ROUTE MAP:

INTRO:

Throughout the years, China has attracted many different kinds of travelers, from seasoned mountaineers to cunning businessmen. But still, many of them consider China to be a massive challenge. Because of language barriers and cultural differences, travelers in China often find themselves sidelined and miles away from the local ongoings.

ZOUBA-tours aspire to provide the perfect introduction to China. Organizing adventurous lowbudget tours in remote hidden valleys in the border areas on the verges of sub-tropical South-East asia, it allows the more adventurous China travelers to dive into China right from the start.

Our tours will be focussed on cultural activities that wouldn't have been possible on your own. We won't visit any major tourist attractions but instead go around them and see the real thing. During the 10 days we'll walk, talk, eat and bath with local people. We'll have photography tours, amazing culinary experiences and deep dives into local history and culture. The multifacetedness of our trips will help you map out the realities behind China's incredible diversity.

Comprehensive introduction to the cultures of the different ethnic minorities of Southern Yunnan.
Introduction to China's ancient tea culture in one of the world's most influential tea regions.
Exploring truly stunning scenery in the most remote and exotic of places in China.
Unique social activities in remote villages.
Discover Yunnan's fantastic natural diversity.
Introduction to China's current economical and social developments.
A sneak peek into China's luxurious nouveaux riches hangouts of weekend entertainment.
A comprehensive guide into the diverse local cuisine.

Price for 10 days/9 nights all-inclusive experience travel: $650. Against this low-budget price, the experiences will be invaluable.

The food standard will be extremely high over the whole trip. Western breakfasts won't be an option, but your tour organizer is an endurance athlete and is an expert in ordering the most nutricious and delicious Chinese food. Like bottled drinking water, different kinds of fresh fruit and other natural snacks will be available in the car throughout the trip. If you are afraid to put on weight, morning runs through the Chinese countryside are optional.

In a few places our accomodation will be the main attraction. The first night we'll start with luxury in a 4-star hotel with attatched spa-complex. In the cities we'll enjoy comfortable and high standard hotel rooms. As we will also travel to very remote areas, those high standard rooms won't always be available. Your organizer will always guarantee the best option. Travelers will in any case have clean freshly smelling sheets and proper bathrooms. The rooms have private bathrooms and will be shared by the travelers in pairs. For couples, double beds are arranged if available. If you're a light sleeper, consider taking earplugs to China.

The highest standard

The lowest standard

The transportation will be arranged with vans that live up to proper safety standards. The driver for ZOUBA-trips is a responsible and experienced professional. Because we travel to remote places, we have to take some bad and curvy roads. The kilometers are spread out as evenly as possible and we will never be in the car for hours on end.

The car we use for bigger group size(7/8pax)

The car we use for small group size(5/6pax)

Day 1 - Thursday 3 November
Destination: Mile (150km, good, straight roads, partly highway)
Activities: We'll meet up in Kunming and load the van. We'll have lunch in a colorful village on the way to Mile and meet some locals during a tour around the agricultural community. We'll arrive in Mile in the late afternoon and check into a beautiful hotsprings resort. In the evening we'll enjoy a memorable dinner in a high-class restaurant promoting the locally brewed red wine. After dinner, travelers will be free to relax and socialize in and around the natural baths situated in a park outside the hotel.
Meals: Lunch & Dinner
Overnight: 4-star hotel with hotsprings resort.

one of the natureal pools in Mile

Day 2 - Friday 4 November
Destination: Puzhehei (150 kilometres, good, straight roads)
Activities: After spending some more time swimming and relaxing in the hotsprings facilities we'll pack up at the end of the morning and drive up to a local wineyard to have lunch. After this, we'll drive to Puzhehei, a village surrounded by amazing natural beauty. We check into a basic hotel rooms and climb a nearby hill to soak up the stunning scenery. Afterwards we'll have beef hot-pot in a cozy village environment.
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner
Overnight: Basic hotel

Hot-pot rastaurant

Puzhehei Scenery

Day 3 - Saturday 5 November
Destination: Jianshui (250 kilometres, good, mostly straight roads, partly highway)
Activities: We'll get up early to enjoy a boattrip through the Puzhehei area. When we are dry, we'll have a simple lunch in the village and drive to Jianshui. After dinner we'll enjoy a stroll through the cosy streets of the old town in Jianshui and participate in some traditional entertainment.
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner
Overnight: Guesthouse

