LEGENDARY CHINA

Guilin - Longsheng - Yangshuo - Kunming - Dali - Shaxi - Lijiang - Shangrila

13 days/12 nights 

Day 1 GUILIN  桂林

Arrival in Guilin, meet with local English speaking guide and driver, transfer to the hotel and check-in. Meals free. Overnight in hotel. 

Day 2 GUILIN-LONGSHENG-GUILIN (B, -, -) 桂林－龙胜－桂林  

After breakfast, meet with the guide and departure to visit the rice terraces Longji Terraced field 龙脊稻田 in Longsheng 龙胜. The construction of the terraces started more than 600 years ago, during the Yuan Dynasty, and ended at the beginning of Qing Dynasty. After that, go back to Guilin and visit the Elephant Trunk Hill*  象鼻山. Following, take a stroll near Guilin Four Lakes scenic area. Meals free.  

Overnight in hotel.

Day 3 GUILIN-YANGSHUO (B, L, -) 桂林－阳朔

After breakfast, meet with the guide and transfer to Guilin’s pier for the Li River Cruise 漓江游船从桂林到阳朔 (around 5 hours). During the cruise you can admire the beautiful landscapes, represented by several generations of Chinese painters.Buffet lunch on board. At around 2 pm arrival in Yangshuo and transfer to visit the Moon Mountain*. Then, go back to Yangshuo and check-in at the hotel. Dinner free. After dinner, watch the show Liusanjie (standard B1 seats). After the show, go back to the hotel. 

Overnight in hotel.

Day 4 YANGSHUO-GUILIN/KUNMING  (B, -, -) 阳朔－桂林／昆明 flight

After breakfast, morning free at disposal. Lunch free. Then, meet the guide and transfer to Guilin airport to take the flight towards Kunming. At the arrival in Kunming, meet with the new local English speaking guide and transfer to the hotel. Dinner Free. Overnight in hotel. 

Day 5 KUNMING (B, -, -) 昆明

After breakfast meet with the local English speaking guide and visit the Stone Forest* 石林 ( about 90 km far from Kunming, 1h drive) and Yim minority village. Then, transfer back to the city and visit Green Lake Park. Meals Free. Overnight in hotel.

Day 6 KUNMING-DALI  (B, -, -) 昆明－大理

After breakfast, departure towards Dali (no guide, only driver, 350 km, about 5h). Upon arrival, meet with the new local English speaking guide and check-in at the hotel. Lunch Free. In the late afternoon, visit the Three Pagodas* 三塔寺 of Chongsheng Temple, symbol of Dali. 

In the evening, take a stroll in Dali Old Town* 古城 and Foreigner Street 洋人街.

Dinner free. Overnight in hotel. 

Day 7 DALI-SHAXI (B, -, -) 大理－沙溪

After breakfast, meet with the guide and transfer to visit Xizhou local morning market 喜洲村 and Zhoucheng Batik village 周城村, where Bai minority people live. 

Afterwards, continue towards Shaxi Old Town* (150km, 3h drive), a historic market town dating back to Spring and Autumn Period and to the Warring States (770 a.c.-221 a.c.). It was a dynamic centre on the South part of Silk Road, that linked Chinese South-West hinterland with South-East Asia towards Europe. This area is actually older of at least 300 years than the famous Northern Silk Road. Meals not included. Overnight in Shaxi.

Day 8 SHAXI-JIANCHUAN-LIJIANG  (B, -, -) 沙溪－剑川－丽江

After breakfast, meet with local guide and visit Shaxi Old Town. Then, departure towards Shibao Mountain Grottoes in Jianchuan, where you can admire rock caves dating back to Tang and Song dynasties. After the visit, continue towards Lijiang (no guide, only driver, 100km, about 2h). Upon arrival in Lijiang, meet with the new local English speaking guide and check-in at the hotel. Meals not included. Evening stroll in Lijiang Old Town. Overnight in Lijiang.  

The Lijiang old town is famous for its orderly system of waterways and bridges. The old town of Lijiang differs from other ancient Chinese cities in architecture, history and the culture of its traditional residents the Naxi people. 

The Old Town is a maze of winding cobblestone streets. It is extremely easy to get lost as there is no grid, but each turn takes one to some new interesting spot, and it's not hard to eventually find one's way out of the maze and back to familiar territory. 

Day 9 LIJIANG (B, -, -) 丽江

After breakfast, meet with local guide and transfer to visit Baisha Fresco* 白沙壁画.  The originality and figures of the mural paintings reflect the different religious cultures and artistic forms of Buddhism, Lamaism, Daoism and the Naxi Dongba religion.

Then, continue visiting Suhe village, once the old centre of Lijiang with more than 1000 years of history. This village, located 4km north from Lijiang, is a well-preserved example of a town along the ancient tea route between China and the Red Sea. Afterwards, visit to Black Dragon Pool Park* 黑龙潭公园.

In the afternoon, free time at disposal to explore Lijiang Old Town. Meals not included. 

Overnight in hotel. 

Day 10 LIJIANG-SHANGRILA (B, -, -) 丽江－香格里拉

After breakfast, departure towards Shangrila (200 km, about 4h drive. NOTE: from Lijiang to the Tiger Leaping Gorge only driver - no guide; upon arrival at Tiger Leaping Gorge meet with the new English speaking guide from Shangrila). On the route, stop to visit the Tiger Leaping Gorge*, a scenic canyon on the Jinsha River. The name of the gorge comes from a legend: in order to escape from a hunter, a tiger jumped across the river at the narrowest point. At the arrival in Shangrila, check-in at the hotel. Meals free. Overnight in hotel. 

Day 11 SHANGRILA (B, -, -) 香格里拉

After breakfast, meet with English speaking local guide and visit Pudacuo National Park* (from Shangrila about 28km – 1h drive) to admire Shudu and Bita Hai lakes. In the afternoon, transfer back to Shangrila to visit Ganden Songzanlin Monastery*. Known also as "Little Potala", the Monastery is a spiritual place that invites you to discover the mystery and traditions of Tibetan Buddhism. Since the 5th Dalai Lama chose the site through divination in 1679, the monastery has grown into the most important community of its kind in Yunnan. At the end of the tour, go back to the hotel. Meals free, overnight in hotel.  

Day 12 SHANGRILA/KUNMING/SHANGHAI (B, -, -) 香格里拉／昆明／上海 flight

After breakfast, transfer to the airport to take the flight to Shanghai (via Kunming). Upon arrival, meet with the local guide and transfer to the hotel, check-in. 

In the evening, walk through The Nanjing Road 南京路 , commercial center full of shops and shopping malls, next to The Bund 外滩, the famous walk on The Huangpu river bank, where you can admire the amazing Shanghai skyline.

After the tour, go back to the hotel. Meals free. Overnight in hotel.

Day 13 SHANGHAI (B, -, -)

After breakfast, meet with the guide and transfer to the airport to take the flight back home.