February 29: Leave LAX for overnight plane ride to Kunming, crossing the
International Date Line.
March 1: Arrival in Kunming
All guests will be picked up at the Kunming airport. We will check you into your 5 star
hotel rooms at the Green Lake Hotel, located in the most elegant section of Kunming
(population: 6 million). You will have time to rest and freshen up before we meet in the
lobby of the hotel at 5 PM. We will stroll along the picturesque Green Lake and have
an elegant meal within walking distance of the Hotel.
March 2: Culinary Institute
After a sumptuous breakfast buffet at
the hotel, we will visit the Culinary
Institute of Yunnan to meet with
professors and students. We will spend
the morning visiting the school and will
have lunch at the Institute. In the
afternoon, we will return to the hotel,
those who wish to go on a walking tour
with Jeanee and Janice to the newly
renovated Bird and Flower Market and
the Yuantong Temple will meet in the lobby. The walk will be at least 1 mile at a
leisurely pace. We will then all meet for dinner at a favorite restaurant serving Jeanee's
favorite - hot pot.
March 3: Arrive at the Centre
After breakfast, we will board our bus for a 4.5 hour drive through Yi tribal villages to
arrive in the beautiful Dali Valley. After checking in at the Linden Centre, we will take
a short walking tour of old Xizhou. Around 5 pm, we will meet to have a wine tasting
on the terrace to try some of the local Yunnan wines and have time to mingle and get to
know one another better. Each day we will describe the types of foods brought to our
table and we will give you a few recipes that you can take home and try yourselves. If
any guests want to participate or observe the preparation and cooking of the food, we
will organize the number of people in the kitchen according to your desires. Dinner will
be later tonight in case anyone wants to attend our weekly "English Corner", where we
teach English to the local children for 1 hour. Everyone who wishes to volunteer to teach
is warmly welcomed. Those who wish to watch or stay at the Centre to relax before
dinner may choose this option.
March 4: Xizhou Village
American and Chinese breakfasts will be served daily in the Linden Centre's main
restaurant. All breakfasts will include Yunnan's indigenous coffees and teas (Brian's
favorite!). A morning lecture/power point presentation will discuss the region's growing
season, the kinds of foods grown in the Dali valley (rice, beans, etc) and the
archaeology of Chinese food which will be followed by a visit to Xizhou's morning
market. Along the way, we will stop in the local rice noodle shop and see how they
make "er kuai" or rice cakes and rice noodles. Jeanee will lead you through the stalls and
introduce the incredible array of produce and foods available for purchase. We will have
lunch at the Centre featuring
rice noodles on the menu. After
lunch and a rest, we will gather
in the dining room to make rose
petal jam a local specialty, which
you will get to take home in a jar
as a special gift.
In the early evening, we will
venture up to the square to see
the famous "Xizhou Baba" or Xizhou Pizza. Here we try salty and sweet pizzas, topped
with savory pork or filled with rose petal jam. We will also make a visit to see the local
village elder, a friend of the Lindens who loves to have foreign visitors come to his
home. He will show us his old art studio and regale us with stories from his past.
March 5: Monday Market
Today we will visit the largest regional market- Shaping.
Before we do, we will stop in the village to watch the
making of ‘ru shan,' a versatile goat cheese that is made in
thin sheets. It is eaten deep fried and garnished
with sugar or diced and placed into tonight's three course tea ceremony. We will tour
the market with local Bai women who will introduce the large variety of foods and
spices. Lunch will be at a Bai home that has been renovated into a restaurant. We all
will have a chance to visit the restaurant's large kitchen and choose any items that look
tempting.
We will return to Xizhou in time to drop in on a local elementary school to meet the
young students. We will even have a chance to teach them English during a short 30
minute class. The traditional three course tea ceremony with a local Xizhou music and
singing troupe will take place after dinner at the Centre. On the way home we visit the
nearby village of Zhoucheng that specializes in textiles dyed in natural indigo and tied
into beautiful patterns of cloth and clothing. This village also has a daily afternoon
market under the shade of a large centuries old tree.
March 6:
Tea Plantation and
Ancient Town of Dali
After breakfast we will drive
12 miles south to the ancient
walled city of Dali to a tea
plantation nestled in the Cang
Mountains to see where they
grow their own teas and
sample this year's tea crop.
Lunch will be eaten on the
mountain in one of their quaint homestyle restaurants. In the afternoon, we will descend
in the old town of Dali. Dali was the capital of the Nanzhao and Dali Kingdoms which
dated from roughly 700-1300 A.D. Marco Polo was sent to Dali by the Mongol
ruler, Kublai Khan, to help negotiate a peace treaty between the Yuan Dynasty and the
local Bai rulers. Dali has wonderful boutique shops, cafes, restaurants and traditional
craftsmen. You will have free time to wander the streets to look in the shops, rest in a
café and people watch or walk on the old wall. We will give you a map.
Our dinner will be held in a traditional Bai style house dedicated to serving only
healthy and tasty vegetarian food. Started by a Taiwanese man, the dishes and
presentation is top notch.
We will have a lecture on the benefits of tofu before sitting down to dinner where you
swear that the "beef" and "pork" is the real thing.
