Day 1 | Hong
Kong to Kunming
Fly to Kunming from Hong Kong. Kunming situated on the shores of
Lake Dianchi, is one of China's most pleasant cities and is largely protected from the South China monsoon, so the weather should be delightfully warm and spring like. We plan to visit the Provincial Museum to get an overview of the minorities of Yunnan and their lives and costumes.
Kunming, 1 night
Day 2
A day drive to Dali through the rich horticultural lowlands surrounding Kunming and then through an extensive area of limestone gorges and finally to Erhai Lake and Dali. Dali is situated on Lake Erhai, to the people of Dali the scenery is
characterized by "Wind, Flowers, Snow and Moon".
Dali, 3 nights
Day 3
We will spend half a day at Lake Erhai travelling by boat to Zhoucheng. En route we should see Bai fishing junks, their structure similar to Tang Dynasty warships. Zhoucheng is one of
the largest Bai villages in the region, and the people are well known for their indigo tie-dyes cloth with a white butterfly design.
Day 4
We’ll also explore the Three pagodas and Butterfly Spring. Equally interesting are the marble workshops around the town. The shops are picturesque as are the town, the city gate and the remaining walls.
Days 5, 6 + 7
Morning drive to Lijiang. The town is attractive with its wooden buildings, streams, weeping willows and views of the surrounding Jade Dragon Snow Mountains.
We intend to spend a day in a Naxi village to look for examples of the ancient Naxi pictorial script written on the rocks, and hope to photograph Naxi women dressed in traditional costumes. Walks will be made to local temples in Lijiang. We also will have an evening local music show.
Lijiang, 3 nights
Day 8
Morning flight to Kunming. We will visit Buddhist and Taoist temples with upturned eaves and intricate cantilevers, all painted in subtle hues and containing interesting statuary. Lots of character and colour at the Bird and Flower market which we will visit.
Kunming, 1 night
Days 9 + 10
Half day drive to Jianshui. En-route we will detour to Hui, Mongols and Yi villages. We will visit the local temple, garden and the double dragon bridge during our stay.
Jianshui, 2 nights
Day 11
We will spend a couple of days exploring the most scenic and picturesque regions
containing minority tribes. Overnight at Jiangchen County
Day 12, 13 + 14
Today we finally reach the most exotic Xishuangbanna which is located in the deep south of Yunnan Province. The great attraction of this area are the minority Dai people. To keep themselves off the damp earth in this tropical rain forest weather, the Dais live in wooden houses raised on stilts with the pigs and chickens below. The common dress is sarongs and straw hats and the women have upswept hairstyles. Jinghong is the tropical tree-lined administrative town of Xishuangbanna. The main attractions are Dai villages and Tropical Plant Research Institute. Explore some of the Dais villages and the local markets.
Jinghong, 3 nights
Day 15
The Manfeilong pagoda group stand in the shadow of Manfeilong Mountain. From a distance these pagodas look like white bamboo shoots after rain. In the afternoon fly back to Kunming.
The included dinner on the last night of our photography tour will feature an
'It's You!' presentation of clients in action by John.
Kunming, 1 night
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