Around the tofu table, a tipical activity in Jianshui

Day 4 - Sunday 6 November
Destination: Nansha (130 km, reasonable, curvy roads)
Activities: In the morning we'll pay a visit to Tuanshan village. Here, we'll take a deeper look at Chinese history and enjoy a tour through this pittoresque community. After lunch in a local family's home, we'll head to Nansha. This town will be much lower than all the other places we visited so far, so we'll enjoy a smooth subtropical climate with laid-back locals and great food. We'll take a cold beer with our dinner and try to get a glimpse of local nightlife.
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner
Overnight: Basic hotel

Day 5 - Monday 7 November
Destination: Lüchun (150 km, reasonable, curvy roads)
Activities: We head off early to catch a glimpse of some beautiful mountain landscapes up the hills. We'll see our first rice terraces and have lunch with fresh rice from those terraces. After a short photography tour, we'll make our way to Lüchun and check into a comfortable hotel with a gorgeous view. We'll enjoy a fragrant lamb hot-pot. After dinner, we'll stroll through town and investigate the local evening pastimes.
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner
Accomodation: Comfortable hotel

Yuanyang rice terraces

Day 6 - Tuesday 8 November
Destination: Lüchun (no motorized transportation)
Activities: We'll visit the local Hani museum and a visit to a workshop for making traditional clothing. We'll have lunch at the most famous tofu-table in town. We'll visit an interesting market with all kinds of local specialties. As Lüchun is one of the most densely forested counties of Yunnan, it's certainly the perfect place to stock up on natural products like honey or herbs. At night we'll join some knowledgable locals for dinner and hear some interesting folk tales.
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner
Accomodation: Comfortable hotel

Minority women in Luchun

Day 7 - Wednesday 9 November
Destination: Pinghe (150km, reasonable, twisting roads)
Activities: In the early morning we hit the road to Lüchun county's biggest natural reserve. We'll spend the morning here walking a beautiful forest path. We'll visit an impressive waterfall and there's an optional swim in a crystal clear lake with sweet tasting drinkable water. We'll head off to enjoy a whole-day stunning photography tour on our way to Pinghe. Pinghe will be the first real small settlement to spend the night.
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner
Accomodation: Very basic hotel

Preview of our photo tour

Day 8 - Thursday 10 November
Destination: Erfu (100 km, cobblestones, twisting roads)
Activities: For breakfast, we visit a traditional Yao village and take a look in a few families' homes. The village chief will be available to tell us something about Yao culture and the ways of the village. After this, we'll resume our stunning photography tour through the misty, heavily forested if not terraced mountain landscapes. For lunch, we stop in a small village where one of the local farmers will take us on a few hours hike around the natural scenery of the village and tell us about his livelihood. We'll end the cobblestone-drive in a tiny village facing a beautiful valley looking out over Vietnam. We'll have dinner of local organic produce in a local families home.
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner
Accomodation: Very basic dormitory-style guesthouse

a home visit

Day 9 - Friday 11 November
Destination: Jinghong (60km cobblestone/dirt road, 150km reasonable, curvy road, 100km highway)
Activities: We'll check out the amazing sunrise view in Erpu, with amazing cloudseas stretching out over Vietnamese mountain peaks. After a quick and basic breakfast, we'll hit the road and have lunch with friendly locals who run rubber plantations. The second stretch of road is the longest so far and we'll make frequent stops to wonder around a little and admire the scenery or local ongoings. We'll arrive in Jinghong just in time to enjoy a sunset over the Mekong river and enjoy an amazing dinner of Dai cuisine. We'll immerse in the laidback local styles and barbeque untill late night.
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner
Accomodation: Comfortable hotel

One of the favorite BBQ spots

Day 10 - Saturday 12 November
Destination: n.a.
Activities: Despite the late barbeque the night before, we'll get up early for the last time to do a very special day trip from Jinghong. Our main aim will be mapping out the local minority groups and experiencing tea culture. Guided by the expertise of some Xishuangbanna locals, we'll dive deep into the area's forested hills in search for ancient tea trees. We'll end the trip by sipping tea and hearing more about the history and immense significance of the local tea culture.
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner.
Accomodation: After dinner, the group will split up or keep on traveling together on their own expenses. A second night in the same hotel can be arranged for a cheap price. There is an option to shuttle back to Kunming the next day for a reasonable shared kilometer fee.

TRAVEL INFO:
Your ZOUBA-touroperator will provide a lifelong travel info service for the southern Yunnan area in connection with other countries in South East Asia. Any VISA-issues, boat-tickets, bus arrangements, any other logistic inquiries can be made constantly over e-mail.

The latest tour must join before 1st of November 2011!!!
If you got interested or want to join this tour , please contact with Frank by message form below