March 7: Lake Erhai
Today we have the opportunity to
see how a Chinese food staple is
made: - TOFU. Before we leave the
Centre, we'll see how one of the
dishes we will have for lunch is
prepared, braised pork with
arrowroot. After this
demonstration, we will have the
chance to visit a home specializing
in making tofu and learn the
endless ways you can eat it. We
will then enjoy lunch at a local
home of one of the Linden
Centre's staff. In the afternoon, we will take horse carts to the shore of Lake Erhai and
head out on the lake with local fishermen and their cormorants. We will watch the
cormorants, all who have their necks slightly tied, as they dive for fish and return to
place them on the boats. Tonight's dinner will be of course, fish! We'll learn the
different ways to prepare fish Chinese style.
March 8: Herbal Remedies and Dali
This morning we will take time to discuss the special way Chinese pay attention to the
hot and cold properties of food. This designation of "yin and yang" to a certain food is
related to the seasons, your age and even gender. We will also introduce several
Chinese herbs and give you samples of herbal tea to take home.
In the afternoon, we'll make a last visit to Dali for any items you
saw the first time around, perhaps you saw a tea or dried fruit
shop or gifts for a loved one. You will have time to get those
things now. We'll return to the Centre for dinner.
March 9: Last Day at the Centre
Late this morning, we'll each have a chance to make our own dish of Gong Bao Chicken
in the kitchen and learn about the different chilies used in cooking spicy food. We'll
each make a small portion to taste each other's flavors and sample them at lunchtime.
After our lunch you will have free time for the rest of the afternoon. Take a bike and
explore one of the villages, rent a horse cart driver to take you to the lake, practice
calligraphy in the library or bask in the sunshine on the rooftop terrace with a good
book. Brian will also take anyone into Xizhou to visit some of the antique dealer's and
their "attic treasures" where we can help negotiate and find you a souvenir. Our last
night's dinner at the Centre will be accompanied with our favorite dishes (along with a
few surprises from Janice!).
March 10: To Lijiang -
World Heritage Village
After an early breakfast, we will travel three hours north to
the World Heritage Site- Lijiang. This charming old city is
nestled in the shadows of the 18,000 foot high Jade
Dragon Snow Mountain. We will stop in the old section of
the city of He Qin to visit a street that sells a motley
assortment of handmade kitchen utensils, antiques and
knick-knacks. This is a city also known for its silver making,
so we will make another stop to see places that are making
pieces right in their homes and shops. We'll take a picnic lunch and stop along the way
to enjoy the cool mountain air and eat. After checking into our Lijiang hotel we will
walk the old village and have a wonderful dinner before retiring for bed.
March 11: Performance at the Jade Mountain and Old Town
After breakfast at the hotel, we will drive to the base of the Jade Dragon Snow
Mountain to watch the "Lijiang Impressions" performance. With a cast of hundreds, the
show is a resplendent homage to the spirit of Jade Dragon Mountain and the Naxi
people. The show, created by three famous Chinese directors, including Zhang Yi Mo,
who brought the world the dynamic 2008 opening Olympics in Beijing, is program is a
true highlight. In the afternoon we will visit a Naxi abode to see them prepare delicious
local treats and spend the rest of the day in the Old Town where we will wander
through Lijiang's numerous lanes to find the market, shops and elegant cafes. For our
last dinner, we'll eat at a famous fish restaurant and supplement our meal with any
dishes the group wishes to choose to eat.
March 12: Leaving Yunnan
On this day, our program ends. After breakfast, all guests will be driven to the Lijiang
airport in time for your connecting flight through Kunming to your origin or next
destination.
Summary
What - 12 day cultural excursion and culinary tour in Yunnan, China.
When - February 29th - March 12, 2012
Cost - $4,995 Includes all domestic travel after arrival in Kunming, all accommodations,
all meals (unless specified), and all activities and cultural services. Single supplement is an
extra $600. Round-trip, international airfare to Kunming from LAX is included. Price
excluding international airfare is $900 less the total program price. Medical evacuation
insurance is provided with airfare. Trip insurance will be offered for purchase separately.
Group Size: This tour group is limited to 16 people to ensure that all participants receive
more personal attention from the staff. Minimum group size is 8 people; we reserve the
right to cancel any tour if the minimum size is not met. All rooms are non-smoking.
Not included: Guests are responsible for obtaining their own Chinese visa, costs related to
alcohol, beverages not included in regular meals, laundry, personal items, souvenirs, and
long distance telephone calls. Airfare to and from LAX, trip interruption and cancellation is
not included but can be purchased separately.
The Lindens have been living in China since 1984. Their twenty-plus
years of contacts will ensure that all participants see and
experience aspects of China unknown to other visitors. For
most of their previous guests, the experiences
throughout these regions of China have been
among the most memorable in their lives. Please come and enjoy an indigenous travel
experience to one of the world's most storied cultures.
How to reserve space for the tour: Fill out and mail (do NOT email) the contract or visit
www.linden-centre.com. Call and/or email us to reserve space and mail your forms and a
check for $500 or cc information. |
