Chuxiong Torch Festival, Dali, Lijiang

I%26#39;m planning to attend the Bai minority tribe%26#39;s Torch festival this August 6. Does anyone know about the festival activities so we know how long to stay (1 or 2 nights)? We%26#39;ve been to Kunming so we%26#39;ll skip the sights. I%26#39;m allowing 1 day for Dali and 1 day for Lijiang before heading back to Shenzhen. Do we need longer stays at either city?

Any suggestions on food, sights %26amp; shows, esp. pertaining to the minority tribes, will be much appreciated. Thanks!

Chuxiong Torch Festival, Dali, Lijiang

At least 2 days for Lijiang, more if you%26#39;re going to visit Tiger Leaping Gorge. Personally I think it would be a shame not to see Tiger Leaping Gorge when you%26#39;re already so close.

Chuxiong Torch Festival, Dali, Lijiang

Thanks for the suggestion. I have a sample itinerary that squeezed Lijiang into 1 day:

- The Jade Dragon Snow Mountain (Is that different from Leaping Tiger Gorge? If not, how long is the car ride each way from LiJiang to Leaping Tiger Gorge?)

- Ganhaizi, Baishui River.

-Murals at Baisha village

-Yuquan Park

-Lijiang Ancient Town (How much time to spend here?)

Should I drop some of the ';attractions'; from the list and spend more time on other things??

That%26#39;s impossible. I think those would work for at least 2-3 days.

Baisha is at least half a day.

Yulong (Jade Dragon) snow mountain would be more than half a day. And no, it%26#39;s NOT Tiger Leaping Gorge. It%26#39;s about 1-2 hours from Lijiang to the nearest point of Tiger Leaping Gorge which%26#39;s called Qiaotou, and you need at least a full day for Tiger Leaping Gorge even if you%26#39;re not planning to hike it.

I don%26#39;t remember offhand about Ganhaizi, but Baishui River, or more appropriately Baishuitai or White Water Terraces (bai = white, shui = water and tai = terraces) is closer to Zhongdian than Lijiang. It%26#39;s usually half a day to a full day to visit from Zhongdian, and definitely a full day or more if you%26#39;re doing it from Lijiang.

Stay in Lijiang old town as there%26#39;re plenty of guesthouses, hostels and hotels here. The others mentioned above aren%26#39;t in the old town area and should be arranged as trips FROM Lijiang old town.

Personally I stayed in Lijiang for almost a week and found it a good place to relax.

And, did you come up with that Lijiang itinerary yourself, or is it a tour that you%26#39;re following?

It was a suggested itinerary by a travel agency. so I%26#39;m not keen on taking the standard tour. I%26#39;d rather do something that is more personalized.

That%26#39;s what I thought, sorry to say but that sounded like perfect nonsense for an itinerary. Looks great for ';tick-each-visited-place-off-my-list'; tourists but lousy otherwise.

Thanks for the feedback. I guess I am going back on my own trip planning.

What do you suggest I do at Lijiang if I spend 2 days there? Any suggestions for Dali if I only have a day there?

You don%26#39;t necessarily need to spend all your time actually in the old town area. I meant that you should ';stay'; ie sleep there and take daytrips out in addition to roaming the old town area. Tiger Leaping Gorge would be a fine overnight trip, but I see that you don%26#39;t have that much time.