Day 1: April 9th (Thursday) Shanghai - Jinghong, Xishuangbanna: we will arrive at Shanghai and take an early flight from Shanghai to Jinghong, Xishuangbanna. The first day will be relaxing so people can adjust for the time difference and also the altitude difference. We are going to have dinner which features famous Yunnan local food such as Steamed Chicken, Wild Mushroom, Guo Qiao Mi Xian (Yunnan Special Rice Noodle), etc.

 

Day 2: April 10th (Friday) Jinghong - Menghai: we will visit the biggest Puerh Factory in China: Menghai Tea Factory. Menghai Tea Factory was one of the oldest tea factories in China and is famous for its "Da Yi" puerh teas. We will then drive up to the mountain top of Nan Nuo Mountain, one of the six ancient tea mountains in Yunnan to visit the 800 year old King of Puerh Tree. While we are in Nan Nuo Mountain, we will visit tea master Hei Che and his wild tea garden. Join Master Hei to pick the fresh puerh leaves and produce your own Puerh tea using the traditional wok fire and sun dry methods! In the evening, we will have a hearty meal with the Hei Che and his village friends and experience first hand how Hani people drink Puerh teas.

 

Day 3: April 11th (Saturday) Jinhong - Jinuo Mountain: Wild Elephant Valley, and Jade Market. We will visit the Jinuo Mountains, home of the Jinuo minority group. During the visit we will watch the "Big Drum Dance", meet with friendly "Local People" who live on trees, and try various Jinuo snacks. After that, we will hike along the Wild Elephant Valley in the beautify rain forest. After coming back to Jinghong, we can explore the Jade market with hundreds of jade venders from China, Laos, Vietnam, Myanmar, etc.

 

Day 4: April 12th (Sunday) Jinghong - Yiwu Mountain: We will visit another ancient tea mountain Yi Wu, where family based traditional Puerh workshops are still dominating the Puerh production. We can learn how Puerh teas are made from Mao Cha (loose teas) to cakes and or bricks; we will also visit the oldest Puerh workshop: Tong Chang Hao.

 

Day 5: April 13th (Monday) Water Splashing Holiday!!!! Be prepared to get soaked! Another traditional activity in this festival is the dragon-boat competition along Lanchang River. We will visit the farmer's market ("Gan Bai",), the best place to meet various minority groups in holiday dresses!

 

Day 6: April 14th (Tuesday) Jinghong to Lijiang: We will fly to LiJiang, located in Northern Yunnan, a famous trade center on the Ancient Tea Horse Route. LiJiang Old Town hosts the famous UNESCO culture heritage site. Being an important Tea-Horse trade center, LiJiang offers rich tea culture that goes back to hundred and hundred of years. At the center of the LiJiang lies the famous "Si Fang Jie" (Square Street), which was built some eight hundred years ago. We will stroll along the Si Fang Jie to trace the glory of the rich tea horse trade history. After dinner we are going to enjoy "Naxi Gu Yue", the ancient music played by Naxi elderly Performance Group lead by conductor Xuan Ke.

 

Day 7: April 15th (Wednesday) Tea Horse Route: We will go on a horse-back riding tour to follow the footsteps of the traditional horse transporter in the past centuries and visit trading centers and villages along the road. We will stop by Lashi Lake wetland and enjoy Naxi local meal. After the horse-back riding, we will head to Shangri-La, the beautiful town described in Lost Horizon by Henry Hamilton.

 

Day 8: April 16th (Thursday): Shangri-La: Shangri-La has a big Tibetan population, so as the influence of Tibetan cultural. One of the most important experience is to enjoy the unique Tibetan tea (Su You Cha) made from fresh yak butter, salt and tea. We will visit the famous Gandan Sumtseling Monastery, the largest Tibetan Buddhist monastery in Yunnan province, the Tiger Leaping Gorge.

 

Day 9 April 17th (Friday) Shangri-La to Shanghai, have enough rest, and head home!

 

FEES and SERVICES

The total package is $2995.00 per person. The fee includes all the hotels, inland flight (from Shanghai to Jinghong, from Jinghong to Lijiang and from Lijiang to Shanghai), and all other transportations; The price does not include the flight between US and China; The price is based on two persons sharing a standard room. Single room is available for additional $300.00. If you fly out from Denver, we can purchase tickets together; If you need visa service, we can help you with applications for $100.00 per person, plus the application fees required by the Chinese embassy. We need to have your required documentations ready at least 2 months before the tour. Application fee is not refundable. You can secure a spot by depositing $750.00 and the rest balance is due on 2/28/2010.

CANCELLATION

FULL refund is honored if cancellation is made by 1/31/2010;
PARTIAL refund is honored if cancellation is made by 2/28/2010; (all but $500 will be refunded)
PARTIAL refund is honored if cancellation is made by 4/11/2010; (all but $1000 will be refunded)
NO refund after tour starts.