Zou Zhe Qiao Travel: 599 RMB for 6 Days and 5 Nights! What Is This Yunnan Trip Really Like?

📍 Dali · 👁 1 reads · ❤️ 29 likes

A Yunnan trip I had always dreamed of finally became a reality thanks to Zou Zhe Qiao Travel. Before this, even though I desperately wanted to visit Yunnan and take my kids along, I had been scared off by online videos and articles about aggressive locals, rude tour guides who yell at and bully tourists. So I never dared to just go for it. Then I stumbled upon a WeChat public account called “Zou Zhe Qiao Travel” promoting a “Yunnan Time – A 6-Day, 5-Night Lite Luxury Trip to Dali and Lijiang.” Torn between hope and doubt, I took a leap of faith and bought travel vouchers for my family of four.

Even though the itinerary looked great, I was still worried sick: 599 RMB for six days and five nights — would we end up sleeping in some shady inn? Eating at street stalls? Would there be hidden charges? Forced shopping? … My colleagues were even more suspicious, convinced I was either going to get scammed or stuck on a shopping-tour nightmare where the guide would scream at anyone who didn’t buy something. Their warnings made my heart race.

Anyway, I had bought the vouchers half a year earlier, and they were valid for a whole year. I decided this summer break was the time to take the kids, no matter what. But when I tried to book online, all summer dates were already full — spots were only open from September onward. I panicked and immediately contacted customer service. They advised me to first grab any available date and then add a note requesting a change. The rep was super helpful and managed to arrange an early August departure for me! Before I knew it, a travel coordinator was in touch to sort out the details. All I had to do was wait for the big day.

DAY 1 From Furnace to Spring City — Pure Bliss

The kids were flying for the first time, so excited and full of wonder. Outside the window, some clouds looked like rolling snow-capped mountains, others like surging ocean waves, and we imagined ourselves soaring on a giant bird through the blue sky and white clouds. The clouds around us seemed so pure and soft, almost within reach! Below them, green hills and houses on earth were just faint shapes, and I finally understood, for real, what it meant for clouds to “float” in the sky. I could truly watch them drift and curl.

A little over an hour later, the plane touched down at Kunming Changshui Airport. The moment we stepped out, we felt the difference: back home the heat was like a blazing furnace, but here it was Kunming’s spring-like, cool comfort. A staff member from the travel company led us to the reception hall and gave each of us a fresh flower — a warm touch from the “City of Eternal Spring.” Then a charming lady driver whisked us to the Jinyue Hotel in the city and told us we were free to explore on our own for the rest of the day.

It was noon, and if we were at home in the scorching heat, we’d never have gone anywhere — just stayed inside with the air-con. But here, in this glorious summer, we didn’t want to waste a second. We headed straight to the former site of the National Southwest Associated University, one of the places I had most wanted to visit in Kunming. In a time of war and violence, 3,000 teachers and students endured a punishing long march to the southwest, writing a miracle in the history of education and erecting a spiritual monument. Standing beside the old classrooms, gazing at the tombstones of revolutionary heroes, and imagining how the masters and passionate youths of eighty years ago kept the lifeblood of Chinese culture alive here, my reverence for the intellectuals of that era welled up from deep within.

DAY 2 Entering a Land of Ancient Wildness — Naigu Stone Forest

“Naigu” is a word from the Sani language of the Yi people, meaning ancient and black. Our local guide Ashima led us through the stone forest, sometimes plunging into deep, dark stone caves, sometimes squeezing through narrow crevices. This is where scenes from “Journey to the West” — the “Three Strikes on the White Bone Demon” episode — were filmed, and we couldn’t help but picture the monsters that appeared in that story. Then, all of a sudden, the view would open up to broad meadows of grass, wildflowers in full bloom, lifting our hearts. Here, sheer stone cliffs rise from the ground, while vibrant vegetation clings everywhere. Strange pillars and peaks shoot up in shapes that astonish — Liang Shanbo and Zhu Yingtai meeting, a peacock flaunting its feathers, two lions in love. Nature’s masterful craftsmanship is on full display. The rocks have no soil, just countless honeycomb holes, yet the flowers and trees are so tenacious! Look at these little trees fighting for life in the cracks, and wildflowers blooming for no one but themselves!

Aren’t they just incredible?

After Naigu Stone Forest, we headed to our next stop — Dali, passing through the Chuxiong Yi Autonomous Prefecture and stopping at a local restaurant for a wild mushroom hotpot. That’s when I first saw grasshoppers served as a delicacy! I didn’t dare try them, though.

That night we stayed at the Century Star Hotel.

