China to Vietnam: Ethnic People of the Border

DAY 01:  ARRIVE BANGKOK.  TRANSFER TO HOTEL  NOTE:  Must be a Sunday! Accommodation : AIRPORT NOVOTEL (Not included in the cost) Meals : None Arriving in Bangkok, you will clear customs and immigration.  Heading to Exit 4, you will catch a complimentary shuttle to the Airport Novotel for the night. DAY 02: FLY LIJIANG.  WALK AROUND TOWN. Accommodation : ZEN GARDEN HOTEL Meals : None Fly Lijiang on China Southern 358 (1155/1545  via  Canton. Change  to  China  Southern  9630  (1740/2045). On arrival, you will be met and taken to the hotel. DAY 03:  EXPLORE LIJIANG Accommodation : ZEN GARDEN HOTEL Meals : Dinner For  hundreds  of  years,  Lijang was  at  one  end  of  Tibet’s  trading  route  between  India  and  China.    At  times,  a quarter of Lijang’s population was made up of transient Tibetan traders.  The old town, where you will wander over stone bridges and along Ming Dynasty cobblestone streets, is known as the Venice of Asia.  Today, you can explore three special parts of Lijiang – The Old Town, Yuhu Village, and Joseph Rock’s Home and Museum.  Sadly, the earthquake of 1995 that hit western China damaged many of the old houses in the town.  Since then, there has been much rebuilding.  Still, there is much left in the old traditional style and Lijang has been awarded United Nations Heritage Site status.  You can wander the Old Town and try tom imagine what the town looked like prior to the 1995 earthquake.  Heading outside the town, at the food of Jade Dragon Mountain  and  bordering  on Yuhe  Lake,  lies  the village  of  Yuhu.    The  village  was  home  to the  Naxi People, a small matriarchal  tribe  with  a  rich  culture. The women run the local market and inherit personal property  through  the  youngest  daughter. The  menare  traditionally  child-rearers, gardeners, and musicians.  Yuhu was also the home of the photographer, Joseph Rock, who  arrived  in  Lijiang  in  1922.    Rock  was  an Austrian, who  emigrated  to  Hawaii  and  became  the states first botanist.  Needing to be outdoors, he went to Yunnan and studied the flora, people and languages of the area, writing many articles for National Geographic Magazine.  Famous for his eccentricities, knowledge of botany and ethnic minorities, Rock had to flee China with the advent of the communists and died in Hawaii in 1962.  You can visit one of his homes and the Joseph Rock Museum.  Returning to Lijiang, you have an opportunity to listen to some music. In fact, Lijang has an excellent tradition of music and musical instruments.  The town boasts a world famous orchestra that plays Naxi music and has toured Europe! DAY 04:  TOUR LIJIANG AND WEMBI TEMPLE AND RETREAT Accommodation : ZEN GARDEN HOTEL Meals : Breakfast, Lunch Exploring  Lijang is  the  goal  for  the  day.  The  town  has  existed  for  at  least  800  years  and  has  its  own  Tibeto-Burman  language  with  a  unique  pictographic  script.    You  begin  the  day  by  visiting  the  produce  market and talking with the women who trade there. A short walk outside Old Town takes you to Black Dragon Pool, located in Jade Spring Park. Here you can find several temples and pavilions, as well as the Dongba Culture Museum. In the afternoon, you head to Next you head to Mt. Wembi, once a Karma Kargyu temple.  Today the temple has-been restored and has monks and a head Lama from Ganze in the Kham region.  You can visit the cave temple and  retreat  center, where many  nuns,  who  are initiates, come  to  pray.    Then  you  head  to  the  stone  stele, that represents the “key” for a further pilgrimage to Jizu Shan (a holy place southeast of Dali). DAY 05:  DRIVE GYALTHANG OR SHANGRILA Accommodation : M GALLERY SONGTSAM RETREAT Meals : Breakfast, Lunch This morning, you will drive north into  the Tibetan  tablelands of southeastern Kham  through villages and lush farmlands.    Growing  in  the  fertile  fields  are  rice, sorghum, mustard, beans, and  the  famous  Yunnan  tobacco. Apple and pear orchards are plentiful.  Along  the way, you will stop at Shigu (Stone Drum Village), where you can see the first bend in the Yangze River.  The Yangzi flows south from Tibet into Yunnan, and then turns north again for approximately 60 miles at Shigu. As you drive, you will have great views of the Yulong Shueshan Mountain, before continuing north to Gyalthang,the county capital of Diqing Tibetan Autonomous County.  The road north passes through rich Naxi farmlands, growing  tobacco,  corn,  beans  and  sorghum,  as  well  as  numerous forested  hills .  . .  finally, ending  on  the  high plains and meadows of Gyalthang.  Road conditions permitting, you will travel via Tiger Leaping Gorge. Along the way, dense coniferous forests will give way to large expanses of grassland, dotted with colorful Tibetan-style adobe houses and Gyalthang town in the center.  