1. Erhai Lake (Bai people) daytrip
2. Special markettrips: Yi market daytrips
3. Car trips to local markets around Dali

4. Shibaoshan: Buddhist treasures in the mountains on the road from Dali to Lijiang

This daytrip shows you daily countryside life in the Bai villages around Dali from a non-touristy side

Price : 2000 yuan total for 1-4 people, 5-6 people: 2500 yuan total

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special rates for larger groups

Incl.: all transport incl boat, lunch, guide

Book this trip: chinaminoritytravel@gmail.com

This daytrip shows you daily countryside life in the villages around Dali  from a non-touristy side

The trip will be guided by Henriette Buist or Jim (Jim's Tibetan Hotel en Jim's Guesthouse). These experienced guides will take you to places you would otherwise not see. Through their wealth of knowledge and local contacts you will have a most interesting and enjoyable trip!

SPECIAL: through booking this trip you directly support the village clinic and temple

This full daytrip first takes you to Xizhou, also known as 'small old Dali' because it looks like Dali many years before. Mainly inhabited by Bai people, Xizhou has an old part with houses more than a hundred years old. They are built in traditional style with Dali marble and black and white paintings on the walls and above the wooden doors. After visiting the Xizhou morning market we will have a look in one of the oldest houses with a beautiful courtyard.

After this we take local transport, a horse cart, to get us back to the car. We drive to the boat pier, have lunch on a local boat and cross Erhai lake. After an hour's boatride we land at the other side. We will drive along the ricepaddies to a Bai farmer's village. We will visit a a local doctor who is running his tiny clinic as good as he can with the little means he has and a local Bai Buddhist temple. After all these impressions of village life we drive back by car along the lake through picturesque Bai villages.

Yi minority market trips

DALI DAYTRIP

These markets only run on certain days and are not touristy

Price: 1800 yuan total for 1-4 people, 5-6 people 2200 yuan total

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special rates for larger groups

Including: all private transport, guide, lunch, temple fees

This full daytrip goes to the minority markets of the Yi-people. They are one of the biggest minority groups in Yunnan but one of the least known because they usually live in the mountains. They only come down for special occasions like markets or festivals.

Book this trip: chinaminoritytravel@gmail.com

These bigger and smaller markets only run on certain days and are not touristy

In case there is no market we will take you to another nice, non-touristy village with old houses.

The trip will be guided by Henriette Buist or Jim (Jim's Tibetan Hotel en Jim's Guesthouse). These experienced guides will take you to places you would otherwise not see. Through their wealth of knowledge and local contacts you will have a most interesting and enjoyable trip!

SPECIAL: through booking this trip you directly support the Yi village

Every month on certain days bigger and smaller markets take place. They sell everything from pigs, cows and waterbuffaloes to vegetables, medicine, farming tools, tobacco etc. Besides the Yi people you will meet the local people doing their shoppings and farmers walking their animals to the market. The Yi-women wear traditional clothes with beautiful, colourful embroidery. The young unmarried girls wear self-made flower headdresses.

During this trip we will also visit a small Yi village which lies off the road, walking past beautiful riceterraces. In the village are usually some women around who look after the children. A special custom in the village is the steaming of eucalyptus treeleaves in a big ton to make oil.

After a visit to the market we share a tasty lunch in a small muslim village. We conclude our daytrip with a local Buddhist temple, hidden in the ricefields. It's a peaceful place and inside the main temple are numerous statues who look surreal, one has very long legs, one an arm that reaches into the sky and another has eyebrows till the ground. After this colourful visit we're heading back to Dali.

CAR TRIP AROUND ERHAI LAKE

DALI DAYTRIP

We can arrange a car with driver (no guide) around Erhai lake. Bai villages on the road are Xizhou (daily morning market), Zhoucheng (tie/dye fabric making), Shaping (Monday market), Shuanglang, Wase (market every 5 days).

Price 1-4 people: 500 yuan, 5-6 people 600 yuan (9-17 p.m.)

excl: guide, lunch

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CAR TRIP TO YI PEOPLE AND MARKET

DALI DAYTRIP

During this trip you will visit a small Yi village which lies off the road, walking past beautiful riceterraces. Here you can visit a small countryside school. In the village are usually some women around who work at home, in the fields and look after the children. A special custom in the village is the steaming of eucalyptus treeleaves in a big ton to make oil.

After that you can have lunch in a muslim village and go to a peaceful Buddhist temple hidden away from the main road. On certain days you can add a visit to one of the local markets in the area. They sell everything from pigs, cows and waterbuffaloes to vegetables, medicine, farming tools and tobacco. Besides the Yi people you will meet the local people doing their shoppings and farmers walking their animals to the market. The area you're going to is definitely non-touristy.

Price: 1-4 people 500 yuan, 5-6 people 600 yuan (9-17 p.m., excl lunch).

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CAR TO BAI VILLAGES XIZHOU & ZHOUCHENG: MARKETS AND OLD HOUSES

DALI HALF-DAYTRIP

A nice morning trip by car is to go to Xizhou for the daily morning market. This small town also has several old houses built in traditional Bai architecture. Zhoucheng is another nice Bai village where they make the bluewhite tie-dye fabrics. On Mondays you can add a visit to Shaping to see the Monday market. Although this market is often visited by foreigners it has kept its charm. Only a small part is set up for tourists but the main reason for the local people to come down is buying and selling vegetables and livestock like they have been doing ever since they can remember...

Prices:

1. car to Xizhou: 1-4 people 150 yuan, 5-6 people 200 yuan (9-12 a.m.)

