We’re Yunnan fans (we once said it was one of those places we wanted to grab you by the lapels and rave about), so we constructed this shorter trip as an easy Classic Journey addition to any of our China trips (or as a short, sweet, stand-alone getaway). We begin in Kunming, the City of Eternal Spring, and make the short flight northwest to the edge of the Tibetan Plateau and Gyelthang (recently and somewhat cornily renamed Shangri-La; Gyelthang, a bright cultural and biological mosaic, offers the unique spectacle of viewing the Yangtse, the Mekong, and the Salween, which flow down from the plateau, within fifty kilometers of each other). We drive south to Lijiang via the dramatic Tiger Leaping Gorge for a couple of days to contemplate the turquoise snow ranges before flying on, hither and yon.

Day 1: arrive in Kunming • Day 2: drive to Gyelthang • Day 3: Gyelthang • Day 4: drive to Lijiang via Tiger Leaping Gorge • Days 5 & 6: Lijiang • Day 7: depart Lijiang.

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