The Beautiful Danba Loop

With my 25 years of travel throughout China I look for those out of the way areas of interest for my customers.  I and my Chinese associates were the first visitors through what we call the Danba Loop after they hard surfaced the road.  Before that time it was an old dirt road that often washed out during the rainy season.  It is also referred to as the Tea Horse Road.  Few western tourists find this area without help.  It is about an 8 day trip through the mountains which includes Pandas, National Parks, Hot Springs, friendly remote monasteries to visit, countless villages and home visits with lunch.  The people are of Tibetan decent and their homes are highly decorated in the style as you can see here in the photos.  We also have home stays in which you may participate in cooking with the family or just enjoy visiting with them and their family. The fresh air of the mountains and wonderful weather are best visited from July through September.  For a more detailed description of this area and tour please check my web site at www.intnerlakechinatours.com and click on Packaged Tours.

You will find the itinerary under Mountain's Tour.   As I do mostly customized private tours, you can take just part of that tour or have me put a tour together just for your interests and time constraints.

                               Click on the photos for a full screen view!

Visiting Remote Villages in Yunnan Province

In my 25 years of travel through out China one of the most interesting provinces is Yunnan province.  In south central China just north of Burma, Laos and Viet Nam boarders Yunnan which is a very diverse province.  The North part is in the mountains and the south half is semi-tropical.  Kunming, the capital is in the middle and known as the Spring City because of its altitude and is fairly cool during the hot summer months. These photos of one minority village is just one of over 26 minority peoples in Yunnan province. Each has their own dress,

foods, and culture. It isn't often you can visit many cultures in such a small area and you will always find them hospitable and friendly.   It is the custom if you ask to visit them to open their houses and serve you tea or in the case of this village some of their great wine!!  Your guide just yells out to them "We have some foreigners here that would like to visit you".   There are no door bells of course.  As curious as you are about them, they are just as curious to know where you come from.  They may continue to do their work but you will see first hand what life is like in each small culture and village.  In one minority village, once married, the men retire and the women do all the work!  :-)   Learning about each culture is interesting and at the same  time you see wonderful back country China without hoards of tourists.
     Click on the photos for a full screen view!