10 Days Sichuan & Yunnan Adventure Tour

Highlights: Welcome to Chengdu---home of giant pandas. Upon arrival, your personal guide will meet you and escort you to your hotel. Rest of the day will be free for you to relax.

Highlights: Today you will visit the Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding, followed by a trip to the Wenshu Temple, then wander around Jinli Old Street for shopping.                                                                                                           

Chengdu Panda Base: Which is 10km from Chengdu downtown, and takes 35 drive to get there. The panda based was founded in 1987 with with 6 giant pandas that rescued from the wild. Through 2015, it has had 161 panda births, and its panda population has grown to 108. Located in the base, the Giant Panda Museum is the world’s only museum that focuses entirely on the critically endangered giant panda.

Wenshu Temple: Located in the northwest of Chengdu, the Wenshu Temple is a famous Buddhist temple in China. The present temple grounds were built in 1697 of the Qing Dynasty. Wenshu is the Chinese word for the future Buddha Maitreya, whose presence was found during the construction of the original temple in the form of persistent lights. Here you can find a fine cup of green tea and the best vegetarian food in the city. A tourist district called Wenshufang is around the temple, it is great place for food, souvenirs ,etc. 

Jinli Old Street: Originally built in Qing Dynasty (1644-1911). Jinli Street is 350m long and a concentration of Chengdu nightlife, snacks and folk culture. There are many cafes and bars here - including Starbucks. They blend modern elements with the old buildings harmoniously. It is enjoyable to sit on a wooden or bamboo chair with a cup of delicious coffee. When night falls, the whole street is decorated with beautiful red lanterns on the each eave of the ancient buildings. 

Recommended paid add-on Sichuan Opera show (RMB260=USD43/per): As one of the oldest and most interesting opera forms in Southwestern China, Sichuan Opera is an important part of Chengdu culture and a perfect combination of local dialect along with the customs, folk music, and dances from other regions. Besides the normal singing, and martial arts, Sichuan Opera has many unique features that set it apart, features such as fire breathing, changing faces, and juggling pottery. When enjoying the performance, visitors always amaze at different facial make-ups that are changed fast and mysteriously.

Highlights: On this day you will be driven about 2 hours to Leshan Giant Buddha, then drive 30 minutes to Mt. Emei, from where you will take 2 hours park bus from the bottom of the mountain up to the cable car station on the hill top, then take 10 minutes cable car up to the top, after the cable car ride, walk 20-30 minutes or so to your hotel at the summit.

Leshan Giant Buddha: Located 125km away from downtown Chengdu, and covers 2.5 square kilometers, the 71m-high Giant Buddha is the biggest Buddha statue in the world. It sits in a cliff overlooking the confluence of Min, Dadu and Qingyi River. A local saying goes: "The mountain is a Buddha, and the Buddha is a mountain".  Legend has it that an eminent monk Hai Tong of the Tang Dynasty (618-907) often saw boats capsize in the turbulent river. Shipwrecks were a common place. Wishing to protect passing boats and calm down the rough river currents, the monk vowed to build a Maitreya Buddha. He made great efforts to collect the funds for the construction.

Highlights: Today's morning you will get up early to witness the famous sunrise at Gold Summit, and walk around to see the other sites of the mountain. After the tour you will be take cable car and bus down to the bottom, then drive 2 hours back to Chengdu. 

Mt.Emei: Located 150 km away from downtown Chengdu, Mt. Emei is one of the four most famous Buddhist mountains in China due to its pleasant weather, gorgeous natural scenery, and ancient Buddhist architecture. With an elevation of the mount is 3,099m, around 1,000m higher than the other three Buddhist sacred mountains. The mountain is characterized by ancient pines, clean brooks, picturesque waterfalls and sea cloud. In 1996, it was listed as an UNESCO's Natural and Cultural Heritage site.

Highlights: Today you will be free until your guide escorts you to the airport for your flight to Lijiang. Our Lijiang guide will escort you to hotel. Rest of the day you will be free to expore Lijiang Ancient Town

Highlights: Today you will be driven to visit Yuhu Village, Baisha Mural Paintings at Baisha Village, Black Dragon Pool Park and the Naxi Dongba Culture Museum. 

Yuhu Village: Located on the outskirts of Lijiang, Yuhu Village is the last village in the Lijiang Basin at the foot of Jade Dragon Snow Mountain. It is famous for its unique buildings, created using a mix of mud and rock called Monkey Head, and made famous by a famous botanist named Dr. Jospeh Rock, who lived here for 27 years from 1922, dedicating his life to researching the local Naxi minority. With the reflection of the stone on the snow mountain, houses made of monkey head look even more natural and beautiful.

