*4 days Torch Festival Tour

Tour Introduction: The Torch Festival is a traditional festival celebrated among several ethnic groups in southwestern China, such as the Yi, Bai, Hani, Lisu, Naxi, etc. The origin of the festival is related with the worship of fire by ancestors, who believed that fire had the power to repel insects, drive away evils and to protect crop growth. It is also a good opportunity for young people to meet their prospective spouses. During the festival, torches are erected in front of every household, and a pile of faggots of several meters high is erected in the center of a square. When night falls, people of all ages come forward to ignite the faggot pile. Cheerful flames leap up to the sky, crackling and spluttering. Shouts of joy make a sea of rejoicing, a big celebration you should join at least once in your life!

The 2011 Torch Festival of YI Ethnic Group falls on July 24, 2011.

B: Breakfast  L: Lunch  D: Dinner

Day 01: July 24, 2011 Sunday
Arrive Dali (L)
Upon arrival at Dali airport, meet your Dali guide and proceed to visit the Three Pagodas, followed by Cangshan Mountain tour (roundway cable car). Then explore in the Dali Ancient Town with a history of 1,300 years, which is the home to Bai minority. The town, whose format is like a chess board with four gates guarding in the directions of east , south, west and north stands between Cangshan Mountains and Erhai Lake, a natural configuration that seems specially designed for a good bountiful life.
Dinner today will be on your own account to taste the local flavor.
Overnight in 4* Landscape Hotel located along the so-called foreigners’ street in the old town.

Day 02: July 25, 2011 Monday
Daili-Lijiang (B + L + D)
Drive to Xizhou and Zhoucheng for Bai’s morning market and residential house. Due to the Torch Festival, you will see torches tied up with dried pine wood and lightwood on sale, and be touched by the festival atmosphere. You will also take a cruise on Erhai Lake and see how locals catching fish with help of osprey.

Then drive to Lijiang. 

A gathering place of the Naxi minority, Lijiang Ancient Town is a mountain town of stone and tile, laced with canals and lanes, which has been listed as an UNESCO world monument. Unlike most of the old towns in China, there is no city wall due to a superstitious belief of the local ruler whose family name is Mu (tree), when encircled by walls, would be Kun (besieged). In the evening, at the central square of the old town, people gathered around a bonfire, dancing and smiling. You should not miss the carnival!
Overnight in Lijiang Old Town Hotel ****, at the very centre of the old town.

Day 03: July 26, 2011 Tuesday
LIJIANG (B + L + D)
A whole day tour to Yufeng Monastery, Black Dragon Pond with Dongba Culture Museum, Baisha Frescos and the Former Residence of Joseph Rock, the Austro-American botanist and explorer who lived here from 1922 to 1949, introducing innumerable plant species to the West and completing rigorous works on Naxi ethnology.
After dinner, guide will take you to Shuhe old town to experience the final festival day!

Day 04: July 27, 2011 Wednesday
LIJIANG DEPARTURE  (B)
Transfer to airport for departure flight.