Kunming Extension Tour

Your wonderful Yunnan trip will begin from the Spring City, Kunming! Upon your arrival, your tour guide and driver will pick you up at Kunming Airport and then transfer you to the hotel.

After a good rest, follow your guide to stroll around the bustling Jingxing Flowers and Birds Market, a place to find the most representative of Kunming life. You will see people trading plants and birds, as well as appreciate a good variety of antiques, jewelry and traditional ethnic clothing and handicrafts in a submarket. After that, let’s explore the Green Lake Park. As the name implies, the park enjoys a beautiful mirror-like lake, with surrounding flourishing vegetation and buildings from Qing Dynasty (1644-1911) such as a mid-lake pavilion casting reflections. If traveling in summer, you will see gorgeous lotus flowers blooming in the lake; while in winter, admire numerous gulls flying over the lake. After lingering for a while, you will be escorted back to the hotel.

► Dinner Suggestion:
If you are want to try some authentic Yunnan cuisine, go to Fu Zhao Lou (Railway Station Jinjiang branch) restaurant. Opened in 1937 on Fuzhao Road in Kunming, it has gone through a series of changes and breakthroughs, and now has 11 branches across Kunming, which are very popular with locals and tourists alike. The signature dish is Steam Pot Chicken, a well-known specialty in Yunnan, and speaking of it, the first thing that comes to the natives’ mind must be Fu Zhao Lou. It takes about 6 hours to make this dish and the ingredients for it are carefully selected. You will be surprised to know that the restaurant also has its own fish breeding base to ensure quality and safety. Moreover, the restaurant is decorated in a very traditional Chinese style and all waiters are dressed in cheongsam or long gowns, which can make you experience a strong traditional Chinese cultural atmosphere while tasting food. A meal costs about CNY 70 / USD 9 per person.

Accommodation: Cachet Boutique Kunming Artime

In the morning, we will head to the essential attraction of Kunming, the Stone Forest, which is located in the Yi Autonomous County - Yi is an ethnic minority in China - and famous for a karst landscape with sharp stone peaks, grotesque stalactites and stalagmites in deep caves and huge waterfalls. One of highlights here is that boulder named Ashima, which has a moving legend behind it. There was a beautiful Yi girl Ashima who, not afraid of opposing vicious power, bravely pursued love with an upright young man Ahei; but unfortunately, on their way fleeing from the villain, she was swept away by a flood in the stone forest and finally turned herself into a stone to protect herself. This is only one among many stories related to the Forest and with our guide you will learn more!

Then we will continue to drive for around 2 hours to the Jianshui Ancient Town, a cultural site with a far-reaching history and more than fifty well-preserved old dwellings, which make the town known as the "Ancient Architecture Museum" and "Ancient Habitant Museum". Walking on the mottled stone slopes of the town and looking at the old wooden architecture on both sides of the path, you will seem to be taken back to ancient times.

Check into a fancy hotel we arranged for you inside the ancient town. By the way, the lantern-lit night view of the town is amazing for photography, so don't miss it.

Meals: Western buffet breakfast
Accommodation: Lin An Hotel

Today, your Jianshui tour will continue to the delightful Zhu Family Garden, which is a big residence complex owned by a local celebrity surnamed Zhu in the Qing Dynasty (1644 - 1911). It is comprised of a big living area, a grand ancestral temple as well as a stunning private garden, covering an area of over two hectares. You will be amazed by those exquisite carvings and paintings found here and there at halls, rooms and pavilions, each having witnessed the rise and fall of the Zhu family. The overall architecture showcases how Zhu innovatively blended ethnic architectural art on the basis of Han’s, which makes his residence a world of its own.

Then drop by the Confucius Temple to trace the profound culture of the Confucianism with the interpretation of your knowledgeable guide. After that, visit the Zengji Tofu Workshop, where you can witness the whole making process of tofu and taste the fresh soy bean milk. This century-old brand is introduced in the well-known Chinese food documentary "A Bite of China", and since it was aired, a large number of domestic and foreign tourists come every day, making it a must-hit scenic spot while in Jianshui.

After a short break, a 3-hour private car ride will transfer you to Yuanyang County. Your guide will help you check into a carefully-selected boutique hotel, whose superior and unique geographical environment allows you to enjoy views of the terraced fields, sea of clouds, sunrise and villages from the window in your own room.

Meals: Chinese breakfast
Accommodation: Yunti Hotel

We will get up a bit earlier this morning to the Duoyishu Rice Terraces. Its landscape will mesmerize you with its likeness to a spectacular work of printmaking with changeable colors. If you come here between December and March, you will feel like entering a wonderland for the ever-changing colors reflected on the irrigation water and the looming Duoyishu village amid fog. At Aichun and Dawazhe terraces, you can also capture a sea of clouds.

Then, head for the Qingkou Hani Ethnic Village to enjoy a different breathtaking idyllic scenery. At Torch Festival (around the end of July) and the Spring Festival (around December), you may soak up the atmosphere of the Long Street Banquet. During these times, every local Hani family in Yuanyang will make their own harvests into a variety of delicious dishes, and hold a long-table banquet at the entrance to the village for whole villagers and guests from afar to enjoy. You get to see up to thousands of people eating at the same time, and the table is connected to thousands of meters long, which is spectacular.

Lastly, your guide will lead you to the Azheke Terraces. The terraced landscape here is exactly a masterpiece to show Hani people’s living in harmony with nature, and although it is not as vast as Duoyishu Rice Terraces, it is more suitable for in-depth exploration and experience of local life, as you can closely observe farming activities. What’s more, both are UNESCO sites! By the terraces sits the Azheke Village, whose curiously thatched "mushroom" houses against the lush backdrop will lead you to infinite reveries.

Meals: Chinese breakfast

Before saying goodbye to Yuanyang, your guide will show you around a local market to see lively local life. Minority people wear their unique costumes and ornaments, sometimes with a bamboo basket on their back to carry baby. With your guide, you can learn more about local customs, habits and living conditions.

At last, you will be escorted back to Kunming by a 6-hour private car ride. Although the duration is a bit long, the charming scenery along the way will not disappoint you. After arriving at the hotel, just take a hot shower to wash away the fatigue of these days and have a good rest.

Meals: Chinese breakfast
Accommodation: Jinjiang Hotel

Your 6 days private Kunming to Yuanyang tour is going to end today. After breakfast, let’s first visit the Dragon Gate on Western Hills, which is built onto a cliff with one side disappearing into it. Standing there, you can overlook the vast Dianchi Lake hundreds of meters below and enjoy the beauty of Kunming's cityscape. Another highlight along your way is many exquisite stone carvings and inscriptions on the stone chambers and cliff walls, which record poetic praises and sentiments of ancient literati on the magnificent landscapes of the Western Hills.

Then your guide will see you off at Kunming Airport for your onward flight. We wish you have a nice journey!

Meals: Western buffet breakfast