Twelve days across two provinces: will it feel rushed?

No. The line works as a staircase with two or three nights in each region and cable cars or shuttles for the climbs.

How high do we go, and what if the altitude affects us?

The source places the Yunnan stretch at about 2,400-3,300 m with the highest night in Shangri-La. Altitude affects people differently so the high days stay gentle and the figures require final confirmation.

Is Sanxingdui guaranteed?

No. It is arranged only after tickets, English interpretation and added cost confirm; otherwise the Chengdu city day moves here.

Why aren't all meals included?

Daily breakfast and six named meals are included. Other lunches and dinners remain flexible around the group's tastes.

China at Two Altitudes

Overview

Most first journeys pick either Yunnan or Sichuan. This one runs them as a staircase: you start high, among the snow mountains, old towns and forest villages of the northwest, sleep a night at more than three thousand meters in Shangri-La, then fly down into the basin, where an ancient waterworks still waters the plain and life runs on teahouse time. Trains, one flight and a private van link the arc; on the high days, oxygen and a pulse oximeter ride along in the van. By the end you will be able to explain what altitude does to a way of life: that answer is what you carry home.

LyrikTrip travel designers

Your route and its notes are settled before you land; licensed English-speaking local guides walk each region with you.

Why you'll love this trip

Best for: private travelers, active couples and families, Yunnan and Sichuan visitors
Begin in Yunnan's high country, then descend into Sichuan's teahouse pace.

Ride the cable car to Spruce Meadow beneath Jade Dragon Snow Mountain, then watch Impression Lijiang fill the open air.
Take the slow road to Shangri-La, an old-growth forest by morning and the plateau air by dusk.
Eat a chicken feast fired in Nixi black pottery by the family who made the pots.
Spend a morning with Yunnan snub-nosed monkeys, then stand over the gorge where the river tears through.
Watch pandas at their liveliest hour, then ride a tuk-tuk to the eateries Chengdu keeps for itself.
Stand beside the Samantabhadra statue on Emei's Golden Summit, then meet the Leshan Giant Buddha from the water.

Things to do

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Itinerary

Arrivals

Kunming · Day 1

Day 1 · Kunming in, the rails up to Lijiang

The staircase starts at the bottom. No sightseeing today, on purpose.

Kunming arrival You land in Yunnan's capital, meet your representative and transfer to the railway station; the plateau proper is still ahead of you.

High-speed rail to Lijiang The train carries you northwest as the land climbs, provincial city giving way through your window to the mountains of northwest Yunnan.

Lijiang, at your own pace You meet your Lijiang guide and check in; nothing formal is scheduled, so the old town streets are yours after a long travel day.

High-speed rail3.5 hours

Lijiang · Day 2

Day 2 · Jade Dragon Snow Mountain

The snow mountain at eye level, and a stage set against it.

Spruce Meadow A cable car lifts you into an alpine grassland ringed by spruce forest under Jade Dragon Snow Mountain; you walk the meadow at an easy pace while your guide tells you what the peak means to the Naxi who live beneath it.

Blue Moon Valley Below the meadow, mineral-rich water strings into pools of blue and turquoise: the color is the mineral load in the water, not a filter.

Impression Lijiang An open-air performance with the snow mountain itself as the set; music, movement and dress from Yunnan's peoples carry stories tied to the Tea Horse Road. You sit in the open, so dress for mountain weather.

Wild mushroom hotpot Back in Lijiang, dinner is one pot of Yunnan's wild fungi cooked at the table; your guide walks you through the names and the order things go in.

Private vehicle4 hours

Shangri-La · Day 3

Day 3 · The forest road up to Shangri-La

The road climbs to about 3,200 meters. Tonight you sleep higher than any night on this trip.

Boduo Luo forest walk An easy walk through old-growth woodland on the road north: big trees, streams and alpine plants, built as a light outdoor morning rather than a trek.

Shiyu Heting Cultural Park Shiyu Heting A stop to meet how the mountain communities here live, before the road climbs on.

Drive to Shangri-La A private vehicle takes you up onto the plateau; the evening is kept free on purpose, so your body meets the altitude gently. You'll notice it first in your breath, then in your voice: up here, you slow down without deciding to.

Private vehicle

Tacheng · Day 4 - Day 5

Day 4 · Nixi black pottery, on to Tacheng

A village fires its pots the way it always has, and lunch comes out of them.

Nixi black pottery & chicken feast Nixi is a Tibetan village that fires black pottery, shaped, polished and fired the way its families have done for generations; you watch the potters work, then lunch arrives cooked in the same black clay, a chicken feast that is the village's own dish.

Drive to Tacheng The road drops off the highest ground toward Tacheng, lower and greener.

Highland ice wine A château growing grapes at altitude; you hear how high-country growing works, then taste locally made ice wine with the mountains still in view.

