Programme: Kunming – Dali – Shaxi – Tiger Leaping Gorge – Chengdu – Emei Shan – Dujiangyan – Stone Forest – Xizhou – Lijiang – Shangri-La – Leshan – Shangli
Hello David,
We’re back in Beijing, and the holidays are over. Our trip went very well, even though the weather didn’t always cooperate, especially in Dali and Lijiang. Thank you for planning our tour so well. It was admittedly a bit fast-paced (Dali, Shangri-La and Lijiang in particular deserved more time), but we knew that.
Here are our comments on the trip:
Hotels
We really enjoyed the charming hotels and inns, with a special mention for the Twelve Manor in Yuanyang (a superb location in the rice terraces), the Linden Centre in Dali, the Bivou in Lijiang and the Timeless Inn in Shangri-La (a superb welcome from Rose). The Jielu Inn in Tuanshan was also very good, but no drinks were served at dinner (!), and when I asked for water, I was the only one who got a glass (boiling hot!).
The hotels in Kunming and Chengdu were quite good, but perhaps a little too Chinese in style for us.
The hotel in Emei Shan was average. Our room was in a building far from the hot springs (which were very pleasant, though), the room smelled a little musty (because of the humidity), and the reception staff spoke no English at all. We had the impression they received very few foreigners, if any.
Doing laundry was difficult because of the humid weather. We could only get our clothes washed at the Bivou.
Drivers
First driver, Jason: a very, very warm welcome. Kind and helpful, he made an effort to speak Chinese slowly and didn’t hesitate to use translation apps. He made an effort to chat with us and explain things. A recent and very comfortable vehicle.
Second driver, Mr He: a good welcome. Kind and helpful, though he spoke Chinese a little fast and with an accent. He made an effort to chat with us. A comfortable but older vehicle.
Third driver, Wang (?): a good welcome, kind. A comfortable but older vehicle.
French-speaking contacts
Lili: very good contact, available and responsive.
Nicolas: very good contact, available and responsive. He called every day to keep us updated on changes to the programme given the situation in Sichuan (floods, closed sites, etc.). In the end, we were able to do everything, so it was perfect!
All in all, we’re delighted with our stay. We’d like to return to northern Yunnan at a better time of year for the weather (autumn or winter), especially Dali, Shangri-La and Lijiang, to do more hiking in the mountains. But with children it’s not always easy, and there are other regions of China to discover too!
Thanks again for everything. Have a good day,
Kind regards,
Marie-France