Discover the Wonders of Guilin, Yunnan, and China’s WWII History

Embark on an unforgettable journey through the breathtaking landscapes of Guilin and Yunnan, paired with the rich history of the legendary Flying Tigers and the China-Burma Road. Begin in Guilin, famed for its iconic limestone peaks and tranquil rivers.. In Kunming, the “City of Eternal Spring,” explore the remarkable Stone Forest and the bustling Bird & Flower Market.

Travel to Dali, a charming lakeside town known for its Three Pagodas, ancient city walls, and Bai minority culture. In Lijiang, stroll cobblestone streets in the beautifully preserved Old Town and view the majestic Jade Dragon Snow Mountains.

Conclude your adventure in Kunming with a tribute to the WWII Flying Tigers at local museums and memorials, retracing the heroic history of the China-Burma Road. Along the way, savor regional cuisine, engage with ethnic minority traditions, and enjoy serene mountain and lake vistas. This extraordinary tour blends natural beauty, cultural treasures, and wartime history for an immersive travel experience in China’s southwest.

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Arrive in Guilin, pick up and check in hotel for rest.    

Guilin Bravo Hotel

After breakfast at hotel, visit Flying Tigers Memorial Museum Guilin in Flying Tigers Heritage Park which was the Flying Tigers’ airport (Yang tang Airport) and played a very important role in the Sino-US cooperation of fight against Japanese imperialism and now is the only heritage park of Flying Tigers in China.

After that, you’ll visit the Reed Flute Cave, named after the reeds used in the manufacture of flutes that grow near it. The cave system has a stunning array of natural limestone formations that are made all the more impressive by the clever use of colored lighting. Then visit Elephant Trunk Hill, as its name implies a quite remarkable example of the hand of nature upon the landscape.

As the declaration in Chinese textbook "Guilin’s landscape is the best under

heaven", today you will explore this best landscape starting with a relaxing sightseeing cruise along the Li River from Mopanshan Pier to Yangshuo Town. Along the 84-kilometer cruise, dazzling scenery overwhelms your eyes like a vast endless Chinese painting of winding river, green limestone karst mountains, fascinating countryside views, amazing scene of A Painting of Nine Horses, and notable view printed on the back of the 20 RMB note. (Please note: Lunch is served by the cruise with simple local Chinese cuisine. And you can take some snacks when getting on board.)

After about 4 hours’ cruise, disembark in Yangshuo Town, and check in your hotel. Take a short break, and then throw yourself into the stunning countryside views and relaxed atmosphere. Be enthralled by the patches of paddy fields nestling under green hills and near the mirror-like river, with farmers cultivating the soil with their water buffalos.

After that, walk leisurely on the ancient West Street to witness how the western culture and Chinese culture perfectly and peacefully coexist here. Whether you want to enjoy a cup of drink in bar, taste some local food, or just experience the relaxing atmosphere, you get it here. New West Street Hotel.

This morning, after breakfast, start your impressive exploration of the best charming sightseeing and ideal countryside ease at Yulong River. Let all the refreshing scenes please your eyes and souls to the utmost. Just enjoy every moment to close up to the Karst hills dotted around, chatting stream, rippling mountain reflection, swaying floras, patches of vivid crops, old dwellings on the riverside, comfortable breeze, clear azure sky... There are diverse kinds of ways for your enjoyment of the fun and beauty, including biking, hiking, bamboo rafting and scooter. You can easily choose and combine your ideal way(s) and part of Yulong River. (Please tell your likes to your travel consultants before booking the tour, as the final prices will differ by activities you choose.).

Optional: Biking (some physically demanding & sightseeing by the river) - Ride to enjoy the river view, the real fields, the antique houses and hundreds- year-old stone bridge (route: Yangshuo - Jima - Jiuxian Village - Shuiedi Dock

- Gongnong Bridge - West Street; for 3 hours). During the tour, pay a visit of a local family near Chaoyang to have a short break and see their living environment and farming tools of local peasants.

Optional: Bamboo Rafting (relaxing and interesting & sightseeing on the river)

- have fun with the classic bamboo rafting (Route A: Shuiedi Dock - Gongnong Bridge for 40-50 minutes; Route B: Jima Dock - Gongnong Bridge for 1.5 hours) to see the more serene view like pieces of traditional Chinese landscape ink paintings.

Included: Driving (most leisurable and comfortable & sightseeing on the road) - sit leisurely in the car from Jima to Gongnong Bridge to appreciate the

lovely countryside view (about 0.5 hour). You can get off and on anywhere on the middle way to explore more about your interested place.

After the visiting, be transferred to Guilin to catch train to Kunming. Upon arrival, be escorted to hotel.

Kai Wah Plaza Hotel

This morning, we will go to the Flying Tigers Exhibition in Kunming Museum where you will learn more about Flying Tigers’ contribution to China in the WWII.

Then, drive 85 km to the typical Karst landform - Stone Forest. As the “Essence of World Karst Landform”, Stone Forest has been listed as the UNESCO World Natural Heritage with the incomparable coverage of 12 square kilometers’ stone pinnacle groups. Take the sightseeing bus to visit the Greater Stone Forest Scenic Area to admire the typical concentrating cinerous stone pinnacles by walking through the maze of stone peaks and jumping high for the panorama of the forest of protruding stone peaks. Also, you will see the famous peak on many photos and even stones towering over 40 meters.

Then, continue to ride the bus to explore the Lesser Stone Forest to closely look at the iconic stone “Ashima” like a young lady, listen to the touching love story of Ashima, and fill your eyes with the emerald garden-like park of wilder stone peaks surrounded by lush green plants and blossoms. Take the sightseeing bus to exit the scenic park.