Day 5 · Snub-nosed monkeys & Tiger Leaping Gorge

A morning with one of China's rarest primates, an afternoon over a roaring river.

Yunnan snub-nosed monkey park You go into the mountain forest with your guide to watch Yunnan snub-nosed monkeys and hear how they live: family structure, feeding, and the conservation work that keeps them here. They are wild animals on their own schedule, so the visit is set for the morning.

Tiger Leaping Gorge You follow maintained paths through selected sections on the Shangri-La side: sheer walls above, fast water far below. The name carries a legend, that a hunted tiger cleared the river in one leap at its narrowest point. Standing over the noise, you'll find you've stopped talking.

Return to Lijiang Your vehicle brings you back down to Lijiang for the night.

Flight

Chengdu · Day 6 - Day 8

Day 6 · Down to the basin: Chengdu

You fly off the plateau and land where life runs on teahouse time.

Direct flight to Chengdu A direct flight carries you off the Yunnan highlands and down into the Chengdu Basin, about two thousand meters lower than where you woke.

People's Park teahouse The park where Chengdu goes to do nothing in particular; you take a seat with a gaiwan, the lidded cup China brews in, and stay as long as the afternoon allows. After the high days, you'll feel your shoulders drop: down here nobody is in a hurry, and neither are you.

Kuanzhai Alley Three restored lanes of courtyard architecture, walked at an easy pace.

Tuk-tuk food night An evening ride through residential streets and old alleys, stopping at community restaurants most visitors never find; the tastings along the route are included and your guide explains who cooks what.

Day 7 · Sanxingdui, once it confirms

A bronze face from a culture unlike any other in China. If it confirms, the day is yours.

Sanxingdui Museum A museum of the finds of an ancient culture of the Sichuan Basin: monumental bronze masks, gold objects, jade and human figures in a style unlike anything from the Central Plains; the day runs with professional interpretation that places the objects in the longer story of Chinese civilization.

Told straight This visit is arranged once tickets, English-language interpretation and the added cost are confirmed; if it cannot confirm, the Chengdu city day moves here instead.

Day 8 · Pandas & a Sichuan kitchen

Pandas at their busiest hour, then dinner you cook yourself.

Chengdu Panda Base The Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding, visited in the morning, when pandas eat, climb and actually move; you watch them at close range and hear how breeding research and conservation work here.

Market walk You go to a local market with the cooking instructor: fresh vegetables, chilies, spices, pickles and sauces, the working pantry of Sichuan cooking.

Sichuan cooking class Then the studio, hands on: you cook selected dishes and the meal you made becomes dinner.

Private vehicle1.5 hours

Dujiangyan · Day 9

Day 9 · Mount Qingcheng & Dujiangyan

Tai Chi under Taoist trees, then a waterworks that has run for two thousand years.

Qingcheng Tai Chi & vegetarian lunch Mount Qingcheng is one of China's most important Taoist mountains; you follow a quiet forest route to a secluded Taoist setting, take an introductory Tai Chi session built on breathing, balance and controlled movement, then sit down to a vegetarian lunch in the Taoist tradition.

Dujiangyan waterworks An irrigation system from ancient times that still waters the Chengdu Plain, working with the river instead of blocking it; on site you see how its parts divide the flow, steer sediment and take the violence out of floods.

Private vehicle

Leshan · Day 10 - Day 11

Day 10 · To Mount Emei: crafts, kung fu, a dusk temple

Heritage still made by hand, and a temple after the crowds go.

Drive to Mount Emei You leave Dujiangyan and travel toward the mountain.

Emei crafts & kung fu A traditional town in the Emei area where regional heritage is still made by hand; you meet the craftspeople, then get an introduction to Emei Kung Fu and how it grew up alongside the mountain's Buddhist culture.

Baoguo Temple at dusk An evening visit, after the day's visitors have gone; the courtyards quiet down, the halls keep their incense, and the temple reads differently than it does at noon.

Day 11 · Emei's Golden Summit

The trip's last high point, reached by cable car. What the weather gives, it gives.

Golden Summit Through the scenic area to Leidongping, then a cable car to the summit, about 3,000 meters, and the ten-direction Samantabhadra statue; the panorama is the reward, and on the right day the clouds drop below you into a sea. Weather decides that part, and the statue and temples stand either way.

Wannian Temple One of Mount Emei's most historically significant Buddhist temples.

Qingyin Pavilion You walk the forested valley to Qingyin, where temples, streams and bridges close the day quietly.

Private vehicle2.5 hours

Chengdu · Day 12

Day 12 · Leshan Giant Buddha & a tea farm

One last look from the water, one last cup at a farmer's table. Then the answer you carry home.