2. car to Xizhou & Zhoucheng: 1-4 people 200 yuan, 5-6 people 250 yuan (9-13 p.m.)

3. car to Shaping (with or without stop in Xizhou): 1-4 people 220 yuan, 5-6 people 260 yuan (9-13 p.m.)

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Shibaoshan: Buddhist treasures in the mountains

ROAD FROM DALI TO LIJIANG

DALI/ LIJIANG DAYTRIP

To go to Lijiang we can arrange a private car via the new road (3,5-4 hrs) or old road (6 hrs drive). Only when you take the old road you can make a stop at Shibaoshan monastery. If you want to, you can add another stop in the Bai village Shaxi with well preserved traditional houses.

Shibaoshan is a temple where an ancient collection of Buddhist statues can be admired. The sculptures represent so-called king-gods who used to have both political and religious power. It's a true miracle that these statues have survived the cultural revolution.

Both the new and old road to Lijiang are scenic and moutainous.

Prices: old road: 1-4 people 750 yuan, 5-6 people: 900 yuan total.

(8 am departure, arrival in Lijiang about 17-18:00 pm)

New road: 1-4 people 650 yuan, 5-6 people: 850 yuan

Prices excl lunch/ entrance fees

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South East Yunnan: meet the Chinese-Vietnamese hilltribes

Yuanyang and Jianshui: riceterraces, traditional architecture and colourful markets

4 DAYS FROM KUNMING

Yuanyang is one of the places which serves as a base to explore the impressive riceterraces and colourful markets in south-east Yunnan which are held at specific days which change every month. From this area you can travel further to Vietnam where we can also arrange trips for you.

Price:4900 yuan p.p. for 2 people
Incl: private car and driver, guide, accomodation

Excl: meals, entrance fees

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Duration: 4 days from Kunming

This special trip takes you to the unknown south-east of Yunnan to the area bordering Vietnam. It is home to many minorites like the Hani, Yi, Miao, Zhuang, Yao and Dai. We will meet them on the very colourful and busy markets in small villages. You will be one of the attractions as they see few foreigners here.

On your way to Yuanyang you can make a stop in Jianshui, known for its traditional architecture. A fine example is the restaured ancestral home of the Zhu family, a classic example from the Qing-dynasty (1644-1911) with its many buildings, ponds and gardens. Just outside Jianshui, in the middle of a farming village, is another 100 years old unrestaured family home. In this area you can also find a Qing dynasty bridge.

From Jianshui we drive to the riceterraces in the south east of Yunnan. Few foreigners visit this area. The roads get emptier and more mountainous. This area is home to many minorities like the Hani, Yi, Miao, Yao, Zhuang and Dai. They live a traditional life and many dress in colourful clothes. The Yi-women for example do their own embroidery and wear typical headdresses. The Hani wear dark-blue clothes which are decorated with coins traditionally given to the daughters by their mothers. The Yao-women often shave their heads and wear red pointed hats and together with their colourful embroidered trousers they look very special. Another subgroup of the Yao are more soberly dressed in black with pink accents. You will meet them on the colourful markets held at specific days which change every month.

The surroundings with the high riceterraces are impressive. The terraces are centuries old and made by the Hani people. Although sometimes steep, they are very suitable for walks and on the way you will pass small villages and local people with their waterbuffaloes working on the fields.

Book this trip: chinaminoritytravel@gmail.com

Minorities and nature in South China (Guanxi and Yunnan)/ From green riceterraces to white snow mountains

2 WEEKS FROM HONG KONG OR ANY CHINESE CITY

If you would like to see the most beautiful parts of South China and you want to maximize your limited time without rushing we would recommend the following itinerary. This is a colourful trip both culture and naturewise. You'll see many different people and landscapes range from riceterraces to mountains.

Example route:

Day 1 arrival Hong Kong airport / flight Hong Kong-Guilin/ transfer to Yangshuo

Day 2 Yangshuo/ boattrip on the Li river with guide  

Day 3 Yangshuo/ bike trip in karstmountain landscape along the ricepaddies with guide

Day 4 transfer to Longsheng riceterraces with guide and private car  

Day 5 Longsheng: hike the riceterraces with guide

Day 6 transfer to Sanjiang with guide and private car: a beautiful Dong village with wooden houses and wind- and rainbridges

Day 7 Sanjiang with guide and private car: explore the nearby villages  

Day 8 transfer to Guilin airport, flight Guilin-Kunming and Kunming-Dali

Day 9 Dali/ guided daytrip to Yi people, visit villages and market

Day 10 Dali/ guided daytrip to the Bai people, visit villages and Erhai lake

Day 11 private car to Lijiang via old or new road

Day 12 Lijiang: free day to visit the old town, you can rent a bike and cycle to the Naxi villages by yourselves

Day 13 transfer to Zhongdian (Shangrila) by new road and make a stop in Tiger leaping gorge

Day 14 free day in Zhongdian: you can visit the Songzanlin monastery and the old town by yourselves

Day 15 transfer to Zhongdian airport for your flight to Kunming/ Hong Kong

Price: 2 people- 8900 yuan per person

incl: flights Hong Kong-Guilin, Guilin-Kunming, Kunming-Dali, Zhongdian-Kunming, Kunming-Hong Kong, English speaking guide for mentioned trips, traditional style accomodation in boutique hotels incl BF, private car for all transfers

excl: all other meals, entrance fees, international flight from and to Hong Kong

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Book this trip: chinaminoritytravel@gmail.com

TIBETAN TRIPS