Since you are now at 10,826’, the rest of the day is free to rest or perhaps take a walk to the village near the hotel – one of two villages close to and supported by the monastery. You will have time to rest and get used to the altitude of 10,850 feet before a dinner of Tibetan specialties. DAY 06:  VISIT TOWN AND MONASTERY Accommodation : M GALLERY SONGTSAM RETREAT Meals : Breakfast, Lunch The  first  stop in  your  exploration  of  the  area around  Gyalthang  is  Ganden  Sumtsanling Monastery.  Here, about 700 Buddhist monks are  engaged  in  full-time  Buddhist  studies. Built  in  the  17th  century  by  the  5th  Dalai Lama, Sumtsanling  Monastery,  with  its numerous  chapels,  woodcarvings,  and murals, is a living museum of Tibetan culture. In addition to the monastery, you can explore the  beauties  of  the  countryside.    The  present reconstruction  of  parts  of  the  monastery reflects  the  exciting  regeneration  of  local religious  fervor.    Time  permitting,  you  catwalk  in the  village  and  surrounding mountains and enjoy the views of the valley. From the monastery, with a picnic lunch in tow, you then visit one of the most sacred pilgrimage spots for all the people  of Gyalthang  – Ringha Temple,  perched  high  on  a  hill.   Here, when life  seems  too much, local  people come to pray and leave their problems behind.  Taking a lesson from the Tibetan pilgrims, you can take an easy circumambulatory walk around Ringha Hill. DAY 07:  VISIT NISHI AND GONJO Accommodation : M GALLERY SONGTSAM RETREAT Meals : Breakfast, Lunch Today  you  can  visit  some  of  the  craftspeople  of  the  area.    Leaving  Gyalthang,  you  will  drive  up  along  the spectacular upper Yangtse Gorge and  the Yunnan Tibet Road.  Continuing on, you will come  to Nishi, where they make some very interesting black pottery.  You can see how the craftspeople work and spend some time in their homes.  From Nishi, you will head to Gonjo, where the people make very lovely wooden bowls. Late in the day, you will return to Gyalthang for the night. DAY 08:  DRIVE DALI VIA XIZHOU Accommodation : DALI GURONG HOTEL Meals : Breakfast, Lunch You have a full-day drive to Dali with a stop in Xizhou to see the old mansions of the tea traders.  You will also take  a walk  to  the market, to  try  the  sweet  and  savory Xizhou  baba  bread, take  a walk  to  the  shores  of Lake Erhai, and taking a horse cart through this small town.  Dali is nestled in  a valley  at  about  6,200’ between  the Cangshan Mountains  and Era Lake.  On  the Cangshanside, 19  peaks  averaging  more  than  13,000’  overlook  the  valley.    The  historic  old  town  of  gray  granite  is  the historic home of the Bai people.  During the 8th and 9th centuries, Dali was the capital of the Nanzhao Kingdom. At its height, the Nanzhao had conquered much of Burma  and parts of Laos, Thailand, and  Sechuan Province. Later Kublai Khan and his warriors overran  this stone city of pagodas.  Today, Dali is  the capital of  the  region and  well  known  for  its  colorful  people, embroidery, rich  agricultural  lands, and  famous  marble  and  excellent breed of horses. DAY 09:  EXPLORE THE CITY Accommodation : DALI GURONG HOTEL Meals : Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner You  have  a  choice  of  activities  today  and  can  discuss  your  preferences with your guide. a)  If you  are  not  averse  to  seeing  traditional  sites  that are  frequented  by many tourists, you can take a boat ride on Lake Erhai and visit the famous Putao Temple and the Santa Pagodas. b) A second alternative is to visit Weishan, a small Bai town located at the base of Weibaoshan Mountain on the Bonnan tea trading route.  Weishanis a trading town that hosted large caravans of horses and traders, there to pick up Yunnan tea and other products and then take them up to Sichuan and the northeastern regions of the plateau.  The ancient architecture of the gates of the previously walled town still remains, and the town still has a traditional way of life.  Here you will find a variety of families with their historical trades – pottery making, shoe repair, papermaking, traditional medicine, merchant, shop keeping.  At the end of the day, you return to Dali. DAY 10:  DRIVE KUNMING VIA THE DINOSAUR MUSEUM Accommodation : GRAND PARK HOTEL KUNMING Meals : Breakfast, Lunch This morning, you will drive to Kunming, stopping on the way at the World Dinosaur Museum.    The museum entrance boats  four large bronze pillars about 7  feet  tall and carved with 240 dinosaurs.  Here you can walk or take a trolley to the first pavilion, with an exhibit of photos, as well as huge replication of the environment and landscape at  the  time when  the dinosaurs populated  the area.  In  the small movie hall, you watch a  ten-minute movie  discussing  how  these  huge  animals  became  extinct.    The  main  museum  houses  the  skeletons  of  52dinosaurs, unearthed  between  135  and  180  million  years  ago.    