Detailed Itinerary

 
Guanzhou (Guangdong)
Guangzhou is the capital Guangdong Province in south eastern China. It faces the South China Sea and it was from here that many of the earliest Chinese immigrants to Australia originated. Historically Guangzhou was known as Canton and in modern times it is the home base for China Southern Airlines. It will be our international entry and exit point for this program.

Guilin (Guangxi)
Just as Xi'an is a must when you travel to China, so is Guilin. The stunning landscape in which the city is situated has a kind of magic that is all its own. The strangely shaped limestone hills with the verdant vegetation ranging from bamboo to conifers together with wonderful caves make Guilin such an attraction for tourists. Guilin is very often described as "what I expect China to look like".

Wet spring and summer period (April to July) with the hottest months between May and September. Even in the winter period (December to February) the minimum average temperatures are cool but not frosty.

Located in the northeast of Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, Guilin is considered to be the pearl of China's thriving tourist industry on account of the natural beauty and historic treasures.

Guilin is also an important cultural city with a history encompassing more than 2,000 years and the city has been the political, economic and cultural centre of Guangxi since the Northern Song Dynasty (960-1127).

The many ethnic minorities represented here that including the Zhuang, Yao, Hui, Miao, Mulao, Maonan and Dong enrich the cultural life of the city. Each minority has its own unique customs and festivals and this means that they are much more abundant here than in many other places elsewhere in China.

Accommodation
We stay in a 4 star hotel offering en-suite share twin, double and single rooms (Casper Hotel).

We board our flight from Guangzhou to Guilin Liangjiang Airport.

What We Will Experience

• City tour.
• Visit Longsheng rice terraces (about 2 hours drive one way).
• Lecture and demonstration of Chinese painting, at Guangxi Teacher's University Art College.

Yangshuo (Guangxi)
Yangshuo a small county in southern China lies to the southeast of Guilin City. The geography gives it breath-taking beauty while over 1,400 years of history bless it with a deep traditional culture. The diverse ethnic minority groups including Hui, Zhuang, Yao and others, enrich it with special folk cultures.

The famous Li River traverses the county and brings it the most beautiful scenery. Along the extremely pure river, thousands of limestone hills stand in different poses and with different expressions, such as Moon Hill, Mural Hill and Schoolboy Hill which is the natural stage of the world famous opera 'Impression on Sanjie Liu'.

Mr. Zhang Yimou, the most celebrated Chinese movie director, also the director of the Beijing Olympic opening ceremony, made three Impression shows in the three most beautiful towns of China including Yangshuo. Shows are performed everyday, weather permitting. The river bend is used as the stage and everything takes place on the water while the whole scene is surrounded by limestone mountains that are lit up in the night. There are more than 600 actors in the show.

Streets in Yangshuo are well kept in the original style, presenting the simple and primitive atmosphere of the ancient town. The exotic flavor, combined with the traditional culture, make the West Street world famous.

Yangshuo also attracts travelers with its delicious specialty foods, such as Beer Fish, Niang dishes and special snacks including rice noodles and various glutinous rice cakes.

Accommodation
We stay in a 4 star hotel offering en-suite share twin, double and single rooms (Paradise Hotel, best in Yangshuo, on the West Street).

What We Will Experience

• Li River Cruise including lunch.
• Visit the surrounding villages where the Zhuang people live travelling by electric people movers.
• Water-staged show Impression of Liu Sanjie.

Kunming (Yunnan)
Kunming, capital of Yunnan Province, with a history of more than 2400 years, owes its importance to the fact that it was the gateway to a trade route that facilitated exchanges with Tibet, Sichuan, Myanmar and India. Today the city is the political, economical and cultural center of Yunnan Province and the center for tourism in Southwest China.

Kunming enjoys a pleasant climate and does its best to live up to its title of 'the City of Eternal Spring'.

Kunming is the focal point of Yunnan minority culture. Some 26 ethnic minorities such as Yi, Bai, Miao, Dai, Hani inhabit the region.
Karst landforms also occur here and form the bewitching Stone Forest close to Kunming. The forest is made up of grey weathered rock columns made of limestone initially formed some 270 million years ago.

Kunming is also renowned for many delicious local dishes; the most famous ones are Across Bridge Rice Noodle and Xuanwei Ham.

In the night markets you will find many pubs, bars and cafes that serve good quality meals.

Accommodation
We stay in a 4 star hotel offering en-suite share twin, double and single rooms (Kunming Hotel).

What We Will Experience
Drive back to Guilin from Yangshuo to visit the tea plantation at Guilin Tea Research Institute. Here we visit the tea farm followed by instruction on tea making procedures and finally a tea ceremony and tasting
Lunch at "Tea Restaurant" (offering special, beautiful dishes)
Fly to Kunming
Check into hotel
After dinner there is a talk and demonstration on Chinese Music, at the Yunnan Fine Art Institute

On the second day in Kunming we first visit the Stone Forest
In the afternoon there is an introductory talk on Chinese Minorities at the Yunnan Nationalities Museum and a visit the museum.
Dinner will include a local flavor, Cross-Bridge Rice Noodles.

