Car Rental in Yunnan: 4WD or “bread van”?

Daily rental cost of a 4WD is around 500 rmb, while a 7-seater mini van (aka “bread van”, mianbaoche, 麵包車) is around 400 rmb. Please don’t mind paying that extra 100 rmb, and go for a 4WD. Not only it gives a more comfortable ride, but also much safer. Unless traveling alone, the [...]

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Coming Soon: Nicer, Wider Road to Lugu Lake and Meili Snow Mountain

Ok, for those of you who have patience or don’t have Yunnan in your priority list, it may be a good idea to wait for another year or two. Apparently, the Yunnan local government is in the process of developing its tourism industry. When we were on our way to Lugu Lake (瀘沽湖) [...]

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Yunnan Road Trip: Weather is Crucial

Try to avoid traveling on the road on rainy or snowy days, especially if you are going to / from the mountain areas. Most of these areas have not yet been fully developed and their very narrow, winding roads become especially dangerous when it’s raining or snowing.
In fact, there are many fatal car accidents [...]

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Yunnan Driver Recommendation

It is very important to get a good driver. Yik and I were just very lucky that we met XiaoWu (小武) and XiaoMo (小莫) and had them to refer us to a responsible, friendly Tibetan driver – Zhaxipeichu (扎西培楚) . Even on the bumpy winding roads in the mountain, Zhaxi drove quite fast, yet [...]

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Transportation in Yunnan: Same Price, Different Quality

Mini-bus to Lugu Lake from Lijiang costs 70 rmb, while the return ride costs only 50 rmb. These are the market prices. So, unless there is a special discount due to a particular situation, everyone pays the same prices. But while everyone pays the same, not everyone gets the same. With [...]

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Lugu Lake Guesthouse: Luguoyizhan (路過憶棧)

When we were in Lugu Lake (瀘沽湖), we didn’t stay in the very-touristy Lashui (落水), but in Lige (里格). Lige has only been redeveloped since the end of 2005, hence, all of the guesthouses there are very new.
All are newly built guesthouses. Because the government wants to keep the Mosuo (摩梭族) culture alive, it [...]

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The Vanishing Mingyong Glacier – Blame It on Global Warming

Due to the time we had, we chose the four-hour Mingyong Glacier (明永冰川) trail over the three-day Yubeng (雨崩) hike when we were in the beautiful Meili Snow Mountain (梅里雪山). Even though our Tibetan driver 扎西培楚 told us that the glacier wasn’t beautiful as how it was once known to be and didn’t worth [...]

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The Highlight of My Yunnan Trip

When my friends asked me what the favorite part of my trip is, I bet many of them would expect me to say that it’s the beautiful sunrise (日照金山) of Meili Snow Mountain (梅里雪山). Before the trip, I thought that would be my answer to this question too! But, now, I would say that [...]

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Lijiang Travel Agent Recommendation

I had always wanted to see the famous sunrise (日照金山) of Meili Snow Mountain (梅里雪山) and it was at the top in the to-do list of my Yunnan trip. But because of the heavy snow and rain in Yunnan , the road to the snow mountain was blocked on the first 7 days of [...]

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Lugu Lake (瀘沽湖) and the Mosuo Tribe (摩梭族)

Lugu Lake (瀘沽湖) is situated in the Sichuan-Yunnan provincial border, about 300 kilometers northeast of Lijiang, at the altitude of 2600m. The area is inhabited by the Mosuo tribe (摩梭族), a branch of the Naxi tribe (纳西族). Lugu Lake has the nickname of “Women’s Kingdom” (女兒國) as it is one of the few matriarchies which [...]

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