8 Days China Students Education Tour to Yuanyang Hani Rice Terraces

For those who are interested in Chinese culture, especially interested in Yunnan culture, this education tour will help you to learn more about Yunnan ethnic culture and daily life of local people. During the 8 days Yunnan Education Tour, you will have some sightseeings and activities at Stone Forest, Nuohei Village, Luxi, Yuanyang, Jianshi, and so on to learn more about Yunnan ethnic culture and daily life of local people.

Highlights:

  • Enjoy the natural and cultural sceneries in Yunnan include Stone Forest, Yuanyang Rice Terraces, Jianshui Ancient Town, etc.
  • Learn more about Yunnan ethnic culture and daily life of local people in Nuohei Village, Luxi, Yuanyang, Jianshi, etc. 

Brief Itinerary

  • Day 1: Kunming Arrival
  • Day 2: Kunming – Stone Forest – Luxi
  • Day 3: Luxi – Yuanyang
  • Day 4: Yuanyang
  • Day 5: Yuanyang
  • Day 6: Yuanyang – Jianshui
  • Day 7: Jianshui – Kunming
  • Day 8: Kunming Departure

Google Map

Detailed Itinerary

Day 1 Arrive in Kunming

Sightseeing and Activities:Arrive in Kunming
Accommodation: Kunming
Meals:

Airport-hotel transfer.

Day 2 Kunming – Stone Forest -Nuohei Village -Luxi

Sightseeing and Activities: Stone Forest, Sani Village, Nuohei Museum
Accommodation: Luxi
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Large Stone Forest in Shilin County, Kunming

08:00-08:30 Have breakfast at hotel.
08:30-09:30 Departure from hotel to Stone Forest.
09:30-11:45 Make the tour of Stone Forest, the ‘First Wonder of the World’. You’ll marvel at its natural stone masterpieces and be bewitched by the intricate formations. You feel like come into a ‘stone world’.
11:45-13:00 Have lunch to enjoy the local Roast Duck. 
13:30-18:00 Drive to the Sani Village -“Nuohei”. It is a word from the language of the Sani People (a branch of the Yi ethnic minority in Shilin County). It means “monkey pond”. The village nestles among mounts and lakes. It’s a world of stones, composed of roads paved with polished stones, slate houses, rocky mounts and Karst lakes. Most of the residences are built from stratified stones, using thick slates as walls and thin ones as roofs. Enjoying the fame as “the most famous stony village with Karst terrains”, Nuohei has developed couple of farmhouse inns for visitors. 
18:00-18:30  Visit the Nuohei Museum, located in Nuohei Village and covering an area of nearly 1000 square meters, which is divided into physical display, concert performances and film spreading area, fully displaying the Yi traditional culture about literature, art, religion, embroidery and other intangible cultural heritage.
18:30-19:30 Have the Sani Style Dinner in the Village.
19:30-21:00 Enjoy the Bonfire Party with the local Sani people.
21:00-21:30 After the tour, transfer 30km to check in your hotel in Luxi.

Day 3 Luxi – Yuanyang

Sightseeing and Activities:Yuanyang Rice Terraces, Laohuzui(the Tiger Mouth) scenic area
Accommodation: Yuanyang
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Yuanyang Hani Rice Terraces in Yuanyang County, Honghe

08:00-08:30 Have breakfast.
09:00-11:00 Communication & interaction with middle school student in Luxi.
11:00-12:00 Chinese pupils and the foreign pupils eating together at the dining hall.
12:00-17:30 Drive to Yuanyang. Yuanyang Rice Terraces, located on the southern slopes of Ailao Mountain in Yuanyang County (part of Honghe Hani Autonomous Prefecture) and located in the south of Yunnan Province, has been a masterpiece of the ingenuity of the Hani people for generations. Southern Ailao Mountain, with this typical tiered landscape, is famed for its unique frontier scenery.
18:00-19:30 See beautiful sunset in Laohuzui(the Tiger Mouth) scenic area.The third dimension and the calorific hierarchy of Laohuzui is the most intense. The colors are as though they have been painted by an artist, while the terraced slopes are more rugged. The lowest section of the terrace is the most attractive and the outline resembles a galloping horse.
20:00-20:40 Dinner time. Free at leisure after dinner.