Baisha Mural Painting: Located 10km of Lijiang Ancient Town, Baisha village was the birthplace of the Tusi (the word means clan chief) of and was the earliest political and spiritual center of Naxi ethnic minority. Baisha Murals were kept and displayed in some ancient buildings around Baisha village. 

Naxi Dongba Museum: Founded in 1984, Dongba Culture Museum has a collection of over 10,000 items of antique of cultural and historical value, 42 of them are at national level and more than 2,500 items as Dongba cultural relics. It is the biggest cultural relic museum for Dongba.

Black Dragon Pool: Located at the foot of Elephant Mountain in the north of the city, the Black Dragon Pool is a part of Jade Spring Park. It was built in 1737 during the Qing Dynasty and offers a spectacular view of Jade Dragon Snow Mountain. There are also some trees and flowers, ancient architecture with Chinese traditional designs scattering around the pool, which adds up more to its beauty.

Highlights: Drive 100km to Shangri-la (4.5 hours). Visit First Bend of the Yangtze River, Shigu Town, Tiger Leaping Gorge. Along the way you will enjoy the enchanting natural scenes and various kinds of wildlife on the way.

Shigu Town: There a pentagonal pavilion on the riverside where a drum-shaped marble plaque (diameter 15 m, thickness 0.7 m) stands erect, and thus the town was named “Stone Drum”. The drum-shaped monument was built in the reign of the Emperor Jiajing in the Ming Dynasty (in 1561), commemorating the victory and subsequent spread of power of the Tusi of Mu Family of Lijiang at that time. 

First Bend of the Yangtze River: Located in the Stone Drum Town, the First Bend of the Yangtze River is situated 1,850 meters above sea level, 130 km away from Shangri La County. The longest river, the Yangtze River, runs from the roof of the world, the- Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, and then into Yunnan Province, converging with the Lancang River and the Nu River in the mountain ranges. When coming to the Stone Drum in Yulong County, the river makes sudden 100 degree turn, heading northeast, and forming a V-shaped bend.

Tiger Leaping Gorge: As the upper reaches of the Golden Sand River, the gorge is 5,596 meters in elevation and 18km in length. The gorge is divided into three sections, namely, Upper Tiger Leaping Gorge, Middle Tiger Leaping Gorge, and Lower Tiger Leaping Gorge. The narrowest section is only about 30m. It is one of the most famous trekking site in China.

Highlights: Today you will visit the Songzanlin Lamasery, Pudacuo National Park (Bitahai Lake and Shudu Lake). In the evening, pay a visit to a local Tibetan family and experience the highly-praised hospitality of Tibetan people.

Songzanlin Lamasery: Which is the largest Tibetan Buddhist lamasery in Yunnan Province and one of the 13 famous monasteries of Tibetan Kham. The Lamasery was built in 1674, occupies an area of 33.3 hectares. The monastery copied the style of Potala Palace in Lhasa; hence it has another name "Small Potala Palace".

Pudacuo National Park: Pudacuo qualifies as a natural wonderland according, contains endemic species of fish found no where else in the world, rare and beautiful orchids, black-necked cranes, and taxus yunnanensis, a yew whose extracts are indispensable to the creation of many cancer-treating drugs. Nestled in the mountains of Southwest China, the park is an integral part of the Three Parallel Rivers Scenic Area, a UNESCO World Heritage Site and one of Chinas most popular tourist destinations. The major attractions of Pudacuo are Shudu Lake and Bita Lake.

Highlights: Today is free for you to have fun until your flight to Kunming. Upon your Kunming arrival, be met by our guide and escorted to hotel, rest of the day you will visit Green Lake Park.

Green Lake: Located on the west side of Wuhua Mountain in Kunming, facing opposite Yunnan University, Green Lake Park is an urban park designed and created all the way back in the 17th century. Since 1985, a large number of seagulls have migrated there from Siberia to spend the winter. Green Lake is surrounded by verdant trees, with rippling water and pavilions dotted on the lake. With elegant and beautiful environment, it is reputed as “Jade of the City”.

Highlights: Today you'll be driven 86 km to visit Stone Forest. After the tour, drive to airport for the flight to next city. 

Stone Forest: Located 86km away from Kunming, Stone Forest is the most famous site in Kunming. Walking through it, visitors will marvel at the natural stone masterpieces and are bewitched by the intricate formations. The magnificent, strange and steep landscape creates countless labyrinthine vistas. There is a local saying: "It is a waste of time not to visit the Stone Forest while visiting Kunming", which vividly expresses the deep love of the local people toward this world wonder. The quintessential karst landscape makes every tourist lost in wonder.