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9-Day Yunnan Family Tour

A Trip with Memorable Family Moments

9-Day Yunnan Family Tour

What are your expectations for a family trip? Relaxation, learning, adventure, experiencing, or simply having fun? There is a destination in China that offers all the above… Journey to Yunnan!

In this 9-day Yunnan family tour including Kunming, Dali, Lijiang and Shangri-La, you can have fun when biking in the idyllic countryside, learn about distinctive minority culture when interacting with local people, walk into an authentic ethnic village and experience its beauties and warm hospitality, go on an adventure to discover a best-kept secret of the snow-capped mountain, and relax and enjoy your stay on a Tibetan plateau pasture.

Kunming Dali Lijiang Shangri-La Tour Map

kunming dali lijiang shangri-la tour map

Tour 'Wow' Points

Have an interesting maze adventure game with your children.

Walk through the labyrinthine Naigu Stone Forest, and engage your imagination with your guide's black stone stories.

Naigu Stone Forest

Explore an ancient town, find the tallest building, and see if you can find the big wooden waterwheel.

big wooden waterwheel

Have a leisurely outdoor family time in the sunshine and fresh air.

Bike along Erhai Lake accompanied by its refreshing breezes. Enjoy the flowery meadows and rice fields, and see the clouds floating above the majestic Cangshan mountains.

Erhai Lake

Take a cable car up Jade Dragon Snow Mountain. You may be lucky enough to meet a cute animal like a squirrel before you enter the high snow-capped world.

Jade Dragon Snow Mountain
Jade Dragon Snow Mountain

Have a happy family time by making delicious local cakes together.

Learn to make Yunnan's famous flower cake at a flower farm.

making delicious local cakes together
making delicious local cakes together

Learn to make Naxi pancake in a local restaurant.

Learn to make Naxi pancake

China Highlights' Special Discovery Experiences

Discover the secrets of Bai minority tie-dye and learn to make your own ethnic handkerchief at a family workshop.

Bai minority tie-dye

Taste home-cooked cuisine in a Bai lady's home, and experience the amazing beverage that Bai people treat important guests to.

Taste home-cooked cuisine

Visit a Naxi shaman and start to understand their unique minority culture. Learn some Naxi characters and enjoy a piece of old Naxi music.

Visit a Naxi shaman

Stay in a Tibetan tent on a highland pasture and experience the Tibetan lifestyle. Have a hike on a hidden route. Run around or lie down on the alpine meadow and enjoy breathtaking views of Shangri-La Town and the mountains nearby!

Haba Snow Mountain

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Tour Map

km-3a Tour Map

Itinerary Quick Look

Here is a suggested itinerary. We are happy to customize a tour according to your interests.

DAY 1 Kunming | Arrival

Meet your private local guide in the arrival hall and transfer to your hotel. Your guide will help you check in and make sure everything at the hotel is satisfactory.

DAY 2 Kunming to Dali | Discover a Landscape like Another Planet

Skip the touristy spots loved by Chinese people. Visit a less crowded area — the Naigu Stone Forest. You will feel that you are walking in a national geological park, but not a tourist attraction. Play at science fiction or "name the rock" with your children in this amazing landscape.

Take a bullet train to Dali in the late afternoon.

DAY 3 Dali | Have Fun in the Idyllic Countryside

Have a bike ride along Erhai Lake in the morning. Feel the wind, enjoy the flowery meadows and rice fields, and see the clouds floating above the majestic Cangshan mountians.

Stop at a small square and take pictures of the landmark of Dali — The Three Pagodas.

Have a baking class in a flower farm. Learn to make the famous Yunnan snack — flower cakes. Enjoy the cake you have made with a cup of flower tea and play on a swing in the garden, while facing the great Cangshan ('Deep Green Mountains').

DAY 4 Dali to Lijiang | Experience Bai Beauties and Warm Hospitality

Visit Zhoucheng Village, located at the foot of Cangshan, in the morning to catch the daily life of Bai people at the market. Discover the beauties created by Bai people in their architecture, traditional dress, and a family tie-dyeing workshop. Dye a handkerchief for yourself in the traditional way.