Day 4 Yuanyang

Sightseeing and Activities:Yuanyang Rice Terrace Field
Accommodation: Yuanyang
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Duoyishu Rice Terraces in Yuanyang County,Honghe-20

05:30-9:30 Sunrise in Duoyishu scenic area.This is the most beautiful natural and cultural landscape of Yuanyang Terraces, and it is the best place to go if you wish to photograph the sunrise. The terraces in this scenic area, including Duoyishu, Aichun, and Dawazhe, are more than 1647.4 acres in total. Sunrise provides the most beautiful sight in Duoyishu as the morning there highlights the superlative dynamic landscape. As a kind suggestion, we recommend that you can pay special attention to the changing color of the water during the early morning sunrise. As the reflections and shadows are constantly changing, the visual impact can be overwhelming. 
10:00-12:00 School exchange.Communication & interaction with local middle school student.
12:00-13:00 Lunch time(Chinese pupils and the foreign pupils eating together)
13:00-18:00 Labor in Hani Terraces.Heading to Qingkou Heritage Village after hostel check-in, experience farm work( Catching fish etc.)
18:00-19:00 Long Street Banquet.As the banquet is held in the center of the main street, it is called the Street Center Banquet. It is also named Long Street Banquet for the tables are laid end to end along the street like a long dragon. The Long Street Banquet is an epitome of the unique culture of Hani people. It displays to the full cultural characteristics of Hani people in holiday foods, customs and rituals, songs and dances, as well as costumes, etc. 
19:30-21:00 Carnival in Hani. Dance and have fun with warmth Hani People

Day 5 Yuanyang

Sightseeing and Activities:Yuanyang Rice Terrace, Pugao Old Village, Mushroom house, Bada & Masu old village
Accommodation: Yuanyang
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Duoyishu Rice Terraces in Yuanyang County,Honghe

7:00-9:00 Sunrise in Pugao Old Village.
After breakfast in hostel, we will walk one minute to Pugao public square to see the amazing terrace sunrise, enjoying the beautiful and authenticity sceneries that surround us without thinking too much of the inevitable future reserved to this region.
9:00-12:00 A. An ethnic mix at the  local Hani market B. Visiting the Original Mushroom house.
A:Arrange to visit the local ethnic market according to local calendar, explore different cultures for clothes & eating habits.
B. Visting the original Mushroom house in Hani village,  catch sight of the inhabitants going back and forth: women carrying heavy baskets loaded with stones for a construction in progress just below, an old man leading a few buffaloes up and down, a bunch of lively and cheerful children acting their stories until called for by a few women.
12:00-13:00 Lunch time.Chinese pupils and the foreign pupils eating together.
14:00-18:00 Foot trail in terrace.Explore the splendid terrace with your own eyes.The rice terraces are spreading on entire sides of the mountains: this is gigantic. It is a true work of art dated back from several centuries – these are the oldest rice fields in China! Thousands of “stairs” decorate the mountains, which are bright green in summer, yellow-green in autumn, and transformed into mirrors reflecting light during wintertime.
19:00-20:00 Sunset in Bada & Masu old village. Have a nice nip after trail, then enjoy the Sunset in Bada & Masu old village.
21:00-22:00 Dinner in hostel. Free at leisure after dinner.

