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9 DAYS MINORITIES OF SOUTH EAST YUNNAN
Trip code: YN-MSEY9
Private tour: Daily departure from Kunminh with English speaking local guide (English, German and French speaking provincial guides available on request at surcharge).

ITINERARY

DAY 1 Kunming - Arrival  (D)
Upon arrival, meet with your guide and transfer to your hotel. If time permits, enjoy a walk around the Green Lake park and take a first glimpse at local way of life before dinner at hotel. Overnight at hotel.

DAY 2 Kunming - Stone Forest (B,L,D)
Breakfast at hotel. Drive to the Stone Forest, remarkable ensemble of bizarre-shaped karstic peaks created by erosion of wind and rain some two million years ago. Lunch and dinner at local restaurants. Overnight at Stone Forest Hotel**

DAY 3 Stone Forest - Mengzi (B,L,D)
Breakfast at hotel. Transfer to Yiliang train station for a journey by train on the railway built by the French at the beginning of the twentieth century (hard seats only). Picnic lunch on the train. Continue the journey by road towards Mengzi. In 1887 after the signature of a treaty with the French government, the city was made a trading port and a French consulate was established. Dinner and overnight at Tianyuan Hotel***.

DAY 4 Mengzi - Jinping (B,L,D)
Breakfast at hotel. This morning, you will take the road to Jinping located near the border with Vietnam, home of the Miao, Yao and Dai ethnic groups. In this low altitude and southern part of the province, the landscapes are influenced by tropical climate and you may admire the terraced fields built by generations of rice growers. Stop at different ethnic groups villages, whose way of life is still very traditional. Lunch en route and dinner at local restaurant. Overnight at Jinyan Hotel**.

DAY 5 Jinping - Yuanyang (B,L,D)
Breakfast at hotel. Continue the journey throughout the lush vegetation towards the north. Stop at villages surrounding Yuanyang nestled on a peak overlooking the terraced paddies, some of the most beautiful in South East Asia. Lunch and dinners at local restaurants. Overnight at Yun Ti Hotel***.

DAY 6 Yuanyang (B,L,D)
Breakfast at hotel. Tour the local market in Yuanyang or a surrounding village, according to the occurrence. Spend the day in the surrounding villages, which will present a unique opportunity to approach the villagers and see their techniques of agriculture. This area, mostly inhabited by the Hani minority, is famous for its tea. Lunch and dinner at local restaurants. Overnight at Yun Ti Hotel***.

DAY 7 Yuanyuang - Jianshui (B,L,D)
Breakfast at hotel. Drive to Jianshui in the morning (around three to four hours). In the afternoon, visit Jianshui, which was an important political and trading center. You will appreciate the typical architecture of the town: Confucius Temple set in a magnificent site with its glistening glazed tile roof, the garden of the Family Zhu, a typical residential structure of southern Yunnan, the Twin Dragon Bridge built during the Qing Dynasty. If time permits, stroll in the colorful streets of Jianshui and have a look at the fortified walls. Lunch and dinner at local restaurants. Overnight at Lin An Hotel**.

DAY 8 Jianshui - Kunming (B,L,D)
Breakfast at hotel. Drive back to Kunming through subtropical landscape along terraced rice paddies, sugar cane and tobacco plantations. Discover the village of Xingmeng still inhabited by the descendants of Mongolian conquerors sent to Yunnan as part of the expeditionary army of Kubilai Khan some seven hundred year ago. Lunch en route. Dinner at local restaurant and overnight at your hotel. Overnight at hotel.

DAY 9 Kunming - Departure (B,L)
Breakfast at hotel. Visit Bamboo Temple, one of the quietest temples in Kunming with its Hall of five hundred arrhats, disciples of Buddha. Drive back to town and enjoy the colorful Flower and Bird market before lunch at local restaurant. Transfer to airport for departure.

Trip includes:
Acommodation in twin shared room, meals as specified in the program (B=Breakfast, L=Lunch, D=Dinner), transfers and tours with English speaking local guides, all entrance fees, room taxes and baggage handling.

Trip excludes:
International airfare; airport taxes, Visa, meals not indicated, personal expenses Christmas and New Year's Eve Dinners.
Small deviations in the tour program are sometimes necessary, depending on weather, road conditions, flight schedules and room availability.        

HOTEL ADDRESSES: