“A divine escape from the urban filter” – perhaps that’s exactly why people choose Yunnan.
Here you’ll find Kunming’s spring flower feasts, Xishuangbanna’s tropical rainforests, Jade Dragon Snow Mountain’s sunrise sea of clouds, and the chance to cycle around Erhai Lake to feel nature’s relaxation. Taste Lugu Lake’s stone pot fish and capture stunning shots of Shangri-La’s Tibetan villages.
Itinerary Highlights
Kunming, the “Eternal Spring City,” blends Dianchi Lake’s shimmering waters with Dounan Flower Market to create a romance of nature and floral seas.
Walk through city streets and immerse yourself in the purple embrace of jacaranda trees.
Climb to overlook Dianchi Lake’s panorama and experience Kunming’s poetic charm of “half city mountains, half city lake.”
Dali, a haven for literary poets, offers cycling around Erhai Lake and Bai ethnic tie-dyeing to experience the artistic conception of “Cangshan Mountain: a thousand-year painting without ink.”
Erhai Lake gets its name from its ear-like shape. Cycling around the lake passes through Bai villages, with the S-curve internet-famous check-in spot offering “sky mirror” photo opportunities.
Cangshan Mountain and Erhai Lake together form the “Wind, Flowers, Snow, Moon” scenic area, a sacred site of the Nanzhao Kingdom. The Jade Belt Cloud Path was once an imperial trail.
Wander through Dali Ancient City, experience the indigo hues of intangible cultural heritage tie-dye craftsmanship, and climb Wuhua Tower for a panoramic view of the ancient city.
Step into the tropical rainforest of Xishuangbanna and feel the good fortune passed during the ethnic minority Water-Splashing Festival.
Explore Manting Park, the site of the ancient Dai royal palace ruins.
The Dai Village Park, composed of five Dai villages, preserves complete stilted bamboo building complexes where you can experience water-splashing celebrations.
Xishuangbanna Tropical Botanical Garden of the Chinese Academy of Sciences is China’s largest tropical botanical garden, housing over 13,000 plant species.
In Lijiang, the glacial wonders of Jade Dragon Snow Mountain collide with the ancient city’s long street banquets, creating a thousand years of Naxi cultural splendor.
Lijiang Ancient City offers a slow-paced atmosphere where folk music resonates with the sound of flowing water in the bar streets.
Jade Dragon Snow Mountain reveals Quaternary glacial relics.
At the mountain’s foot,Blue Moon Valley shimmers in Tiffany blue due to mineral deposits, earning it the nickname “Snow Mountain’s Tear.”
Lugu Lake, birthplace of the Mosuo people’s “Kingdom of Women,” offers pig trough boat rides through water lily fields while listening to Mosuo girls sing love ballads.
Dongba priests perform divination, join bonfire dance parties, make Dongba paper by hand, and explore the world’s only surviving pictographic writing system.
As the heartland of Yi ethnic culture, Chuxiong Prefecture takes the thousand-year-old October Solar Calendar as its essence. Amid geological wonders like the Yuanmou Earth Forest and the treasure trove of ancient biological fossils at the Dinosaur Valley, it offers a diverse journey exploring nature, history, and life.
The Solar Calendar Cultural Park lets you journey through the thousand-year-old calendar secrets of the Yi people. With its giant relief sculptures and torch installations, it unlocks the mysterious ritualistic charm of the Solar Calendar.
Yiren Ancient Town is a flagship project of ethnic tourism and cultural industry in Chuxiong Prefecture. Its design integrates the essence of central Yunnan Yi architecture with the layout of Jiangnan-style water streets, embodying the concept of “coexistence between antiquity and modernity”.
Formed 1.5 million years ago by geological movements, the Yuanmou Earth Forest shares the same Quaternary stratigraphic wonders as the Yuanmou Man Site and has been designated a China National Geopark.
Located in Honghe Prefecture, the UNESCO World Heritage Site of Yuanyang Terraces presents a magnificent poem of agricultural civilization. As the cradle of Confucianism in southern Yunnan, it boasts a millennia-old cultural heritage. The collision of ancient craftsmanship and modern art is writing a legendary story of symbiosis between the land and new life.
Key Attractions in Mile City
The brick maze of Dongfengyun Art Town resembles a kaleidoscope of light and shadow. Grab a bird’s-eye view and shoot blockbuster photos.
Covering 3,000 mu of flower fields, Taipinghu Forest Park has been transformed from barren hills, creating three-dimensional paintings with clusters of grass.
Located in Jinpingshan Scenic Area, the tallest golden Maitreya Buddha statue in Asia overlooks the entire city. The 1,999 steps lead you steadily upward, making it a top-tier spot to experience the serene glow of Buddha light.
Historical and Cultural Cluster of Jianshui County
Jianshui Ancient Town was founded during the Tang Dynasty and served as a center of Confucianism in southern Yunnan during the Ming and Qing dynasties. The Zhu Family Garden, the former residence of the wealthy Zhu Weiqing family in the late Qing Dynasty, blends architectural aesthetics of the Han and Yi ethnic groups.
Cultural & Lake Landscape of Shiping County
Yilong Lake features a 34-kilometer shoreline perfect for cycling around. The contrasting colors of lotus ponds and rice fields make stunning photos, and the local fisherman-style braised fish is incredibly fresh and delicious.
World Heritage Site: Yuanyang Terraced Fields
A masterpiece cultivated by the Hani people over 1,300 years, it is the world’s first World Heritage cultural landscape named after an ethnic group. A product of history and wisdom, it is an ecological wonder featuring the harmonious coexistence of forests, villages, terraced fields and water systems.