Day 6 Yuanyang-Jianshui

Sightseeing and Activities:Jianshui Old town, Tuanshan Village
Accommodation: Jianshui
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

07:00-08:00 Breakfast at hostel.
08:00-12:30 Head to Jianshui Old townJianshui, an ancient town in Honghe Prefecture of Yunnan Province, is one of the national famous historic and cultural towns of China. With a history of about 1200 years and an abundant distinctive cultural heritage, the Ancient Town enjoys a great reputation as a ‘Museum of Ancient Buildings and Residential Houses’ and attracts a lot of visitors from home and abroad.
12:30-14:00 Local lunch in Jianshui. Classic lunch in Jianshui local style.
14:00-19:00 Take the Yunnan-Vietnam Railway to visit ancient Tuanshan Village.”Tuanshan is the most beautiful village where the architectural style of the 19th century and beyond remains intact and the distinctive way of people’s life is preserved, fully showcasing China’s indigenous cultural characteristics,” said Mr. Stubbs, “We put Tuanshan on our Watch List because we believe it is of world value and is the common heritage of the whole humankind.”
19:00-20:00 Jianshui barbecue. Tasting the delicious local Jianshui food.
20:00 Check in hotel.

Day 7 Jianshui-Kunming

Sightseeing and Activities:Zhilin Temple, Dynamic Yunnan
Accommodation: Kunming
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Zhilin Temple in Jianshui County, Honghe

08:00-08:30 Breakfast in hotel. 
08:30-12:00 Visit to Zhilin Temple. Zhilin Temple in the west of Jianshui Town was built in 1296. With a longer history than the Jianshui Confucius Temple, it is considered the earliest Buddhist Temple in south Yunnan; thus it is rightfully called ”the Earliest Temple in Lin’ an”. There is also a book written in 1450 and entitled An Inscriptional Reconstruction of the Zhilin Temple, depicting the history of how Zen Buddhism spread into Yunnan.
12:00-13:30 Lunch time–Steam Pot Chicken in Jianshui. Steam pot chicken in Jianshui is well-known because of its steaming boiler, especially the pot of purple pottery pot. Usually, the chicken is render palatable by adding condiments various local herbs such as wolfberry, mushrooms, Chinese angelica, and codonopsis. The dish is rich, mellow and nourishing. 
13:30-17:00 Drive back to Kunming.
17:00-19:30 Ancient Yunnan banquet.
20:00-21:30 After dinner, you will transfer to enjoy the evening show “Dynamic Yunnan” (Regular seat ) , is a magnificent and original song and dance performance organized by the famous Chinese dancer, Ms. Yang Liping. In the show, different types of dances are performed to show the features of various minority tribes in Yunnan province. With the colorful light brightening on the stage, the grand show is both vivid and gorgeous, coordinating with the dancers’ energetically performing their traditional types of dances.
21:30-22:00 After the show,drive back to hotel. A conclusion for this Yunnan trip and taste the classic Yunnan special cuisine.

Day 8 Kunming Departure

Sightseeing and Activities:Kunming Departure
Accommodation:
Meals: Breakfast

Breakfast at hotel, then explore this city at leisure until being transferred to the airport for your departure flight.

Recommended Hotels

City 5 Star 4 Star 3 Star Hostel
Kunming Crown Plaza Kunming City Centre Wenhui Hotel Baiyun Hotel T&T Story Hotel
Luxi / Hongmu Hotel Huangchao Hotel /
Yuanyang Duoyishu Landscape Hotel Yunti Hotel(Shengcun Village) Yunti Hotel(Xinjie Town) Guanjing Tiantang Hostel
Jianshui Linan Hotel Zhu Family Garden Hotel Jianshui Hotel Huiyuanlou Guesthouse

Service Included:

1.Admission fees for all of the sightseeing spots listed in the itinerary;
2.Meals as listed in the itinerary;
3.Accommodation with breakfast as listed in the itinerary;
4.Private English-speaking tour guide and vehicle for transfers & sightseeing;
5.Service charge & government taxes;
6. Luggage transfers between airports and hotels;
7. Two bottles ofmineral watereach day;
8.Travel Agency’s Responsibility Insurance;

Service Excluded:

1.Any arrival and departure international airfares or train tickets;
2.Chinese visa fees;
3.Excess baggage charged by Airlines;
4.Single room supplement;
5.Tips to guides and drivers;
6.Personal expenses and gratuities to service staff;
7.Personal travel accident insurance;
8.All optional programs.