Trip Details
6 Days Exploring the Nature and Culture Resources in Dali
Price ￥1000/人（Deposit） September 18, 2021
Overview
As a low latitude plateau and with a mild climate all year round, Dali city faces the famous Erhai Lake with Cangshan sitting behind. With lofty Mt. Cangshan lying to its west, Dali is known as a natural geological book formed in its 2 billion years of history with abundant wildlife and plant resources. The 18 streams coming from the 19 peaks in Cangshan flow into the beautiful plateau lake called Erhai, which is regarded by local Bai ethnic people as their mother lake. Countless generations of local people live in the areas around Erhai.
▲ Mt. Cangshan in Dali
Serving as the capital of Nanzhao Kingdom and the Dali Kingdom in ancient times, Dali enjoys a long history and is dominated by Bai ethnic people in terms of demographic composition with rich ethnic culture, diversified religious belief, and a good number of unique villages featuring strong local ethnic culture.
▲ Erhai Lake in Dali
Guided by professional naturists, we will visit Mt. Cangshan, Erhai Lake, and explore how local people live harmoniously with their natural environment in a way of studying both the natural and cultural Dali.
▲ Three Pagodas of Chongsheng Temple
Our exploration trip starts from Dali Ancient Town, where we will appreciate the unique culture coming from over a thousand years of development in history. Our hike in Mt. Cangshan and stroll by the side of Erhai Lake will enable us to experience the ultimate beauty from the biodiversity created by the geological changing process for millions of years. Our cycling along Erhai Lake will bring us to some of the most beautiful farmlands and stunning scenery. At Zhoucheng town which is known as the Living Fossil of Bai ethnic customs, we will try traditional tie-dying. We will study the historical traces, traditional villages, and architectures built during Ming and Qing dynasties at Weishan ancient town known as the birthplace of Nanzhao Kingdom and Xizhou, which was a famous town along the Tea-and-Horse Trade Route.
▲ Plangi of Bai nationality in Zhoucheng ancient town
Trip Targets
1. Knowledge-obtaining from studying the history, and geography of Dali and the ethnic culture possessed by ethnic minorities including Bai people;
2. Interest cultivation through enjoying the natural exploration and learning how to watch birds;
3. Personal development from physical exercising, willpower cultivation and guidance on behavior, and courtesy;
4. Emotional communication to enhance the child-and-parent relation and cultivate teamwork.
Trip Highlights
1. Hike in Mt. Cangshan and natural exploration to learn about the geological evolution process of Hengduan Mountains, and study the natural environment in Mt. Cangshan;
2. Cycle along Erhai Lake, study the wetland ecological system, and observe the natural relation between the local residents and Mt. Cangshan and Erhai Lake;
3. Research on bird resources, and look for local star birds including Purple Swamphen, Lady Amherst's Pheasant, White-browed Fulvetta, and Bar-tailed Treecreeper;
4. Find out the secrets of Nanzhao culture with visits to Dali Ancient Town, Weishan Ancient Town, and Xizhou Ancient Town to gain an in-depth understanding of the customs and culture of local ethnic minorities including Bai, Hui, and Yi;
5. Study a variety of architecture of Nanzhao areas in different periods of Ming and Qing dynasties including family houses and monasteries;
6. This trip will be a journey of gourmet exploration.
▲ Dali Ancient Town
Dates & Prices
May 30 - Jun 18, 2024. Other time can be customized by appointment
Seldom an itinerary will take you to the remote panda habitats and the renowned world heritages together. You will leave no regret after spending 12 valuable days with AbsolutePanda.
Itinerary
- Day 1: Arrival in Chengdu, China.
On the first day of the tour, a private guide or driver will meet you once you arrive in Chengdu Shuangliu Airport or Tianfu International Airport. After meeting our guide and driver, you will be transferred to the downtown hotel for one night stay. For early arrivals, we will go for a relaxing birding at a local park near the hotel.
- Day 2: Chengdu to Tangjiahe National Nature Reserve.
We will have a short visit to the Chengdu Botanical Garden before we start our long drive to the national nature reserve in Tangjiahe. Chengdu Botanical Garden is considered as one of the best city parks for birding due to its big diversity of flora and high forest coverage. We can find some urban and special resident birds here, including Vinous-throated Parrotbill, Chinese Bulbul, White-browed Laughingthrush, Red-billed Leiothrix, Japanese White-eye, Chinese Blackbird, Chinese Grosbeak, Collared Finchbill, Long-tailed Shrike, Fork-tailed Sunbird, Hoopoe, etc.
Followed the exploration, we will complete a fairly long (around 6 hours) journey to Tangjiahe. By the time we arrive, it should be around sunset time when animals normally come down close to the river-side meadow for water and salt. We will likely encounter our first Takin. Besides, Reeves's Muntjac and Masked Civet are relatively easy and often found by the road. By contrast, although the elusive Leopard Cat is also active at night, but is not so easy to see it. We will continue our search in the coming days and prioritize spotting all of the species here.
- Day 3-4: Tangjiahe National Nature Reserve.
Hiding in the depth of Mingshan Mountain, Tangjiahe is one of the panda reserves in China and hosts a variety of rare mammals and birds. Tangjiahe is also known as a premier biodiversity hotspot, consisting of murmuring streams, lush mixed broadleaf-conifer forest, and cliffs. These factors have made it one of the best places to search for mammals and birds in China. Our main activities here will be arranged in the mornings and late afternoons. We will focus on two main valleys at low elevation and one trail that winds up to the middle elevation area. The Golden Pheasant will be our very top target at low elevation, we should have a good chance of spotting some. With some patient search along the streams, we can encounter Brown Dipper, Plumbeous Water Redstart, White-capped Water Redstart, without much difficulty, we can also find Crested Kingfisher, White-crowned Forktail, Little Forktail, and Blue Rock Thrush. There is a chance to find the spectacular Tawny Fish Owl, but it really requires a good amount of work and some luck.
Guide
Jinnie
Dave has had a keen interest in birds since his young days growing up in northern Lincolnshire, England, with many memorable times spent looking for migrant birds along the Lincolnshire and Yorkshire coasts. This shaped his future career which started as assistant warden at Bardsey Bird Observatory, north Wales in 1981.
Shay Xie
Dave has had a keen interest in birds since his young days growing up in northern Lincolnshire, England, with many memorable times spent looking for migrant birds along the Lincolnshire and Yorkshire coasts. This shaped his future career which started as assistant warden at Bardsey Bird Observatory, north Wales in 1981. Dave has had a keen interest in birds since his young days growing up in northern Lincolnshire, England, with many memorable times spent looking for migrant birds along the Lincolnshire and Yorkshire coasts.
Testimonials
In the broad-leaved forest, we will look for Speckled Wood Pigeon, Asian Koel, Large Hawk Cuckoo, Himalayan Cuckoo, Pacific Swift, Grey-capped Woodpecker, White-backed Woodpecker, Great Spotted Woodpecker, Crimson-breasted Woodpecker, Mountain Bulbul, Spectacled Fulvetta, Pygmy Cupwing, Yellow-bellied Tit, Sooty Bushtit, White-collared Yuhina, Slaty Bunting, Grey-headed Canary-flycatcher, Sichuan Leaf Warbler, Bianchi's Warbler