Set amid breathtaking scenery on the shores of shimmering Erhai Lake, Dali is the China of the imagination – where pagoda towers nose above skylines of clay-tile roofs, and ancient cobbled streets are framed by willow trees and a serene bac…

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Although of largely modern appearance, Yunnan’s relaxed capital is regarded by many travellers as among China’s most pleasant cities. Orderly and clean, it boasts a particularly mild, dry climate (whence its name, which translates as ‘City…

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The vision of the Jade Dragon Mountain’s eternal snowfields shining above the elegantly upcurved, pantiled rooftops of Lijiang is one of the most evocative in China. An important way stage on the old Tea Horse Road, the town emerged a thous…

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In the far north of Yunnan, the town of Shangri-La (or ‘Zhongdian’ as it used to be known) occupies a high, mountainous plateau on the fringes of Tibet. Snow-encrusted peaks, exotic lamaseries and grasslands dotted with herds of grazing yak…

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A recommended day trip from Kunming is the 74-mile (120-km) drive to the Shilin Stone Forest, where limestone laid down some 270 million years ago has been eroded into the shapes of petrified trees and other phantasmagorical forms. One of t…

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A 90-minute drive along the new highway from Dali and Lijiang, the Shaxi Valley lies on the route of the old Tea Horse Road connecting Yunnan with Tibet and Myanmar. Screened by forested mountain ridges, the vale retains some of the best pr…

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For over a thousand years, from the time of the Tang dynasty in the 7th century AD until the advent of the diesel engine in the 20th, a thriving trade route crossed the mountains and gorges of Yunnan. Stretching for around 1,400 miles, it f…

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An unmissable highlight of China’s southwest for any keen hiker is the Tiger Leaping Gorge, or ‘Hutiao Xia’ in Mandarin. The canyon ranks among the deepest in the world, with walls rearing 3,720m (12,434ft) from the frothing, grey-brown wat…

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