This trip route connects Kunming and Vietnam from north to south. It will satisfy your yearning for the South Asian tropical amorous experience, with places full of feeling, of ethnic and charming natural sceneries, and you can also experience the unique arts and crafts.
Second Part:
Section V: Gejiu – Yuanyang
Yuanyang
About 53 km, and around 40 minutes from Gejiu to Yuanyang
The perfect lines and colourful textures of Yuanyang Terraces depend on the ingenious fusion of sunlight and sky, together with the smart people living on this land.
Yuanyang Terraces show the ever-changing, intoxicating beauty in different times and seasons, making people infatuated with it.
It spreads in a slight dropping variance along the valley, as the thousands of terrace stairs pass down for hundreds of thousands of miles.
Generally, people start to plant rice seedlings in May, harvest in September and irrigate in December. So, you'd better visit Yuanyang Terraces between October and March, and around the Spring Festival will be the best time, when you will have the best possibility of seeing the sea of clouds.
Food recommendation:
Beef: Yuanyang beef, burnt tofu, field-snail: the meat of field-snail is fragrant and sweet, and the sour bamboo cooked fish
Address: South hillside of Mt. Ailao, Yuanyang County, Honghe Hani and Yi Autonomous Prefecture, Yunnan
1. Kunming Southern Bus Terminal Station: Kunming-Yuanyang shuttle bus, 139 Yuan/person, 5-6 hours; Vans are available from Xinjie Town to the gate of the scenic spot, and from the gate to each scenic spot, fares are between 5 to 10 Yuan
2. Or you can go from Kunming to Jianshui or Gejiu, and then transfer to Yuanyang.
Charter: about 300 Yuan to charter a car for one-day visit of the terraces, about 100 Yuan to Tiger Mouth, and about 150-200 Yuan/half-day to see sunrise at Duoyishu.
Ticket: 100 Yuan/ person (half-price discount is often offered: 50 Yuan/person)
Section VI: Yuanyang - Jianshui
Jianshui
Around two hours from Yuanyang to Jianshui (about 105 km). Jianshui Ancient City is called Lin'an in the ancient days and was built in the Tang Dynasty, thus having a long history of more than 1200 years.
There are over 50 well-preserved, exquisite ancient architectures in the city, a "museum of ancient buildings" and a "residence museum".
The ancient city is not big, basically consists of several streets centering on Lin'an Road. The most famous places in the ancient city are the Confucian Temple and the Zhu's Family Garden. Besides, a lot of old buildings are worth a visit.
Address: Lin'an Town, Jianshui County, Honghe Hani and Yi Autonomous Prefecture, Yunnan
Train: 4 daily trips from Kunming to Mengzi will pass Jianshui, with a travel time over 3 hours. Out of the railway station, you can take Bus 919 for the journey between the railway station and the east gate of the ancient city.
Car: 1. Take a coach bus at the Long-Distance Coach Bus Station close to Kunming Railway Station, the coach bus to Shiping will pass Jianshui, with a travel time around 4 hours. Take the shuttle bus to Jianshui at the Kunming Nanyao Bus Station, the fare is around 80 Yuan/person.
Bus 1, Bus 13, Bus 15 etc. are travelling between the ancient city (east gate or Zhu's Family Garden) and the Jianshui Passenger Station.
Ticket: Free for ancient city. 133 Yuan/person for a package of the Confucian Temple and the Zhu's Family Garden and the Swallow Cave, 60 Yuan/person for the Confucian Temple, 50 Yuan/person for the Zhu's Family Garden, and 80 Yuan/person for the Swallow Cave.
Zhu's Family Garden
Zhu's Family Garden, located at Hanlin Street, Jianshui County, is the family house and ancestral hall built by Zhu Weiqin brothers in the late Qing Dynasty. With the ancestral hall, living rooms, botanical garden as one gorgeous building, it gets a reputation of "Grand View Garden in South Yunnan".
The main body consists of two parts, the residential area and the ancestral temple with a layout of "three vertical and four horizontal" lines, which is a typical compound townhouse residence in Jianshui. The rich and varied space landscape has countless changes, just like a "maze".
Address: No. 16, Hanlin Street, Honghe Hani and Yi Autonomous Prefecture, Yunnan (you can walk there if you are in the ancient city)
Ticket: 133 Yuan/person for a package of the Confucian Temple and the Zhu's Family Garden and the Swallow Cave, 60 Yuan/person for the Zhu's Family
Jianshui Confucian Temple
Jianshui Confucian Temple, built in the Yuan Dynasty, has a history of over 600 years. Its current scale and building level are well preserved, ranking as the No. 3 Confucian Temple, just after the Qufu Confucian Temple in Shandong and the Beijing Confucian Temple.
The most attractive place in the Confucian Temple is undoubtedly the Dacheng Hall, which is the main part of the Confucian Temple, consisting of five halls and a central hall with dragon throne in it to worship the statue of Confucius.
Address: No. 268, Lin'an Road, Honghe Hani and Yi Autonomous Prefecture, Yunnan (you can walk there if you are in the ancient city)
Ticket: 133 Yuan/person for a package of the Confucian Temple and the Zhu's Family Garden and the Swallow Cave, 60 Yuan/person for the Confucian Temple
Tuanshan Village
Tuanshan Village was once the inhabited area for Yi people. All buildings in the village sit west, towards the east, with grey tile roofing, lime walls and blue bricks. Each house centres around a courtyard, there are doors often at one side of the main buildings and the route to the courtyard passes through various corridors.
There are 21 well-preserved Han nationality, traditional dwellings and ancient buildings in Tuanshan Village. They are all numbered and have become the common homeland for countless families.
Address: (13 km from west Jianshui County) Tuanshan Village, Xizhuang Town, Jianshui County, Honghe Hani and Yi Autonomous Prefecture, Yunnan
1. Yellow vans directly to Tuanshan Village are available at the Village Passenger Station out of the north gate of Jianshui County, and fares are around 5 Yuan, with a travel time of about 30 minutes. Vans back to Jianshui can be found around the entrance of the east gate of Tuanshan Village.
2. Around 50 Yuan for a taxi from Jianshui County to Tuanshan Village.
Tickets: 50 Yuan/person