Raosanlin & Tibetan Horse Festival

This tour takes you to northwest Yunnan to see the Yangtze and Mekong rivers, the highest mountain in Yunnan - Meili Snow Mountain (6740m), and to walk over its glaciers. We travel amongst the Bai, Naxi, Lisu and Tibetan peoples. We will attend the following festivals during the tour:

Raosanlin Festival in Dali, Yunnan
Pilgrimage to three temples is a festival for the Bai ethnic people to worship their patron gods in Dali. These gods are similar to Athena, the ancient Greek goddess of wisdom, the practical arts and warfare. In Dali almost every village has a temple for a local patron god. The Bai people believe the local gods are in charge of their good fortune, so they worship the gods piously and attend the festival in large numbers. The Bai people believe there are at least 100 different patron gods, each representing a different village. However, only three patron gods and two kings are collectively worshipped by every village on a pilgrimage to the temples during the festivals.

The festival falls on the 23rd of the 4th lunar month and lasts three days. Each village forms a pilgrimage team. Led by two masters, the villagers take part in a long parade, beating equiangular drums, singing and dancing. Three main temples are visited over the three days by the long procession, and each site is the scene for worship, music and dance.

Tibetan Horse Festival in Shangri-La, Yunnan
The Tibetans in Shangri-La host the festival on the 5th of the 5th lunar month which lasts three days. Men show off their horseback skills, women dance in their best festival clothes, and Buddhist lamas perform a religious opera. Thousands of locals gather around the site to camp for the festival's duration.

Itinerary: Day 1, Arrive in Kunming and transfer to Hotel. Day2, Fly to Dali and attend Raosanlin Festival Morning flight to Dali and transfer to Hotel. Half an hour drive to attend the Raosanlin Festival in Qingdong village at the foot of Mt. Cangshan where you can see all kinds of activities take place such as singing, dancing and praying throughout day and night. Day 3, Tour of Dali Visit Xizhou Morning Market where local Bai people sell food, vegetables and agricultural products, visit traditional Bai architecture, and attend the Festival again in Xizhou where festival goers sing and dance through the village. Travel around the Lake Erhai to visit the Bai villages on the other side of it and view the area. Day 4, Tour of Dali Visit the thousand year old Three Pagodas and Chongsheng Temple; this is the biggest Buddhist Temple in Southeast Asia with hundreds of Buddhist images. Take the cable car up to Cangshan Mountain at 2550m where you can visit Zhonghe Temple with mixed religions, take a walk on the Clouds Road for a couple of hours, you can have a bird’s eye view of Dali and the Lake from here. Day 5, Drive to Lijiang Three hours drive to Lijiang and visit the old town of Lijiang, Lijiang is the home of the matriarchal Naxi culture, which is protected as a UNESCO Cultural Heritage Site. Lijiang was at the end of the Tibetan tea caravan route that gave rise to the Naxi women’s strong commercial bent as successful shopkeepers and traders. Visit the old town and Black Dragon Pool. Day 6, Tour of Lijiang Visit Yuhu and Baisha villages in front of the Jade Dragon Snow Mountain to observe the daily life of Naxi people look into the Museum of Dr. Rock. Drive to visit 300 year old Puji Monastery with copper roofs, one of the five big monasteries in the area, with some walk in the pine forest before arriving the Monastery. Day 7, Visit the Tiger Leaping Gorge and drive to Liming, Two and half hours drive to visit the Tiger Leaping Gorge with 3900m drops from the top of mountain to the Yangtze., Four hours drive to Liming along the Yangtze via the First Bend, with the great views of the of the Yangtze and the area. Day 8, Tour of Liming One hour climb up to the Tortoise Mountain where you can find out the mountain just look like thousands of tortoises and enjoy the beautiful colours of the stones, walk further into the valley to see more mountain and visit the Lisu people there. Day 9, Drive to Weixi Drive back to Yangtze and follow up to Qizhong with stops along the river for sightseeing and walks, and then turn right into mountains to Weixi via Tacheng with visits to Lisu and Tibetan villages along the way. Day 10, Drive to Feilaishi Seven hours drive to Deqen along the Mekong River with a visit to Cizhong village where there is a Catholic Church built by French missionaries in 1880s and still used by various minorities such as Lisu, Naxi and Tibetan. We can still see the locals crossing Mekong by ropes during the drive. Day 11, Tour of Glaciers Get up early to see the sunrise of Meili Snow Mountain just in your hotel room with a cup of coffee, and then one and half hours drive to Minyou village cross the Mekong and then three hours hike through the forest via a temple to Minyou Glacier, and walk over the glacier of Meili Snow Mountain. Day12, Drive to Shangri-La Seven hours drive to Shangri-La via Baima Mouintain pass at 4290m, with a visit Tibetan Dongzhulin Monastery, and passing through the Yangtze. Visit Nixi village where people specialized in making pottery. Day 13, Attend Horse Festival Attend the Tibetan Horse Festival in Shangri-La, people from all over will gather here for the horse festival, Tibetan is a nation on the horse back, so they will show off the skills on the horse back in different ways. At the same time we can also see some of the Tibetan dance during the festival as well. A big market is also going on in the area. Day 14, Visit Monastery, Flight to Kunming Visit Ringsha Temple, this is the first Tibetan yellow hat sect Buddhism temple built on a hill in the area, small and quiet, seldom visited by tourists but very popular among the local Tibetans, esp. at the Chinese New Year, thousands of people will come to worship and express their good wishes for the coming year. In the temple, we can see how Tibetans make the praying flags, you can also learn to make some praying flags yourself and hang them over the mountain behind the temple to get your good luck. Visit some local Tibetan villages in the area, if you like, we can get into a Tibetan horse and try some Tibetan Tsampa and butter tea. Evening flight to Kunming, overnight hotel and tour ends. Departure: May.24th – Jun.7th, 2011 Price:  US$ 1,390.00  Per person US$ 320.00  Single Supplement The price includes: Flights: Kunming/Dali             Shangri-La/Kunming Hotels with breakfasts Sightseeing Programs & entry fees English Speaking Guides Transfers and transportation by private vehicles Group Size: 06 - 12 You may prefer a different date and time frame for this tour, or wish to adjust the itinerary to suit your interests.  We will do all we can to meet your preferences.  Please note that tours of less than six persons may cost more per person, and other expenses may increase as a result of customization of your tour.   In all cases, however, we are committed to providing the best value for your experience.

Yi woman at Market       At festival         at Meili Mountain         horse race         Mountain in Liming         Pray in a temple         sunrise at meili mountain