Dali (Yunnan)
Dali city is located northwest of the Yunnan Province, 300 km northwest of Kunming. It is the economic and cultural center of the Dali Bai Autonomous Prefecture. The area is surrounded by mountains on the east, west, and south, and has the Erhai Lake in its centre which is just over 1900m above sea level.

Here you will find 25 ethnic minorities, which have created a unique cultural heritage amidst the area's picturesque surroundings. Ethnic minorities have inhabited Dali for generations, with the Bai Minority making up 65% of Dali's population. The customs of the ethnic minorities bring charm to daily life in Dali and the Bai people's traditional product, tie-dye cloths, for example, are found all over Dali area and are mostly made in homes. The word Dali also means "marble" in Chinese, and Dali is the hometown of marble stone and it many products in China.

Present day Dali is a city that combines history with modern convenience. It is divided into two areas- the Ancient City and the New District (widely known as Xiaguan). The Ancient City, was first built in the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644). Ancient buildings, the city walls and the old city moat are the interesting sites as is the famous Foreigner Street. Within the Ancient City this street has many handicraft sellers and local culinary delicacies.

Throughout its years of development, local endeavors for advancement have been rewarded with a great rise in area living standards. Nowadays, Dali is a tourist destination replete with every convenience in transportation and public facilities and is popular with both domestic and foreign travelers. Our program, designed for travelers, goes a little further visiting some interesting places where no tourists go!

Accommodation
We stay in a 4 star hotel offering en-suite share twin, double and single rooms (Asia Star Hotel).

What We Will Experinece
Early flight to Dali from Kunming
Check into hotel
Visit Shaping Monday Market, lunch
Tie-Dye home workshop visit
Dinner on Foreigner's Street (Chinese-Western "fusion") followed by free time.
On the second day in Dali
Morning cruise by boat on Erhai Lake to see Guanyinge (Kuanyin Temple)
Later drive along the lakeside to visit Haiyin fishing village, a village school, Xiaoputuo Island and farms
Lunch at Haixinting (Lake-heart Pavilion)
Fisherman's home visit at Shacun Village
Dinner in the old town taking a free shuttle bus back to our hotel
Tomorrow we travel to Lijiang

Lijiang (Yunnan)
One description of Lijiang reads: "It is said there is a fairyland beneath the colorful clouds of southern China. A place blessed with fresh air, clear streams, breathtaking snow-capped mountains, and an undisturbed landscape inhabited by a friendly group of people. Life in this fairyland is so peaceful, a fairyland called Lijiang, located at the hub of Tibet, Yunnan and Sichuan provinces."

While the geographical position of Lijiang City is remote, it has the advantage of ensuring a pleasant year round climate and a wide variety of tourist resources. Lijiang is set at about 1600m above seas level.

The earliest recorded history of Lijiang can be traced back to the Warring States Period (476 BC-221 BC), but with the advent of the Tang Dynasty (618-907) the local economy reached a peak with the development of the Ancient Tea-Horse Road. This trade route made a great contribution to both commercial and cultural communication between Tibet, Sichuan and Yunnan provinces.

Lijiang is the main region inhabited by Naxi minority ethnic group and it has one of the best preserved ancient town in China - the Old Town which has been listed in the World Cultural Heritages by UNESCO in 1997. The Old Town was once the center of Lijiang and continues to maintain the original flavor of the local lifestyle, the typical groups of buildings and the profound cultural heritage of the region.

As a botanist, anthropologist and photographer, Dr. Joseph Rock was the first foreigner who stayed in Lijiang over a 27 years period. This Austrian-American expert was on different missions in Lijiang, including working for National Geographic magazine. He stayed at the foot of the Jade Dragon snow mountain in Yuhu Village. His home from the 1920s has been converted into a small museum.

Accommodation
We stay in a 3 star hotel offering en-suite share twin, double and single rooms (Hexi Hotel, in the centre of the Dayan ancient town).

What We Will Experience
Depart for Lijiang by bus
Arrive in Lijiang for lunch after a 3 hour drive with a few picture stops, and check into hotel
Visit Black Dragon Pond Park and the Dongba Center
Here we hear an introductory talk on Naxi culture, the Dongba religion and their pictographs
After dinner attend a Naxi concert.

On the second day
Morning visit to the Dayan Ancient Town and the market
After lunch walk in the Naxi Garden followed by visit to Yuhu Village where Dr. Joseph Rock lived.
Free time in the late afternoon and dinner on own expense (map provided with recommended restaurants)
Next day we travel to Zhongdian.