Strolling Through Dali Ancient Town; Embracing Bai Tie-Dye; Gazing at Cangshan and Erhai

“A stream winds around Cangshan, and Cangshan embraces the ancient town.” After a three or four-hour bus ride from Chuxiong, we arrived at Dali Ancient Town. The town is huge, laid out like a chessboard, with shops lining the streets selling all sorts of specialties, snacks, and handicrafts. Old houses are everywhere, courtyards lush with flowers and trees, and little streams flowing along the lanes — as the saying goes, “three households share a well, and each family tends a few pots of flowers.” You’ll find sites like Wenxian Tower, Foreigner Street, and Wuhua Tower.

Yunnan has the largest number of ethnic minority groups in China. The Yi and Bai are the two biggest, and the Bai mainly live in the Dali Bai Autonomous Prefecture, so visiting a Bai home and experiencing their culture is a must. Besides watching the “Three-Course Tea” song and dance performance, we tried our hand at Bai tie-dye. The material is plain white cotton cloth. You design a pattern, then stitch and tightly bind the fabric before soaking it in a dye vat. The dye comes from the indigo plant that grows on Cangshan Mountain. After several dips, the color turns from green to blue, then the cloth is rinsed, set, and dried — and the piece is finished. Look, these are the works made right in front of us by the master artisans (we chose the patterns ourselves), pulled fresh from the big dye vat and given to us for free.

Next, we finally made it to the legendary Erhai Lake. Riding a jeep around the lake felt pretty amazing. Though called a sea, it’s actually a freshwater lake. Cangshan Mountain, half-hidden in mist and clouds, overlooks Erhai’s gentle, peaceful waters. The mountain and lake reflect each other so beautifully that I couldn’t bear the thought of noise disturbing the serenity. Of course, no visit is complete without a photo at the Insta-famous spots here.

That night we checked into the Harbour Hot Spring Hotel in Dali Bai Autonomous Prefecture.

DAY 4 “Encountering” Blue Moon Valley at Jade Dragon Snow Mountain

Today we headed to Lijiang’s Jade Dragon Snow Mountain. Our guide was a rugged Ah Peng of mixed Tibetan and Naxi descent. He was blunt: if we thought we’d see snow on the mountain, or even ski and throw snowballs, we’d be disappointed. Sure enough, it was too warm for snow, and we felt a bit let down. But I have to say, the undulating peaks, shrouded in mist, were mysterious and breathtakingly beautiful! The large-scale live show “Impression Lijiang” and the stunning Blue Moon Valley more than made up for our disappointment. The grandeur of “Impression Lijiang” and the exotic ethnic flavors left a deep, lingering impression.

The water in Blue Moon Valley is a milky blue — like milk mixed with indigo. But scoop up a handful, and you’ll find it’s crystal clear and refreshingly cool! In places, the surface mirrors the green hills, blue sky, and white clouds, so vivid and sharply defined! Upstream there are small waterfalls, and one big one that is instantly recognizable — that scene from the ending credits of every “Journey to the West” episode. It’s like a huge, white, living curtain of water hanging beside a cliff. Standing far below, you can still feel the spray like shattered jade and fine rain. The smaller cascades aren’t as grand, but the water tumbles down level by level, charming in their own way. No words can truly describe what I saw, so I’ll just let the photos speak — but even pictures can’t match the real thing!

DAY 5 Lijiang Old Town — A Romantic’s Solo Adventure

My first impression of Lijiang Old Town was sheer, bustling vibrancy. A sea of people, shoulder to shoulder. Bars are everywhere, and through the glass walls you can glimpse the neon lights, loud music, and energetic dancing inside. Now I understood why they call it “Lijiang for the solo traveler” — if you’re single, maybe you really can stumble into a romance here! Shops crowd every inch, stocked with an overwhelming variety of goods: local specialties like jade, yellow dragon jade, gambling stones, snowflake silver, traditional brown sugar, and flower cakes. We bought some to take home.

Today we took a bus from Lijiang back to Kunming — quite a long journey. At night we checked into the Langwei Hotel, a four-star in Kunming.

DAY 6 Farewell, Yunnan

The last day was spent at a tourist distribution center before the trip wrapped up, and the travel company arranged airport or train station transfers. Looking back, the travel company partnered with Zou Zhe Qiao Travel turned out to be a truly ethical business. On the morning of day two, right when we met the guide, we received thoughtful little gifts the company had prepared for every guest. All the hotels arranged throughout were star-rated and comfortable, and breakfast was included daily. Honestly, for this price, the group tour was great value. Yes, there were a few shopping stops, and the guide did encourage us to shop, but it really was voluntary. Even when some tourists bought nothing, the guide stayed polite — certainly nothing like the nightmarish stories of being cursed at.

Thanks to Zou Zhe Qiao Travel, I got a first taste of Yunnan, though this trip felt like just a dragonfly skimming the surface. Next time, I’ll definitely come back for a deeper journey! Goodbye, mysterious and beautiful land of colorful clouds!