The Grand Bike Tour Of Southwest And Central China Part 4

Part 4 begins with a city tour of Kunming, the capital of Yunnan visiting Yuantong Temple, Green Lake and Tang Dynasty Pagodas. Day 2 starts with a morning flight to Shangri-La (Zhongdian), located in northwest Yunnan. At an elevation of 3,200 meters (10,500 feet), it is at the edge of Tibet and about half its population is Tibetan. Here we will visit Songzanlin Monastery and Tiansheng Bridge hot springs. Heading southwest and mostly downhill, the next stop is Qiaotao, the south entrance to Tiger Leaping Gorge. A day will be spent here viewing one of the worldís deepest gorges. The following day we head to Lijiang, home of the Naxi minority and set in a valley overshadowed by Jade Dragon Snow Mountian. With a picturesque old town including fast moving water through open waterways and wooden architecture, Lijiang makes a good two-day stopover. Visits to surrounding villages will include the 15th century frescoes and Yufeng Monastary.