China - Yunnnan

[paapoopa]

that sounds pretty scary with the bus crashing into the cliff to slow down.
I guess i will drop the idea of going to deqin than.

so during the furthest north I can go would be lijiang i suppose? will the road condition be that scary from lijiang to zhongdian?

The locals generally do not travel in winter. All the main passes are usually snowed out. and even in the best of times, the roads can be 'exciting'. I have been on a minibus that had to crash into the cliff face repeatedly to slow down because the road was iced over and of coruse they dont have chains or spikes or salt, the driver could not brake and had to hug the side in order to not go over the cliff. scary stuff.

The Diqing municipality airport is actually located at Shangri La. which is 4 hours from lijiang by bus. and another 2.5-4 hours to the town. Theres no airport.
Deqin itself is a very small town with not much happening. So everyone justs camps and wakes up early to catch the sunrise. then heading off to the glacier.

 

[your18]

I wish you luck I once stayed there for 6 days just to get one clear morning shot with all peaks visible. It happened for about 2 minutes on the 6th day unfortunately, it was the fiery orange phase... I would have preferred it at the cool blue phase. Basically at the right times of the year, The colour shift can be breathtakingly spectacular. from a dark grey, to a cool blue to a light purple to yellow to a firey orangy red.

Have Pmed you. I can give you some contacts.

However, just know that this is China, that means everything can change. As far as im concerned,it is one of the most amazing sunrises in the world. However if THAT is the main reason for the trip, you may be disappointed, cloud cover, landslides, icy roads, rain, hail, broken down vehicles. . it can all happen.

Feel free to ask if you have any more questions.

yeah, i am prepared for all of these, but unless you really encountered it, den you will only know how you are gonna react.
its part of travel i guess, not only just reaching destination but enjoying along the way.
always learning.

i did not receive your pm.

 

[KNIGHT ONG]

I an planning to bring my mother to Yunnan in mid October this year. But I only have 7 days. Can someone recommend me the places I should cover? Want to do Shangrila, Dali and Lijiang( if it is not impossible with the time constraint). Is weather gonna be unbearable? Would appreciate some help

7 days maybe too tight to cover 3 places at one go, Shangrila is going to be very cold and it is entering winter periods.

Suggest you take mid-night plane and reach kunming in early morning, then transit to Lijiang and reach around noon time. From Lijiang travel down to Dali by dinner time and stay there maybe for 2 nights to sight seeing around. After Dali travel up to Lijiang about 6-7 hours, you can rest at DaoYan old city or the ShuHe old city. Just rest and relax ..

 

[askaboutlife]

i just returned from Yunnan last month... backpacked for two weeks there... visited Kunming, Dali, Lijiang, Zhong Dian, De Qin and the villages at the foot of Mei Li Xue Shan.

of the 5 days I was in Meil Li Xue Shan (Yu Beng and Fei Lai Si), I got 4 blue-sky days and got to see Ri Zhao Jin Shan (Rising Sun Shining on the Golden Peaks) for 3 days... simply awesome... at night, the whole sky was filled with stars... i was there during mid-autumn and the full moon was beautiful in the backdrop of a starry sky! =)

as mentioned, the road from Shangrila to Deqin was horrendous, but it made for a very interesting and definitely unique journey, all 10 hours of it... the bus will go up Bai Ma Snow Mountain enroute... you will get to see beautiful gorges and a late afternoon view of the shiny Kawagebo..

I highly recommend the full day hiking trip along Lan Cang Jiang from Yu Beng village to Ni Nong village then to Xi Dang village... this hiking route is not mentioned in most travel guide books... the trekking trail is very primitive and that's what the local Tibetans used for moving around Mei Li Xue Shan and transporting goods on mules' back... at some parts, the trail is less than a meter wide, with the cliff dropping sharply just centimeters away from your right foot... Lan Cang Jiang is largely undeveloped and more pristine than say, Tiger Leaping Gorge, which is already quite developed as a tourist spot...

here's my post with more details of my stay in Mei Li Xue Shan...
http://www.clubsnap.com/forums/showpost.php?p=6574974&postcount=10

 

[btrenkel]

that sounds pretty scary with the bus crashing into the cliff to slow down.
I guess i will drop the idea of going to deqin than.

so during the furthest north I can go would be lijiang i suppose? will the road condition be that scary from lijiang to zhongdian?

No. It's a brand new high way. Very well build pretty much all the way. Went there last autumn with the whole family and had my best China vacation.

 

[paapoopa]

No. It's a brand new high way. Very well build pretty much all the way. Went there last autumn with the whole family and had my best China vacation.

oh, cool, thanks for the info....
i hope i will enjoy as much there during this winter.