3 Days Kunming Short Break

Welcome to Kunming, the beautiful capital city of Yunnan! Your local tour guide and experienced driver will meet you at the Kunming airport or train station to take you by private car to your downtown Kunming hotel and help you check in. After you’ve had a chance to refresh yourself at your hotel, we will take you to see the 1,200-year old Yuantong Buddhist Temple. This beautiful temple was first built in the late 8th and early 9th centuries with major restorations in the late 15th century and again in 1686 A.D. under Emperor Kangxi, leading to its present configuration with covered corridors, bridges and a grand hall surrounded by water that is unique amongst Buddhist temples in China.

After visiting the ancient temple, we will move on to visit Green Lake Park, a hub of local life in urban Kunming. Local people can be found here doing tai chi and relaxing amongst the year-round green trees and tranquil waters. During the winter, black-headed gulls migrate here from Siberia, entertaining the locals as they feed them bread that is sold there in the park.

After visiting Green Lake Park, we will visit the Bird & Flower Markets to see why Kunming is sometimes called the “City of Flowers”. Yunnan has developed as the largest flower exporting base in Asia, with more than 400 different types of flowers being grown in the city.

After visiting the Bird & Flower Markets, we will take you back to your hotel for the evening.

Accommodation: Kunming local hotel

After a nice breakfast at your hotel, we will take you by private car about 90 kilometers (65 miles) outside of the city of Kunming to see one of nature’s miracles at the Shilin Stone Forest. These amazing natural karst stone formations were formed over 270 million years ago by the erosion of limestone that left towers of stone rising up from the ground, thus creating the “stone forest”. We will take you to visit both the Greater Stone Forest – where you can climb up to a pavilion for a panoramic view of the fantastic landscape, and the Lesser Stone Forest, where you can learn about the Yi Minority legend of “Ashima” and what happened when she was forbidden from marrying her true love.

After plenty of time exploring the incredible Shilin Stone Forest, we will drive another 40 minutes or so to visit an ancient Yi minority village – Nuohei Village. With more than 600 years of history, this wonderful little village is built mostly of stone – stone houses, stone walls, stone roads, stone squares and stone mills – it’s a fun place to visit and become acquainted with the culture of the Yi people.

After visiting Nuohei Village, we will drive you back to your hotel in Kunming.

Accommodation: Kunming local hotel

This morning we will take you to visit the Western Hills of Kunming. Sometimes referred to as “Sleeping Beauty Hills” because of their alleged resemblance to a young lady lying beside the lake, this protected forest area is located about 12 kilometers (7 miles) outside of the city of Kunming. There are numerous ancient cultural sites throughout the Western Hills, with two of the most famous being the Huating Temple (est. 1320 A.D.) and the Taihua Temple. The highlight of the Western Hills is the Dragon Gate Grottoes – a complex of caves, temples and pavilions lying on the western edge of Dianchi Lake. The spectacular Dragon Gate Grotto Complex was created over a 72-year period from 1781 – 1853, consisting of a stone archway, a stone room and a number of stone sculptures all carved out of the same rock at the summit of the hill. From here you will be able to get a panoramic view of the lake while also enjoying the intricate carvings of the grotto.

From the Dragon Gate and the Western Hills we will return to Kunming to visit the Yunnan Nationalities Museum, the largest minority museum in China. Covering an area of more than 133,300 square meters, the museum holds more than 40,000 objects such as ethnic clothing, musical instruments, tools, folk masks, art, pottery, etc. that shed light on the 52 ethnic minority groups of China.

After learning all about China’s minority groups at the museum, we will take you on to the Kunming airport or train station for your departing flight or train on to your next destination. Please note that this tour requires a departure time after 5 p.m., but we can customize a tour to fit your particular arrival and departure schedules. Please contact our friendly travel consultants and we can put together the tour itinerary that best fits your needs.

Accommodation: None