What an eventful trip! If not for the flight delay which led us to the hellish one night stay at the run-down shack in Kunming that China Eastern put us through, it would have been an impeccable anniversary trip. Banyan Tree Lijiang: Perfect! From its gorgeous surroundings to excellent staff, our Garden Villa (free upgrade) stay was truly divine. Lijiang is truly beautiful, with the Jade Dragon Snow mountain set as its backdrop, and there are loads of side trips that can be made from there: trekking at Tiger Leaping Gorge, Tibetan Culture at Shangrila etc. etc. For Mandarin speakers, this is a wonderful trip that can easily be made and at a pretty low cost. Our rough itinerary as follow:
Day 1: Dayan Ancient Town
Day 2: (Shangrila 2D1N trip) Tiger Leaping Gorge, Shangrila
Day 3: (Shangrila 2D1N trip) Pudacuo National Park, Yangtze first bend
Day 4: Jade Dragon mountain - Yunshanping, Baishuihe/Blue Moon Valley
Day 5: Shuhe Ancient Town, Black Dragon Pool
Day 6: Kunming stone forest
蓝月谷
白水河
玉龙雪山
云杉坪
张艺谋 印象丽江
丽江悦榕庄
束河古镇
昆明石林