Leshan Giant Buddha by boat The Buddha sits carved into a river cliff where three rivers meet; from the boat the figure resolves as one piece with the other carvings around it, and the scale only adds up from the water.

Tea farmer visit A tea-growing community near Leshan; you meet a farming family and follow tea from bush to cup, and in season you join selected stages yourself. A simple meal at the family's table is included. By the last cup, you'll have your own answer to what altitude does to a way of life: that answer is the souvenir.

To Chengdu Airport After the visit, a private transfer to Chengdu Airport for your departure.

Departures

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Included / Excluded

What's Included

Private vehiclesAir-conditioned private vehicles for all listed sightseeing and transfers, with station and airport pick-ups
High-altitude supportSupplemental oxygen and a pulse oximeter arranged for the van on the highland Yunnan days
GuidesLicensed English-speaking guides through every region
RailKunming to Lijiang high-speed train ticket, first class
Hotels11 nights in selected four-star, five-star or quality boutique stays, breakfast daily
Tickets and experiencesAll listed attractions, cable cars and scenic-area shuttles, the Blue Moon Valley shuttle, the Lijiang old-town maintenance fee and the Tiger Leaping Gorge escalator, plus the hands-on and cultural experiences in the confirmed itinerary
Included mealsWild mushroom hotpot · Nixi black pottery chicken feast · tuk-tuk food tastings · Sichuan cooking class dinner · Taoist vegetarian lunch · tea farmer meal
AlsoTravel accident insurance

Not Included

Long-haulInternational flights into Kunming and onward travel from Chengdu
Domestic flightThe Lijiang to Chengdu flight is quoted with your confirmation unless stated otherwise in the final quotation: one figure, no surprises
SanxingduiSanxingdui Museum tickets, specialist interpretation and related costs, until confirmed in your final itinerary
MealsBeyond the included meals, lunches and dinners stay flexible: each day your guide recommends and books around the group's tastes
PersonalVisas, gratuities, single-room supplement, personal spending, and optional activities not in your confirmation

Special Notes

A few things on this route depend on weather, seasons or operators. Here they are, told straight: with the backup already planned.

Altitude — The Yunnan days run between about 2,400 and 3,300 meters, the highest night is Day 3 in Shangri-La, and from Day 6 you are down at the Chengdu Basin's roughly 500 meters; the Shangri-La evening is kept free to let your body adjust, and oxygen and a pulse oximeter are arranged for the van on the highland days.
Yunnan snub-nosed monkeys — They are wild animals on their own schedule, so the visit is set for the morning; sightings are never guaranteed, and the forest walk and conservation talk go ahead either way.
Golden Summit — The sea of clouds depends on the day's weather; the summit, the Samantabhadra statue and the temples stand either way.
Impression Lijiang — An open-air, seasonal performance that runs on the venue's own calendar; seating is outdoors, so dress for mountain weather.
Tea farmer participation — The stages you can join yourself depend on the tea season; the visit and the family meal go ahead either way.
Sanxingdui — Arranged only once tickets, English-language interpretation and the added cost are confirmed; if it cannot confirm, the Chengdu city day moves to that day.
Hotels and venues — Named in your confirmation; or similar always means the same class and comparable location, never a quiet downgrade.

Is Twelve Days Your Length?

Tell us your dates and who's coming: we will shape the length around you.

Have the full window?

This is the whole staircase: Yunnan's high country first, then the Sichuan basin, in their proper order.

Shorter on days?

We trim a region, not the pace: keep Yunnan, keep Sichuan, or tell us what matters most and we will cut the line to fit.

Traveling with older parents or kids?

The highland days can soften further, and every climb has a cable-car answer.

Good to Know

Group: Private; from 1 guest: no minimum
Altitude: The Yunnan days run between about 2,400 and 3,300 meters, highest night Day 3 in Shangri-La; from Day 6 you are down at roughly 500 meters
Language: English-speaking guides throughout
Shopping Policy: No shopping stops or commission detours on the route; your time is dedicated solely to the places listed here.
Tailoring: Fully flexible. Days, stops, and pace can be added, removed, or swapped. We'll reshape the plan together before you confirm and pay.
Payment: A 10% deposit, minimum $399, locks your dates and resources; the balance is due 14 days before departure
Flexibility: Walking distances adapt to your pace throughout; weather-dependent items and their backups are listed in Special Notes
Best season: Spring and autumn ideal across both provinces; summer runs green and full, winter quiet and crisp
Ports: Kunming In · Chengdu Out
Gateway markets: Lead country marker: FR. Gateway markets from inventory: WEU, SEU, UK, ANZ. Kunming-side access may need a connection.
Advance booking: Shiyu Heting Cultural Park needs to be reserved 7 days ahead; your travel designer handles it once your dates are confirmed

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