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Travel to Yunnan – A Complete Guide to The South Western Province

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travel to yunnan

This article is a travel guide to Yunnan Province, in the South West of China. It was written by Harley Greenberg, who works with a local travel agency (WindhorseTour) in China.

Travel to Yunnan – Index

  1. Yunnan basic travel facts
  2. Possible itineraries
  3. The Stone Forest near Kunming
  4. Dali Ancient Town
  5. Lijiang Ancient Town
  6. Shangri-la
  7. Lugu Lake
  8. Yuanyang Rice Terraces
  9. Frequently asked questions

Yunnan Province is famous for its diverse scenery and for being home of a third of all China’s ethnic minorities. It has lots to offer any traveler!

Yunnan basic travel facts

A trip to Yunnan province realistically takes at least one week. However, if you want to cover all the highlights I encourage you to spend twelve days or longer. [Read more…]

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Mosuo, the last (almost) matriarchal tribe

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Mouo Tribe

I heard about the Mosuo bits and pieces at a time talking to anthropologists and backpackers. They are a Chinese ethnic minority living around Lugu Lake, on the border between Yunnan and Sichuan province. I had the idea that they were a matriarchal tribe and I believed men among them were reduced to sex objects. Mosuo men didn’t even have to work!

“Maybe I could move there,” I admit I thought sometimes… [Read more…]

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10 places to visit in China that you might not know about

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10 places to visit in china

When people ask me about China, I always like to make the analogy that it is like a bigger version of Europe. China is a country that is much more culturally diverse than we think in the West.

The majority of international tourists who travel to China do what is called the golden triangle; that’s to say, Beijing, Xi’an, and Shanghai. There are also some who visit Guilin, which is famous for its landscapes, Datong or Pingyao. Panda-lovers may also visit Chengdu. However, China offers many other places that are equally or more spectacular than these ones.

In this article, I have selected 10 places little-known by international tourists, which are very different from one another and which you might include in your trip. [Read more…]

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Climbing Mount Emei: Invisible monkeys, gurneys and canes

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Mount EmeiThe top of Emei Shan

Mount Emei (or Emei Shan, in Chinese) is a 3099 m. mountain located 150 Km South of Chengdu, Sichuan Province. As the title says, it’s a sacred Buddhist mountains and, moreover, an UNESCO World Heritage Site.

I must say that climbing this mountain was quite an experience. But before let’s see how to get there.

You can get there from Chengdu by bus (buses depart from Xinnanmen Station every twenty minutes and the ticket costs around 50 RMB) or by train (20 RMB). The trip takes about ninety minutes. Another popular option is to take the overnight train from Kunming, the capital of Yunnan Province. It will cost you around 190 RMB for an hard sleeper ticket and it will take around twelve hours.

What route did I choose? I came here directly from Lugu Lake, which is located at the border between Yunnan and Sichuan. [Read more…]

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From Lijiang to Lugu Lake: Chronicle of a Hectic Trip

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Lijiang, YunnanLijiang: the South door to Tibet.

This story tells how instead of getting on the public bus that from Lijiang arrives at Lugu Lake – the homeland of Mosuo people, last matriarchal tribe, – we trusted a crazy driver and reached the lake only after ten hours of vicissitudes.

From Dali to Lijiang

We leave Dali to reach Lijiang in a comfortable minivan packed with German tourists, their flip flips and a some Yunnan campesinos. [Read more…]