Also  part  of  the  exhibit  is  a  replication  of  the landscape of the Lufeng site, from which the dinosaurs were unearthed. DAY 11:  EXPLORE KUNMING Accommodation : GRAND PARK HOTEL KUNMING Meals : Breakfast, Lunch In the morning, you take time to visit the Yuanthong Temple.  The temple is a well Qestored Buddhist temple that dates back to the 8th century, when Yunnan was an independent kingdom from China.  From the temple, you take a walk around Green Lake, and visit the flower market.  When you walk around the lake, you can enjoy tea in one of the many teahouses along the shore. In the afternoon, you visit the Bamboo Temple built during the Tang Dynasty and restored in the 19th Century, when a master craftsman from Sichuan was employed to sculpt the 500 Buddhist arhats.  These brilliant life-sizedarhats line the grounds and walls, stretching all over the large temple in a lifelike and yet surrealist atmosphere. Legend and local belief have it that you will be drawn to one particular arhat, the one who most represents our inner self. Dinner  will  be  in  one  of  the  specialty  restaurants  in town. DAY 12:  DRIVE  JIANSHUI VIA TONGHAI Accommodation : LIN’AN  HOTEL Meals : Breakfast, Lunch Leaving Kunming, you will drive on  to Tonghai,  the last  autonomous enclave of Mongols, who came with Kublai Khan’s army and stayed behind.  Uniquely, the people of Tonghai have maintained their own culture, have  built  temples  for  their  Mongol  heroes  and  still import teachers to maintain their Mongol language. From Tonghai, you continue on to Jianshui. DAY 13:  EXPLORE JIANSHUI, INCLUDING SEA OF LEARNING TEMPLE Accommodation : LIN’AN  HOTEL Meals : Breakfast, Lunch Early in the morning, you can visit the wonderfully preserved and third largest Confucian temple in China, The Sea of Learning Lake.  This quiet morning period will provide you with an introduction  to  the serenity of  this site, home for 750 years to a school.  You can visit the main, side, and central halls and pavilions, as well as the epicenter, the  Dacheng  Hall.    Dacheng  contains  twenty-two  pillars  and  two  carved  dragons.    Over  half  of Yunnan’s successful candidates for the ancient imperial examinations for positions came from Jianshui.  After enjoying the temple, you can explore the city.  You will visit the Zhu Family Garden Mansions, home to a rich trading family that boasts many courtyards and some special rooms set aside for guests.   Also interesting is the Chaoyang Gate and tower, one of the four ancient entrances to this previously walled city. There is  also  time  to wander  the  old  parts  of  the  city  before  returning  to  the  tranquility  of  your  home  for  the night. DAY 14: DRIVE TO LAO CAI VIA MENGZE.  CROSS BORDER AND CONTINUE TO BAC HA Accommodation : SAO MAI OR SIMILAR Meals : Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner Rising  very  early,  you  head  from Jianshui  to Mengze,  a  town  built  around  a  small lake  and with  remnants  of some  French  buildings  that  were  the  homes  of  the  French  engineers  that  came  to  build  the  Yunnan  /Vietnam railways. You may try tofu and rice noodle soup for which the region is famous. Continuing on, you come to the border at Lao Cai, the gateway to China. Sadly, during the Chinese invasion of 1979, the city was almost totally razed.  The new buildings could be called “pre-dilapidated construction”, as many look old and tired.  On the other hand, there are some new hotels and apartments springing up that look quite nice.  Remember also, this is a rainforest country, where buildings are built often out of concrete and then painted in pastels that fade badly!   Your  Chinese  car  will  drive  you  to  the  bridge, where  you  will  cross  the  border  on  a rickshaw taxi and meet your guide and driver from Vietnam. DAY 15:  VISIT SUNDAY MARKET IN BAC HA AND VILLAGES.  DRIVE SAPA Accommodation : VICTORIA SAPA RESORT   SPA Meals : Breakfast, Lunch After an early breakfast, you cross over to the well-known Bac Ha Market.  Up until recently, the market was in a field beside the road.  Now it has moved to a more formal outside setting, but it still is the best market in the northern hill tribe areas of Vietnam.  Here, local people from all around the area assemble to sell their goods – horses, water buffaloes, chickens, vegetables, fruits, hardware, clothes and other items. When you tire of the market, should you wish, you can take a walk up into the hills to visit some of the homes. Then, in the late afternoon, you will head back through Lao Cai and up the hill to Sa Pa. DAY 16:  VISIT VILLAGES Accommodation : VICTORIA SAPA RESORT   SPA Meals : Breakfast, Lunch Today is  an  opportunity  to  visit  some  of  the hill  tribe  villages around  Sa  Pa.   At  various  times, the  Japanese, French, Chinese, and Vietnamese controlled the town, at an altitude of about 5000 feet.  