Accommodations: Kai Wei Plaza

Today we will go to Jiaoye Park (suburb park, visit Hump Monument, a memorial honoring those American pilots who flew over Himalaya and gave their lives in World War II). Then we will visit the Bamboo Temple which is a Mahayana 

Monastery. Set in the tranquil hills just outside Kunming, this complex dates back to the Tang Dynasty. It is famous for its 500 life sized carved Arhats or disciples of Buddha. After lunch, we will set out for the Golden Temple which is the China largest bronze temple built in 1672.

Accommodations: Kai Wai Plaza

Today’s sightseeing begins with a visit to Heshun Township - Homeplace

of Overseas Chinese. Heshun Village is one of the most beautiful villages in China with its impressive library of over 70,000 books, well preserved houses and courtyards. There also we will visit the World War II Museum in Heshun Old Town. The museum is the first and biggest one in Yunnan Province with a lot of war relics collected from the civil, among which, there are relics of Japanese, American and allied forces from Yunnan and Burma.

 Domestic flight (economy class) 8L9951(11:40- 12:55) or similar.

 Tengchong Kaichen Hot Spring Hotel  

Day 8 Mon 13/Apr/26 (B, L, )

TengChong

In the morning take a visit at Graveyard of the National Heroes. There are a total of 9168 ranked and anonymous soldiers who died in World War II in west Yunnan war field, being buried in this National Martyrs Cemetery. It was built honoring officers and soldiers of China Expeditionary Force who was killed in Anti-Japanese War. With museums, relics and graves of 19 American soldiers who devoted their lives for China in western Yunnan battlefield, the cemetery is the first, the largest and the best preserved cemetery in China for warriors killed at frontline during World War II.

Later, we tour this spectacular and different part of China featuring hot springs and geysers. Tengchong is one of China's three major geothermal areas, known as "Land Abounding in Geothermal Resources". There are plenty of springs of hot water and hot vapour, called "Hot Sea". There are quite a number of hot fields as well. Tengchong is a resort where people can travel, take a bath and have medical treatment. The Hot Sea, with an area of 9 square kilometers, lies 20 kilometers away southwest of the county seat and in the center of the geothermal area. There are over 80 springs of hot water and hot vapour, of which there are 14 spring whose temperature reaches 90℃. Trails includes elevation drop of 50 meters and climb of 250 meters elevation gain.

Accommodations: Tengchong Kaichen Hot Spring Hotel  

Today we will set for experience of Old China-Burma Road. We will take a few hours journey on trails of Old China-Burma Road. When advancing Japanese troops cut of the American supply lines in southern Myanmar (Burma) during World War II, the American General Joseph Stillwell took on the enormous task to build a road from Ledo in India via northern Burma into

China to Kunming. After arriving at Dali, take a stroll in the Dali Ancient Town. The history of Dali Old Town can be traced back to the Tang Dynasty when Dali was the capital of Nanzhao Kingdom which is the home to Bai minority.

The town, whose format is like a chess board with four gates guarding in the directions of east , south, west and north standing between Cangshan Mountains and Erhai Lake, a natural configuration that seems specially designed for a good bountiful life.

In the morning visit Xizhou (the largest Bai village) Morning Market. Also visit Zhoucheng Village, well-known for tie-dye craftsmanship, where you can observe how Bai people make tie-dye products at home. Then after lunch, visit Three Pagodas which is known as the Chongsheng Santa and situated on top of the ruins of Chongsheng Monastery, the Three Pagodas lie one kilometer northwest of Dali and located on the slope of Mount Cangshan.   Landscape Hotel  

We leave Dali after Erhai Lake  boat ride and drive along Old China-Burma Road through a stunning countryside towards Lijiang. Followed walking in the Lijiang Old City，which is one of the best-preserved ancient towns of the minority ethnic people of China. Lijiang old town belongs to the World Culture Heritage of UNESCO.    

Duofu resort hotel

Lijiang -Tiger Leaping Gorge

Venture through stunning landscapes to reach the awe-inspiring Tiger Leaping Gorge, take in the serene beauty of the Yangtze River's upper reaches, flowing through the heart of the gorge.And then, you will appreciate the first bend of the Yangtze River.  Return by escalator. No western toilets on site. Kasion Hotel

After breakfast, head to Baisha Village and appreciate the ancient Baisha Mural Paintings. Houses here are arranged on a north-south axis around a central, terraced square. Visit Dabaoji Palace and Liuli Temple to view murals painted over 1000 years ago which depict subjects relating to Buddhism, Taoism and the life of the Naxi people, incorporating cultural elements of the Bai people. (Optional experience: You can have in-depth cultural experience to learn how to make Baisha embroidery instructed by the local masters in Baisha Village.)

Then, it is followed by a relaxing trip to Shuhe Ancient Town - one of the earliest settlements of Naxi people as well as the well-preserved stop of the Ancient Tea Horse Route. This ancient town is less crowded than Lijiang

Dayan Old Town. Take a nice stroll here to explore local cultures, folk customs and traditions over several centuries.

After that, transfer to Dongba Culture Museum where more than 10,000 Dongba cultural relics show mysterious Dongba culture of the Naxi people. Take a gentle walk to Black Dragon Pool Park to enjoy gorgeous view and peaceful surroundings. If weather permits, get to the best spot to overlook the snow-capped Jade Dragon Snow Mountain and shoot some amazing     Kasion Hotel

Transfers to Airport will be provided.