Zhongdian (more recently known as Shangri-la (Yunnan)
Shangri-La is an imaginary remote paradise on earth. Since it first appeared in British novelist James Hilton's Lost Horizon in 1939, it has been associated with the mystique of a place which could not possibly exist here on Earth. In Tibetan, Shangri-La means the "sun and moon in heart", an ideal home only found in heaven. Locally there the lofty and continuous snowy mountains, extensive grasslands, steep gorges, azure lakes and the country villages which always leave a deep impression on visitors.

Located at point where Tibet, Sichuan and Yunnan all meet, Shangri-La County is administered by Diqing Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, Yunnan Province.

At an average altitude of more than 3,000 m Shangri-La is reached by bus being about 175 km from Lijiang on a road with stunning mountain scenery. Two features on the Yangtze River, Tiger Leaping Gorge and the First Bend can be seen on the way.

Shangri-La is inhabited by many different ethnic groups, with the Tibetans comprising the majority of the population. There you will have an opportunity to experience Tibetan life and learn about their lifestyle, religion and cuisine. Many Buddhist lamaseries and temples are found here. The unique scenery, highlighted by mountains, grassland and lakes, together with the fascinating ethnic culture makes Shangri-La very attractive and charming to visit.

Accommodation
We stay in a 4 star hotel offering en-suite share twin, double and single rooms (Songtsam Hotel, the best local hotel).

What We Will Experience
After breakfast depart for the First Bend of Yangtze at Shigu Town.

Lunch, then visit Tiger-Leaping Gorge and continue to Zhongdian.
Check into hotel.
On the second day
First visit Songtsam Monastery and in the afternoon visit Putacuo National Park (including Bita Lake Nature Reserve and Shudu Lake).
Join the Tibetan dance at the central Square in the late afternoon.
Enjoy a Tibetan style dinner.
Next day we travel to Jianshui

Jianshui (Yunnan)
Jianshui, an old imperial garrison town was an important center in southern Yunnan Province during the Ming and Qing dynasties and much of its Qing architecture is well-preserved. Besides, its historical relevance, it provides a good chance to experience small-town life. Locally there are over 100 temples, academies of classical learning and large residences. High quality, artistic, purple pottery is a significant local product.

Jianshui is located close to the Tropic of Cancer, near the Vietnam border with China and is about 220 km south of Kunming within the Hani Yi Autonomous Prefecture in Yunnan Province. The Yi and the Hani are the two largest populations of ethnic minorities in the region.

Located on the Red River (Hong He) at 1324m above sea level it has a long frost-free period of 307 days, with a subtropical monsoon climate. Various grains, sugarcane, tobacco, citrus and pomegranate are grown here in what is essentially an agricultural area.

Accommodation
We stay at the Zhu Family Garden.

What We Will Experience
Fly to Kunming then drive to Jianshui (about 4 hours) with a boxed lunch on the way.
If time permits we hope to visit a farm and a plantation on the way south .
Arrive at the town of Jianshui in late afternoon.
Before dinner, take a guided walk around the Zhu Family garden.
Weather permitting, dine al fresco in the Zhu Family courtyard.

On the second day
This morning explore a street of tofu-making workshops near Jinshui's west gate and its ancient wells that still provide water to local residents. We then observe the work of traditional pottery-making families nearby.
Lunch at local restaurant
Drive about 30 minutes out of town to the Zhang Family Garden in a nearby village that is respected for its architecture and wood carving. Zhang's Family house was built in the late Qing Dynasty.
Return to Jianshui and explore the second largest Confucius Temple in China, followed by a visit a local school nearby the temple.
Dinner will be at a local restaurant
Next day fly to Guangzhou.

Guangzhou (Guangdong)
This is the last full day of the program after experienceing the rich tapestry of the south west, and most of the day will be taken up with travel.

What We Will Experience
Drive back to Kunming the fly to Guangzhou
Next day join and international flight to home ports

Itineraries may change if flight schedules, site availability, and other inclusions have to be amended prior to departure. Odyssey Travel will notify registrants if, and as soon as, such changes occur.

Program Includes

Program Includes

* Return economy class international airfares.
* One way economy class domestic flights as listed in the itinerary.
* Departure taxes applicable to the standard itinerary.
* Visa fees applicable to passport holders.
* 14 nights hotel accommodation hotels (3 & 4 Star) offering en-suite share twin rooms.
* All breakfasts, lunches and dinners daily.
* Transport during the program in comfortable air-conditioned coaches.
* Lectures and field trips as indicated.
* Comprehensive travel insurance (Additional premiums will be imposed by the insurer for those participants who are over 60 years and/or with pre-existing medical conditions).
* Services of a Program Leader.
* Services of local guides.
* Applicable entry fees.
* Gratuities and necessary tips.
* Detailed Program Information Booklet.