Most recently, in 1979, the town  was  ravaged  by  the  Chinese  and  has  been  restored  by  the  Vietnamese.    Parts  of  the  French  legacy  still plants gathered from the forest.  The people raise chickens, goats, and water buffalo, and occasionally horses.  Inyo are courageous, you can even try the local lunch of pig's blood and tofu.  The area was also known for opium production, although the Vietnamese government is actively working to eliminate the drug trade in the country. Today too, villagers are profiting from tourism and the sale of their crafts, particularly jewelry and embroidery. After breakfast, you will head out with your guide to walk through some of the villages.  It is likely that you will see other tourists, but hopefully your route will avoid most.  You can talk with the people, watch how they spend their days, and enjoy the children. DAY 17:  VISIT MORE VILLAGES.  TAKE TRAIN TO HANOI Accommodation : ON THE TRAIN Meals : Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner After breakfast, you can continue to explore more of the local villages in the area that are less traveled by tourists. Mid-afternoon, you  head  back  to Lao  Cai.    Here  you  can  have  a  nice  dinner  and  then board  the  train for  the overnight trip back to Hanoi.  DAY 18: ARRIVE HANOI.  VISIT ETHNIC MUSEUM, PUPPET MAKER AND OLD QUARTER Accommodation :  DE L’OPERA OR SOFITEL LEGEND METROPOLE HANOI Meals : Breakfast, Lunch Arriving  in  Hanoi,  early  in  the  morning,  you  can  head  to  the  hotel  to  wash  up  and  have  some  breakfast. Although your room may not be ready, we will provide another temporary room, if need be. Hanoi,  located  at  the  confluence  of  the  Red  and  Duong Rivers,  has  come  a long way  from  the  stilt  houses  of  the stone  and  bronze  age dwellers  of  four  and  five  thousand years ago.  Myths link Hanoi’s origins to the center of the earth, visions of soaring dragons, and fears of invasions or fierce  winds  from  the  north.    Between  Chinese  power struggles, peasant  rebellions,  invasions  from  warring Mongol  hordes,  the  French  occupation,  and  American bombing attacks, the city has undergone and continues to undergo tremendous growth and change.  Today’s Hanoi, “the  city  inside a  bend  of  the  Red  River,” is  a  blend  of thousand-year-old  temples,  tube  houses, neo-Parisian buildings, and new, modern hotels and office buildings. After breakfast, you can head over to the Ethnic Museum. Here you can learn more about the different ethnic groups you have seen along the way, as well as others, and get a sense of their different lifestyles.   The museum has all sorts of entertainment outside and opportunities to see different ethnic homes. From  here,  you  head  to  the  home  of  a water puppet master.  You  can  see  how  he makes  the puppets, enjoy  private water puppet shows and learn how to work the puppets yourself. Your next stop is  the market and Old Quarter.  Here you can wander  the different streets, explore some of  the different galleries and then finally end up by Hoan Kiem Lake. DAY 19: TOUR HANOI Accommodation :  DE L’OPERA OR SOFITEL LEGEND METROPOLE HANOI Meals : Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner A real treat is to rise early before breakfast and walk down to Hoan Kiem Lake.  Here you will join the locals in their morning Tai Chi exercises.  Returning to the hotel or stopping near the lake, you will eat breakfast and then take a tour of the city.  Your path will take you past the granite and concrete mausoleum where Ho Chi Minhlies in state and the government buildings.   Walking a bit around the area, you can see the Presidential Palace and other French-style government buildings. Moving on, your path leads to the Hoa Lu Prison, better known as the “Hanoi Hilton.”  Here you can get a sense of how both the French and Vietnamese dealt with prisoners during different periods of Vietnamese History. Next you head  to West Lake  to see  the Temple of Literature, called  “Le Pagoda des Corbeaux” by  the French, because of  the huge  flocks of crows gathering in  the mango  trees near  the entrance.  Built in 1070, the complex consists of five courtyards dedicated to Confucius and the pursuit of Confucian thought and behavior.  It is here that Vietnam’s first university was founded. From here, you can head slightly outside  town  for a wonderful cooking  lesson with a local  family.  This is not just an opportunity to learn Vietnamese-style cooking, but to spend time with the local people. In the afternoon, you drive to a wonderful village just outside the city, where you can enjoy Quan Ho Singing – a folk tradition in the country. Returning to Hanoi, you enjoy a last farewell dinner with your guide. DAY 20:  FREE DAY UNTIL DEPARTURE Accommodation : None Meals : Breakfast Today is free to explore the city with a guide and driver until time for departure.