China Tours

 Southwest China geographically includes the Yunnan-Guizhou plateau, and therefore, Yunnan and Guizhou provinces, along with Sichuan Province. The region includes minority peoples who assimilated into China only centuries after the first Qin emperor conquered all that was to become China. Some of China's most spectaculr scenery lies in this vast region and the climate is the most pleasant in China: warm and mild, is is known as "spring at all seasons."

Chengdu

 Chengdu, the capital of Sichuan Province, is one of the fastest growing cities in China. It lies about 1,500 km southwest of Beijing and is an important economic, commercial and cultural centre of the Southwest region. This enchanting city has modern tree-lined avenues with narrow streets of traditional half-timbered houses and is renowned for its silk, bamboo good, and lacquerware that are sold in the numerous shops throughout the city.

Du Fu's Thatched Cottage

 This was the residence of one of China's greatest poets, Du Fu, from the Tang Dynasty. He lived here from 712 to 720 A.D. His poetry was compassionate in an age when compassion was rare and thus he is held in high regard. A shrine in his memory was built 200 years after his death and is set in a beautiful bamboo garden where there is also a museum housing early versions of his work.

Baoguangsi (Divine Light Monastery)

 This ancient monastery was founded during the Tang Dynasty (618 to 907 A.D.). Within the complex is Lohan Hall containing 500 Buddhist statues dating from the 17th century.

Dujiangyan Water Conservancy Project

 This is an irrigation system dating back to as far as 256 B.C. and is currently still in use. Today it irrigates an estimated 1.8 million acres of land and visitors can get a view of the ingenious, ancient engineering that continues to drive the system.

Dazu

 Dazu is located about 200 km northwest of the city of Chongqing. Most famous for its Buddhist stone carvings, Dazu is viewed as the most colourful and best preserved of China's Buddhist grottoes. Set in picturesque countryside, the 50,000 of so sculptures were isolated and undiscovered for centuries. The larger-than-life statues were found in two principle areas: Beishan (North Hill) and Baodingshan (Precious Summit). Each carving depicts a legend, a scene from ancient life, or a lively scene from Buddhist scriptures. Among the most famous carvings are the Thousand-Arm Goddess of Mercy, the Sleeping Buddha, and the magnificent Wheel of the Universe.

Kunming

 Kunming is the capital of Yunnan Province and is most famous for its main attraction, the Stone Forest. Often referred to as the "City of Eternal Spring," visitors often come to Kunming and its bamboo-covered mountains and clear, blue Lake Dianchi. Historically, Kunming became a popular rail centre when the French built the rail link from Vietnam to China in the early 20th century. During World War II, it was one end of the Burma Road supply route. There are approximately 25 ethnic minorities currently inhabiting the province of Yunnan and the Kunming Folklore Village is an exciting place that shows how they live, work and enjoy their leisure time.

Stone Forest

 Located about 130 km southeast of Kunming lies this 270-million-year- old limestone natural wonder of tightly bundled gray, rocky formations. Stroll through this spectacular landscape and witness the impressive sharp angles and shadow contrasts perfect for photography. On the three-hour journey to the Stone Forest, visitors will pass through villages built in traditional local style.

Dali

 The city is know as the "Pearl of the Yun-Gui Plateau." It lies 430 km west of Kunming and can be reached from Kunming by a one-hour flight or 11-12 hour drive along the historic Burma Road.

 Historically and scenically, Dali occupies an intriguing place; just off the famous Burma Road, with Lake Erhai touching its western edge and the Cangshan Mountains providing a spectacular backdrop. Dali was already a thriving centre of trade in the 2nd century B.C. and today is home to the Bali nationality.

 From Dali, visitors can take a seven-hour bus ride north to the town of Lijang. Here, is the shadow of Yu Long (Jade Dragon) Mountain, the Naxi people continue the language and customs of an ancient matriarchal society.

The Bai Nationality Village

 Being one of the minority nationalities in China, the Bai people have a population of only 1.13 million. Most of the houses in the village are of grey bricks covered with tiled roofs. The beams are decorated with paintings of birds, flowers, mountains and waters. Elegant and imposting, their towers are of several tiers with upturned caves. Each household has either a three-room house with a screen wall or a courtyard house of four or five rooms with a small yard forming a compound of its own. In the courtyard are camelia, osmanthus, azalea and other flowers. Have a taste for Yunnan white tea, enjoy the dances of the Bai girls, buy wax print articles and other ethnic handicrafts. All of the activities will leave you impressions indelible for life.

The Butterfly Spring

 The Butterfly Spring was formerly known as the Bottomless Pool and is located at the foot of the Yunnong Peak of Cangshan Mountain, north of Dali City. It is said that long, long ago a beautiful industrious maiden named Wengu was spotted by a local despot who wanted to take her as his concubine. The girl refuse until she and her lover drowned themselves together in the pool. Suddenly a pair of butterflies appeared in the bottom of the pool and flew out; hence the name. The pool has a surface of about 20 square metres. Beside the spring, an ancient camphor tree spreads its boughs over the pool. Each year during the fourth month of the lunar calendar, thousands of butterflies flutter among its branches. Then linking head with tail, they hang themselves on the boughs like colourful beads.

The Three Dali Pagodas

 The Three Dali Pagodas are located at the foot of the Yinglo Peak of the Cangshan Mountain, northeast of Dali city. The three pagodas stand where the ancient Chingsheng Monastery once stood and is why it is called Chongsheng Three Pagodas. Standing like the main one, the Qianxun Pagoda was started in 836 during the reign of Kaicheng of the Tang Dynasty and was completed in 876. The 16 floor pagoda is about 70 m tall with upturned caves at each layer. In the central part of each facade, a shrine was built and a Buddhist statue of white marble was installed. As supplementaries, the other two pagodas are 10 stories high and both are 420 m talls. Built with solid bricks in octagonal shapes, each story was carved with a shrine Buddhist statue and lotus flowers.