Hi Reina,
Now that our tour is over and we are back in the US, I wanted to let you know how pleased we were with the itinerary and all the arrangements you organized. Everything worked extremely well and went exactly as planned. In fact the level of organization and care exceeded my expectations.Starting in Datong and ending in Shanghai, every guide was extremely skilled and professional. Most outstanding were Charlotte, the guide for the Datong/Taiyuan portion, and Jack, the guide for the Turpan/Urumqi portions of the trip.
Some of my friends and colleagues are also interested in traveling in China, and I will have no hesitation at all in recommending you to them. You may feel free to quote from my email if you wish.
Thank you again for all your efforts on our behalf and for organizing one of the best trips we have ever had.
Sincerely,
Robert S. Boikess
Professor of Chemistry
Rutgers University
Yunnan on the southern border of southwest China takes its name from its location to the south of the Yunling Mountains. It has an area over 390,000 square kilometers and a population of 31.74 million, of which 12.5 per cent live in the cities and the rest in the rural areas. Also a multi-national province, it is inhabited by about 10 million people, or one-third of the province"s total, from the minority nationalities including the Yis, Bais, Hanis, Zhuangs, Dais, Miaos, Lisus, Huis, Lahus, Vas, Naxis, Yaos, Tibetans, Jingpos, Blangs, Achangs, Nus, Pumis, Jinos, Benglongs, Mongolians and Drungs.
Lijiang
Lijiang, possibly the best preserved old town in China, is one of the last places in this country where a visitor can witness and experience a historic, traditional urban culture. Lijiang, in south Yunnan Province, is the only Chinese city listed on UNESCO"s World Cultural Heritage list.
Jade Dragon Snow Mountain
The mountain is 5,600 meters (18,400 ft) in altitude and the best-known massif in the province.
Black Dragon Pool Park
Black Dragon Pool is a famous Taoist center in the Wulao Peaks of the Longquan Mountains to the north of Kunming. It is so named because legend says that there was a black dragon living in the pool.
Museum of Naxi Dongba Culture
The Naxi is a minority with a long history and a brilliant culture£®
Heqing County
Heqing County is located in the northwest of Yunnan province and has a total area of 2,395 square km.
Baisha Mural Paintings
Painted during a period of 350 years in the Ming and Qing Dynasties (1368-1911) on the walls of a dozen Buddhist and Taoist temples.
Qiaotou Town
The main settlement on the Yangzi is Qiaotou "Bridge Head", a market town now important as start or end point for the walk through Tiger Leaping Gorge.
Tiger-leaping Gorge
Tiger Leaping Gorge is a canyon on the Yangtze River, locally called Golden Sands River.
Wulnut Grove
Hiking in the gorge is a highlight for many people on this trip with its overhangs, steep walls and Waterfall. Probably the guesthouse with the most spectacular view in all of China.
Dali
For many centuries, Dali was the principal city of Yunnan, far more important than Kunming. Dali was the capital of the Nanchao Kingdom which made its power felt deep into China.Dali Ancient City, also called Yeyu City, Forbidden City, Zhonghezhen, lies 3 kilometers north from Xiaguan, the capital of Dali Prefecture. Embracing Erhai Lake in the east and adjoining Cangshan Mountain in the west.
Erhai
Its vast pool of water, shining under the sun like a sheet of vivid green, and the snow mantles of the Cangshan Mountain reflected quiveringly in it, combine to form a breath-taking sight known poetically as " Silver Cangshan and Jade-like Erhar ".
Three Pagodas
The Three Pagodas, or The Three Zongsheng Pagodas, located at the foot of the Yinglo Peak of Cangshan Mountain.
Butterfly Spring
Located some 30 kilometers north of Dali, the spring is clear blue with blister rising slowly from the bottom like pearls.
Cangshan Mountain
Cangshan Mountain Also called " Diancang " , the Cangshan Mountain thrusts up in the fashion of a huge screen wall in the west part of Dali.
Xizhou Bai Minority Village
It grew and flourished in the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) along with the fortunes of Dali"s renowned tea merchants that traded with Tibet.
Kunming
Kunming is the capital of Yunnan province. Beautiful Kunming is known as the City of Eternal Spring, The weather is as temperate as spring all year round, not having severe winters or hot summers. An active commercial and industrial centre, Kunming is also a gateway to the south-western part of China and beyond. It is an industrial city but with many beautiful natural sites such as lakes, caves and mountains, as well as the city¡¯s famous flowers that bloom all year round.
Stone Forest
A region of typical karst formation, the Stone Forest covers an area of more than three hundred square kilometers.
Dragon Gate
There is a saying - "If you do not visit Western Hills, you haven"t visited Kunming; if you do not come to Dragon Gate, you haven"t been to Western Hills."
West Hill
People in Kunming call it "Sleeping Beauty Hill."
Grand View Park
Grand View Park (Daguan Gongyuan) sits on the northern shores of the Dian Lake. Completed in 1690 during the Qing Dynasty, the park consists of hills, ponds, pavilions and rockeries in a style similar to that of the gardens of the Yangtze River Delta.
