16 days colorful minority tour

includes: beijing, xi'an, guilin, kunming, dali, lijiang & xishuangbanna

visit the usually unvisited colorful minority regions where many religions and various ethnic groups coexisted. synonym for kunming is "eternal spring", located on the plateau surrounded by high mountains in a subtropical climate, picture it as a shangri-la. then explore dali, lijiang, xishuangbanna, home of many minority people.

d1 arrive in beijing, meet at airport and transfer to your hotel.

d2 begin the day with a visit to tiananmen square, the world's largest. then, move on to the imperialpalace, also known as the "forbidden city" that symbolizes the imperial and traditional china. after lunch, you will go to visit the enchanting summer palace, one of china's largest and best-preserved imperial gardens. a peking duck banquet concludes your first full day activities in china.

d3 head for yonghegong lamasery and the confuciustemple this morning. after lunch, visit temple of heaven, the place where the emperors of ming and qing dynasties worshipped heaven and prayed for peace and harvest. tonight's dinner is the royal cuisine at fangshan restaurant in beihai park. enjoy a short episode of classic peking opera after dinner in a nearby theatre.

d4 today's highlight is your visit to the great wall, symbol of chinese civilization. on your way back to the city, stop by shenlu (holy road) to see some marvelous stone sculptures.

d5 after a relaxed breakfast at hotel this morning, you will take a walk through some old "hutongs", a kind of ancient-city compound, to see traditional style courtyards and locals doing their daily chores. sample some authentic chinese family food in their home before heading for xi'an. check in 4-star hotel upon arrival.

d6 begin the day with a once-in-a-lifetime viewing of the extraordinary 2,200-year-old terra cotta warriors of china's first emperor, qin shihuang. after lunch, visit the superb shaanxi history museum, the best of its kind in china. tonight, you are invited to enjoy a splendid dinner show with tang dynasty style performance.

d7 sightseeing in the 1200-year-old wild goose pagoda, and the old city wall which was built in ming dynasty. after lunch, you are transferred to the airport for an afternoon flight to the beautiful city of guilin. you will stay at 4-star hotel in guilin. breakfast, lunch and dinner.

d8 today's highlight is cruising down the li river, which stretches 83 kilometers from guilin to yangshuo. have lunch on boat. the cruise ends in yangshuo, a charming town frequented by young western backpackers. tour the local market and nearby villages before returning to guilin by bus. enjoy a fascinating zhuang ethnic song and dance performance after dinner.

d9 take a morning flight to kunming, the capital of yunnan province, also called the spring city of china, transfer to your hotel, then go to visit the dragon gate which consist of grottos cut out of the vertical cliff face of the western hill, from there, you can enjoy a panoramic view of the city and the big lake beside it. after lunch, visit the yunnan minorities museum which is the best in china. overnight in kunming.

d10 take a morning flight to dali, transfer to your hotel, then go to visit the fascinating dali old town, and the three pagodas, which is more than 1000 years old, survived about 400 earthquakes recorded in the history books, and still standing today. after lunch, take a boat cruise on the erhailake, relax and enjoy the beautiful scenery of the mountain and the lake.

d11 drive 2 hours from dali to lijiang, a beautiful old town which is a world culture heritage, sightseeing in the fascinating old town, and the black dragon pool which is an ideal place to view the snow mountain.

d12 sightseeing in the jade dragon snow mt. which is 5596 m high and covered by snow all year round, on the way back, visit baisha, a typical naxi village which is famous for its 500 years old fresco and the classical music.

d13 take a morning flight from lijiang to jinghong, the capital of xishuangbannadaiautonomousprefecture, which borders burma and laos. afternoon city tour.

d14 explore the wild elephant valley which is a nature reserve for elephants, overnight at the up-tree hotel inside the reserve from where you can see wild elephants if you are lucky.

d15 visit the tropicalbotanical garden in menglun, which is the largest and the best botanical garden in china, on the way back, visit dai villages and temples in olive basin.

d16 after a relaxed breakfast in your hotel, transfer to jinghong international airport for your departure.