanyang Terraces (UNESCO) is regarded as the largest and most spectacular terrace in the world. It is a natural masterpiece, plowed by the bare hands of the Hani ethnic people 1,000 thousand years ago, and it is still in use today.

Overnight in the campervan.

Drive to Puer and enjoy the beautiful natural view and the villages of different ethnics along the way. There are many tea groves along the way and nearby Meizihu Park.

Park in front of Meizihu Park.

Overnight in the campervan.

Today, head for Jinghong and there is a Wild Elephants Valley on the way. If you are lucky, you may see the elephants there. Finally you will arrive at Xishuangbanna Tropical Floral Garden in Jinghong. You will have an organized tour to the Buddhist Temple and Manting Park. The Manting Park is said to have a history of 1,300 years. Along with the gardens, the main attraction is the Thai-style temple. The Buddhism of the Dai people is similar to the Buddhism of the Thai people. It is Theravada-style Buddhism. It is said that some of the monks of the temple studied in Thailand. The temple building and the statues within were made recently.

There is a market just outside of the Manting Park. You can find the fresh vegetables and fruits there and then enjoy the dinner together.

Jinghong is the centre of Xishuangbanna, the majority people here is Dai ethnic.

Park at the parking lot of Xishuangbanna Tropical Floral Garden.

Overnight in the campervan.

Jinghong – Jingzhen Octagonal Pavilion, 66km national road.

Jingzhen Pavilion – Lancang, 110km zigzag hilly road.

Lancang – Ximeng, 54km zigzag hilly road.

Before arriving at the pavilion, you can see Menghai and many Puer tea shops are on the way. Menghai is the source of Puer Tea and Yunnan Black Tea. The Octagonal Pavilion is a place where the senior Buddhist monks giving sutra, repenting, holding meetings and memorizing Buddha. Jingzhen Octagonal Pavilion was constructed in 1701 during the Qing Dynasty.

Overnight in the campervan.

Today the clients will firstly drive about 59km narrow hilly road with countless turns through the mountains to the national road G214, which will lead you to one of the border police checking point where the clients will turn left for Wengding Village. (This part of the road is under the road renovation. There will be a temporary traffic control.) Upon the arrival at the parking lot of Wengding village, we will organize the visit to the village together. It is China’s last primitive tribe. It has preserved the most typical architectural style of the Wa nationality, the most primitive folk customs and the most ecological culture. This group is one of the best-preserved ancient communities in China today.

Park at the parking lot in Wengding.

Overnight in the campervan.

After breakfast, drive to Xiyi. Along the way, you can see many ham shops. People hang their ham, preserved meat, chicken and fish outside the shops.

Park at the parking lot by Mekong River.

Overnight in the campervan.

On the way, you can stop outside of the Dali Town and take a nice walk in this well- known historical town, which is mainly inhabited by the Bai ethnics. It is famed for its traditional architecture, beautiful scenery (the dramatic Cangshan range, the expansive Erhai Lake, and small hand worked fields of pleasantly varied produce), minority cultures (mostly Bai but also Yi and Hui), and nightlife. There is also much to see and do in the surrounding countryside.

Then we drive to and park at the parking lot of Three Pagodas.

Overnight in the campervan.

Drive through the Tiger Leaping Gorge on the zigzag hilly road, you will arrive at the parking lot of Baishuitai Terrace. The Tiger Leaping Gorge trek is one of the finest treks through some of the most naturally beautiful and diverse landscapes China has to offer. The trail runs high on the northern side of the gorge passing through quiet villages, shady forest, blustery precipice and verdant terraced farmland.

Overnight in the camping cars at the parking lot.

In the morning, the clients are free to visit the Baishuitai Terrace. Then drive to Shangri-La. Upon arrival, the clients will visit the Ganden Sumtseling Monastery which is the biggest lama monastery in the Yunnan Province.

The Baishuitai Terrace is located in Sanba Township 100 kilometers (62 miles) from the Shangri-La county seat. Measuring 140 meters (about 459 feet) in length and 160 meters (about 525 feet) in width, it is one of the biggest such terraces in China. The terrace is covered by a layer of white deposits of calcium carbonate crystallized in the spring water. In addition to the spectacular terrace itself, visitors can also learn about the ethnic Naxi minority and folklore in the nearby Baidi village.

Built at the foot of Foping Mountain with a magnificent facade, Ganden Sumtseling Monastery is a faithful imitation of the Potala Palace in Lhasa. Hence, it is reputed as the “Little Potala Palace”. Being a collection of Tibetan culture, Songzanlin Monastery is also reputed as “Tibetan Art Museum”.

Overnight in the camping cars at the parking lot of the monastery.

Enjoy the amazing scenery along the way. Upon the arrival in the afternoon, we will pay a visit to the Old Town of Lijiang.

The Old Town of Lijiang, a well-preserved old city of ethnic minorities with brilliant culture, is a central town of the Lijiang Autonomous County of the Naxi Ethnic Minority in Yunnan Province. The Old Town is built along the line of mountains and the flow of rivers, providing a very precious sample of the research on the old-time architecture. The unique geographical location, historical background and multiracial inhabitants make it one of the most special.

Overnight in the campervan.

It is a full day driving around Erhai Lake. Enjoy the beautiful scenery of it at different angles. Erhai Lake, reputed as "Pearl of Plateau", is the second largest highland lake of Yunnan.

Park at the parking lot where you get your campervan.

Overnight in the campervan.