China's Hidden Highlights: Chengdu to Kunming (Self-Launched)

Fly or train into Chengdu and check into a hostel near Chunxi Road or the Tianfu Square area (dorms £10-14, private rooms £28-40). Set up Alipay or WeChat Pay before you arrive — almost nothing in China takes cash-free foreign cards reliably. In the afternoon walk to People's Park (free), a proper slice of Chengdu life with tea houses, mahjong players and the famous Heming Teahouse, then stroll through Tianfu Square to see the giant Mao statue. Dinner: cheap and excellent Sichuan noodles or mapo tofu at a local spot on Kuanzhai Alley's edges, £5-8.

🚌Airport shuttle bus (£2) or metro from Chengdu airport (£1); walking in the centre

🛏Hostel dorm or budget hotel near Tianfu Square, £10-14

• →People's Park tea house
• →Tianfu Square
• →Kuanzhai Alley evening wander

Get to the Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding as doors open (~7:30am) — pandas are active in the morning and comatose by 11. Enter via the official WeChat mini-program ticket (around £6-7, half the price of a GetYourGuide add-on) and take a taxi or DiDi from the centre (~£6-8). Back in town, squeeze in Wenshu Monastery (free) if time allows. In the afternoon take a budget domestic flight to Lijiang (typically £60-100 booked 3-6 weeks ahead); the alternative is a 10-hour high-speed train via Kunming (~£75) which doesn't fit this itinerary. Overnight in Lijiang Old Town or just outside it — guesthouses £14-22, dorms £8-12.

🚌DiDi/taxi to panda base ~£7; afternoon flight Chengdu–Lijiang ~£60-100

🛏Lijiang Old Town guesthouse, £14-22

• →Giant Panda Breeding Base (early entry)
• →Wenshu Monastery
• →Evening wander of Lijiang Old Town

Start with the classic Lijiang highlights on foot: the Giant Water Wheel, the old town lanes, Lion Hill (Wangu Tower, ~£5) for a rooftop view of the tiled roofs, and Mufu Museum (~£5) if you want the Naxi history. In the afternoon walk or take a 15-minute taxi north to Black Dragon Pool Park (~£6 entry) for the postcard view of the marble bridge with Jade Dragon Snow Mountain behind it — best in the late afternoon when the mountain clears. Free evening for Naxi dishes like baba flatbread and yak hotpot, £6-9.

🚌Walking in the old town; taxi to Black Dragon Pool ~£2

🛏Lijiang Old Town guesthouse, £14-22

• →Lijiang Old Town walking highlights
• →Lion Hill & Wangu Tower
• →Black Dragon Pool Park
• →Mufu Museum (optional)

Shaxi isn't on the train map, but it's easy independently: direct local buses run from Lijiang's long-distance station to Shaxi in around 2.5-3 hours (£5-8), otherwise take a bus to Jianchuan and change. Check in to a small courtyard guesthouse in the old town (£12-18). Spend the afternoon doing the walking circuit yourself: Sideng Old Market Square, the Old Theatre stage, the Ming-era Yujin Bridge over the Heihui River, and the Xingjiao Temple (~£3). Shaxi's Fridays (market day) are worth planning around. Ouyang Courtyard is a small optional ticket (~£3). Quiet dinner in the square, £5-7.

🚌Local bus Lijiang–Shaxi (or via Jianchuan), £5-8

🛏Shaxi old town courtyard guesthouse, £12-18

• →Old Market Square & Old Theatre
• →Yujin Bridge
• →Xingjiao Temple
• →Ouyang Courtyard (optional)

Take a morning bus from Shaxi to Jianchuan or Xiaguan, then a local bus toward Xizhou (~2-3 hours total, £6-9). Spend a couple of hours in Xizhou Old Town, the best-preserved Bai architecture on the lake — the Yan family courtyards (~£4), the painted eaves, and a Xizhou baba bread straight off the griddle (£1). Continue by bus or shared taxi to Dali Old Town (~45 mins, £1-2). Check into a guesthouse inside or just outside the old town walls (£14-22). Evening orientation walk: the South Gate, Foreigner Street, the lantern-lit main lanes, and a group-style dinner at a local Bai restaurant, £6-8.

🚌Local buses Shaxi–Xizhou–Dali, £7-11 total

🛏Dali Old Town guesthouse, £14-22

• →Xizhou Old Town & Yan Family Courtyard
• →Dali Old Town evening walk

Build your own day. Easiest: hire a bike or e-bike and ride the western shore of Erhai Lake between Dali and Xizhou (£5-8 for the day, cycle path most of the way). Cangshan Mountain via the cable car is roughly £15-20 return; hikers can do a section of the Jade Belt Path on the mountain's flank instead. Three Pagodas at Chongsheng Temple is ~£14 entry — skip the temple complex and photograph them from outside for free if budget matters. In the afternoon do a Bai tie-dye workshop in Zhoucheng village (~£8-12 including a scarf to take home). Dinner and a bar in the old town, £7-10.

🚌Bike/e-bike hire ~£6; local bus to Zhoucheng £1; cable car ~£17

🛏Dali Old Town guesthouse, £14-22

• →Erhai Lake cycling
• →Cangshan cable car or Jade Belt Trail hike
• →Three Pagodas (optional)
• →Bai tie-dye workshop

Take the morning high-speed train from Dali to Kunming (roughly 2-2.5 hours, £18-25 second class; book on the 12306 app or Trip.com a few days ahead — passport required). Drop bags at a hostel near Green Lake or the city centre (£12-18 dorm, £25-35 private). Lunch on Kunming's signature crossing-the-bridge rice noodles (£3-5). Afternoon: Dounan Flower Market — the biggest flower auction market in Asia and a genuine spectacle, cheap taxi or metro out (£2-3) — then back to Green Lake (Cuihu) Park for red-billed gulls in winter, locals dancing and playing erhu, and a first look at Kunming's karst-and-lake setting. Final night dinner, £6-9.

🚌High-speed train Dali–Kunming ~£20; metro/taxi in the city £2-4

🛏Kunming hostel or budget hotel, £12-25

• →Dounan Flower Market
• →Green Lake (Cuihu) Park
• →Crossing-the-bridge rice noodles

Check out and make your way to Kunming Changshui airport by metro line 6 (~£1-2) or taxi (~£10). If your flight is late, add a morning at the Yunnan Provincial Museum (free) or a walk along the Green Lake neighbourhood cafes. Remember: any power bank without the CCC certification mark will be confiscated at Chinese airport security.

🚌Metro line 6 to airport ~£2

🛏—

• →Optional morning at Yunnan Provincial Museum