Be entertained by a local Bai family. Taste the hostess's cooking in her beautiful courtyard and feel her warm hospitality through the home-cooked cuisine.

Head to Lijiang in the afternoon in your private car. Explore the charming kingdom of the Naxi people in Lijiang Ancient Town.

DAY 5 Lijiang | Homeland of the Mysterious Naxi

Pilgrimage to holy Jade Dragon Snow Mountain in the morning. The mountain massif is believed to guard and bless the Naxi, and so they in turn protect it.

Take a cable car to Spruce Meadow at an altitude of 3,240 meters (10,630 feet). Besides appreciating the awesome natural landscape and views of Jade Dragon Snow Mountain, you will unlock its romantic legends with the help of your guide.

Enjoy lunch in a local restaurant run by a Naxi family. You will also have the chance to learn to make Naxi pancakes (Naxi baba) as a dish of your lunch.

Understand more about the mysterious Naxi culture by visiting a shaman's house in the village. Learn some Naxi characters and enjoy a piece of old Naxi music. You will be impressed by the local people's passion for their culture and homeland.

DAY 6 Lijiang to Shangri-La | Witness the Magnificent Gorge

You will drive from Lijiang to Shangri-La in the morning. On the way, you will stop at the magnificent Tiger Leaping Gorge. Listen to the roar of the Jinsha River (upper Yangtze River).

After lunch, Continue to Shangri-La by a brand-new highway. Be impressed by the amazing scenery along the way and yet another super project of China. Check in to your hotel on the Tibetan plateau pasture.

DAY 7 Shangri-La | Go on a Hike Together to see Shangri-La

Starting from Renan Valle where your hotel is located, you will enjoy a 4-hour hike together through the meadow and the jungle to Shangri-La Town. Along the way,you will pass an Tibetan village called "Wujia Village". There is a large meadow near the village, which is full of colorful wildflowers in June. You will see herds of yaks, hear the sound of bells, and the howling of Tibetan mastiffs. When you get closer to the Shangri-La Town, you will get to the white Pagoda Pass. At the pass, you will have a panoramic view of Shangri-La.

Visit the largest Tibetan Buddhist Lamasery in Yunnan Province — Songzanlin Lamasery in the afternoon. Be impressed by the splendid architecture as you ascend to the entrance. Then be embraced by the holy atmosphere of Tibetan Buddhism as you enter the hall with huge Buddhas and colorful murals. Feel the piety of Tibetan people who are praying and listen to the chants of the lamas.

DAY 8 Shangri-La | Pudacuo National Park

Enjoy a beautiful sunrise while having breakfast

Visit Pudacuo National Park in the morning.The must-see scenery in this park includes Lake Bita and Lake Shudu. The Bitahai Lake is surrounded by mountains covered with ancient pines, oaks, and rhododendrons, and appears like an emerald in the heart of the mountains. Shudu Lake is surrounded by a forest of fir, spruce, and silver birch, and is home to lots of wild animals, such as squirrels, golden cats, and pheasants.

In your free time in the afternoon, you could try on traditional Tibetan dress and have a family picture in the Tibetan manor. Or Walk to the quiet Dabao Lamasery near the hotel

Enjoy a starry night with a bonfire on the grassland.

DAY 9 Shangri-La Departure

Private transfer to Deqen Shangri-La Airport

Hotel Selection

—the Icing on the Cake

Boutique hotels are recommended to enrich your travel experience.

the courtyard of the hotel
the hotel in the village

the breakfast of the hotel
FromUSD1739 p/p Based on a private tour for 2 people. Price varies depending on program, travel date, number of people and chosen hotel

Price includes:

  • Private air-conditioned business car with big windows and ample space
  • English speaking local guide
  • Activities, hotels, and meals listed in the itinerary
  • 24/7 helpline for while you are traveling

Tour code: km-3a

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