Minority Experience from Kunming, Dali to Lijiang for 8 Days

We'll take an early bullet train from Kunming to Dali. It is only 2 hours of the ride, thanks to the high-speed train. The Dali Ancient City is widely acknowledged as "Backpackers' Paradise" in China. Foreign visitors like to stay in Dali ancient city. Some of them live there for months or even years, to observe and study the fascinating culture of Bai nationality. In the so-called " Yangren Street (foreigner's street) " in the heart of the ancient city where is always full of foreign visitors, there are several dozens of cafes, western-style restaurants, and clothes shops offering services to international guests. And it seems that every one of the local Dali Bai people in Yangren Street is a multi-linguist.
 

We'll walk through the local streets. The local customs and architecture are distinctive. A stroll through the ancient city with its stone-paved streets, traditional-style houses, and numerous gardens is an exciting excursion. Later, we'll head to Xizhou Old Town, which will give you a chance to experience the Bai minority's life.  
 

Overnight in Dali in a cozy boutique hotel. 

Our goal today to tour Er'hai. Erhai Lake. The whole lake area is full of interesting and beautiful sites. Lining its banks in the valley are fishing villages, Bai farming villages, ancient temples, historic towns, and the ancient city of Dali. You can watch people traditionally live their daily lives. That is an exciting backdrop for the scenery. The local people feel that this big lake with its clear water and its reflections of land and sky as well as the entire region are unusually beautiful, and is another highlight of a visit to Yunnan Province. At the lake, we will visit several villages, temples, and Jinsuo Island. Jinsuo Island (Golden Shuttle Island), and the nearby fishing community of Bai Minority do deserve a visit with its attractive Bai culture and lifestyle, and because of the rare beauty of the lake and its surrounding scenery.  
 

Overnight in Dali near Er'hai. 

Today we will take a bus along the old Dali-Lijiang road in order to reach Jianchuan (also known as Shaxi), and on the way there numerous minority groups can be seen along the road in traditional dress. The high mountain historical villages of Shaxi Town at the foot of Shibaoshan are in a valley that is at an elevation of about 2000 meters or about 6,500 feet. This area lay on trade routes that led throughout Asia, so the ancient remains, frescoes, art and graffiti on the mountains show a mixture of cultural influences from other parts of the world. 

Shaxi once played an important role as a bustling trade station on the Tea and Horse Caravan Road, an important branch of the Silk Road. Just over one thousand years ago, this ancient trade route connected Tibet with Eastern China. In exchange for teas from Yunnan, Tibetans traded their famous breed of horse to Song Dynasty officials in eastern China, who were busy defending their territory from invaders from the north. Thus the Tea and Horse Caravan was born. Shaxi became the main trade station along this route. The several ethnic groups in the region also have a mixture of Asian influences in their cultures. 

When we arrive in Shaxi, we will tour the old town, the nearby Shaxi River, the Xinjao Temple, as well as the ancient courtyards that abound in the town. For the night we will stay at the historic Tea Horse Caravan Hotel. 

Today we will take a day trip out to nearby Shibao Mountain. In the mountain, there are dense forests and flowing streams, which makes a beautiful picture. And Shibao Mountain is composed of three larges scenic spots—the Haiyun Temple, the Baoxiang Temple, the Shizhong (Stone Bell) Temple. The mountain also features some exquisite Buddhist art. The Shibao Shan rock carvings are over 1300 years old and evidence of the spread of Mahayana Buddhism into Yunnan from Tibet. Representations of the bodhisattva Guanyin and other Buddhist images are carved into the rocky mountainside. Spending a day at the grottoes hiking around the temples through the lush forest - perhaps we’ll be lucky enough to come across a group of monkeys.

After our visit to Shibao Mountian, we’ll return for the evening to Shaxi.

After breakfast, we’ll take a bus to the town of Lijiang, Lijiang is a town that is an enclave of ethnic minority cultures, and the Naxi ethnic group is especially prevalent here.

After we arrive, we’ll stroll through the old town. The old town is made up of three old districts that retain a distinctive character of Naxi and Han construction and Naxi customs, arts, and culture. It was a former trading town and a stop for traders carrying goods on the “Chama Road” trails. It was listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1997 following an earthquake and reconstruction in 1996 that returned the city to a more ancient look.
 

We’ll next learn more about the Naxi people at the Dongba Museum. The museum is built entirely according to the traditional lifestyle of the Naxi Minority. You can feel the traditional atmosphere of national culture from the layout of its yard, manufacturing facilities, tools, and details of life.
 

For the evening, along with dinner you will get to enjoy a traditional performance of Naxi music and dancing at the Dongba Palace.

Following breakfast, we'll further explore aspects of Naxi daily life at the Baisha village. Baisha village is one of the oldest towns in Lijiang. It is the earliest settlement of the Naxi people and is the birthplace of "Tusi," chief of the Mu clan. In the town, there are many ancient buildings built during the Ming Dynasty, including Dabaoji Palace, Liuli Temple, and Wenchang Palace. The well-known Baisha Frescoes are located in Dabaoji Palace. Because of the white sand on the ground, the town was named "Baisha," which means "white sand." In the Naxi language, it is called "bengshi." The architectural complex is made up of two parts, folk residence, and cultural sites. The folk residence is called "pengshizhi" which in the local language means "Baisha Streets." The streets all go from south to north. In the center of the old town, there is a square where three thoroughfares intersect. Houses and small stores stand on both sides of these streets. A crystal clear stream winds around all the houses flowing through the small town from north to south.
 

The center of town features a beautiful rendering of religious frescoes. The 44 pieces of Baisha frescos were drawn in the early Ming Dynasty. Most of the paintings are about religious stories of Taoism, Buddhism, and Tibetan Buddhism. The murals embody the artistic characteristics of the Naxi, Tibetan, Han, and Bai ethnic groups. Among them, the paintings about Kwan-yin and Sakyamuni are the most famous ones. Now Baisha Frescos, also known as Lijing Frescos, have become precious data for the study of China's history of arts and religions.
 

We'll then make our way to the Shuhe old town, a charming town to visit for all travelers because there is a traditional Naxi village where you can enjoy Naxi drinking and food at the bank, which is made up of the river and farmland. We will spend the night at an inn in Shuhe.

 After breakfast, we’ll head on over to the village of Wenhai. Nestled in the valley at the foot of the mountain, this small community of Naxi farmers, along with their goats, pigs, horses, and cows, lives on the lush green fields around the lake that fronts their village. A lack of decent roads has kept Wenhai relatively free from the tourist hordes, though in addition to the local Naxi dialect, some people do have a smattering of Mandarin.
 

The Naxis have lived in Wenhai for over 300 years. There are five clans in the Wenhai upper village, whose ancestors were of Tibetan and Han origins. Over time, however, these people were regarded as Naxi by the other villagers. There are two clans in Wenhai lower village, whose bloodlines are from the Tibetans and the Bais, but are also being regarded as Naxi people now. North of the Wenhai villages is the Xuehua village where there lives a group of yis, who still maintain their very simple and traditional lifestyle of the yi people.
 

For the night, we will stay at the Wenhai Eco-Lodge, owned and run by 56 local families, each of whom has shares in the business and contributes a percentage of profits to community development.

Early in the morning we will drive back to Lijiang, where you will make the short flight back to Kunming. From there you will fly on to your next destination, ending your tour with us.