Yes, you should plan a trip to visit the Southwest Part of China to experience the different Chinese culture. South West China which is the exotic area, it is the home to many minority ethnic groups. The most popular tourist destinations in southwest china are Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, Guizhou Province, Tibet Autonomous Region, Yunnan Province. All of those places featured with the beautiful natural scenery as well as the distinctive minority culture.

Tibet travel permit is one of the main concerns for international travelers to visit Tibet, you are not allow to get into Tibet without a special travel visa. As for how to get the the Tibet travel permit, you can find a reliable Tibet Travel Agency and book the Tibet tour with it since the independent travel in Tibet is not permitted for international tourists. Working with Tibet local travel agency is the best way to get the permit.

In general, the best time to visit Yunnan Province is from April to October, when the vegetation is a lush green and flowers are in bloom. Yunnan’s climate is diverse as its terrain, for many places such as Dali there is an ideal temperature – an eternal spring – that attracts tourists all year-round. The northwestern region around Shangri-la is situated on the Tibetan plateau and can be very cold during winter.

Guizhou Province is an increasingly popular tourist destination, not least because of its agreeable climate, its unique karst landscape, its rich cultural heritage as home to a string of Chinese ethnic minorities. There are lots of beautiful & interesting tourist spots in Guizhou Province, such as Basha Miao Village, Zhaoxing Dong Village, Xiaohuang Dong Village, Longli Ancient Town, the World-renowned Huangguoshu Waterfall, Dragon Palace Cave Scenic Area, Chishui Danxia Landform, Zhijin Cave, Qianling Park, Qingyan Ancient Town and more.

Yes, there are over 40 "G" & "D" trains available from Guilin Station, Guilin West Train Station, Guilin North Train Station to Guiyang East Train Station, Guiyang is the capital city of Guizhou Province and it is convenient to travel around Guizhou from Guiyang city. It takes 2 - 3.5 hours from Guilin to Guiyang and the train ticket fee for the 2nd class seat from CNY 112.5 and CNY 166.5 based on the different operation stations.

Early November will be a good time to visit Guizhou Province since it has a pleasant climate and can be visited throughout the year. The best time to travel in Guizhou is spring and autumn, especially from the March to May and September to October.  Spring & Autumn with the most comfortable temperature but more rainy days than Summer and Winter. The summer here is hot and humid, winter is long but not too cold. Spring will be the best time to visit Guizhou if you are interested in ethnic customs and culture and want to take part into the local festivals.

There are two main ways to get to Lhasa, flight & train. If you plan to fly into Tibet, you can take flight that depart from Beijing, Shanhai, Xian, Chengdu, Chongqing and others in China. Instead of taking flight, taking train may be a long journey, the journey takes 22-48 hours from different part of China, but it is a great way to travel to the plateau, and an amazing experience for first-time travelers. Travel by train will allow you to slowly adapt to the plateau climate.

Yunnan boasts the most splendid natural landscapes and colorful ethnical cultures. When you first time travel to Yunnan, you should not miss the Stone Forest in Kunming city; Ancient Town, Erhai Lake and Three Pagodas in Dali; Lijiang Ancient Town, local markets, Jade Dragon Snow Mountains and Tiger Leaping Gorge in Lijiang; What's more, you should go for Yuanyang Rice Terrace if you are a photography.

We suggest you book a full guided southwest China tour package with a local tour agency or hire tour guide to show you around if you can't speak Chinese since this part of China is culturally very rich, with many ethnic minorities like the Zhuang, Miao, Naxi, Bai and Tibetans who speak their own languages. Nevertheless, as Mandarin is the medium of instruction in all Chinese schools, nearly all younger locals are bilingual in their ethnic language and Mandarin.

The transportation in Yunnan Province is already quite developed, you can travel around Yunnan by bus, train even flight. There are many bullet trains run in Kunming, Dali, Lijiang, it takes about 2 hours from Kunming to Dali and plenty of ordinary trains run between Dali and Lijiang within two hours on the way; The buses is Yunnan Provicne is suitable for those budget travelers and is most popular transportation by the backpackers that can take you to the almost every tourist destinations of Yunnan, including Dali, Kunming, Lijiang, Shangri-la, Yuanyang, Jianshui and Puzhehei; Private vehicle will be the most recommended travel method for foreign travelers who have the language barrier and want to save the travel time. To go from Lijiang to Shangri-La or from Shangri-La to Lijiang, it needs about 3.5 hours by car with a driving way of about 180 kilometers long.

It is one of the important things that should be ware of when plan a trip to Lhasa, you should have a good rest once you arrive in Lhasa. And a thorough physical examination is recommended because tourists suffering from anemia, hypertension, heart troubles or illness of lungs, liver or kidney are not fit for the trip to Lhasa. In addition, you should bring enough water, fruits and snacks with high caloric content during the tour.

Yes, we can arrange a southwest China tour with Guilin city and some minority village in Guizhou. We sugget you plan at least 5 to 6 days for this travel route, spend the first 2 or 3 days in Guilin to explore the Guilin and Yangshuo highlights, such as Reed Flute Cave, Elephant Trunk Hill, Fubo Hill as well Li River Cruise, West Street in one day; Take high speed train from Guilin to Guiyang or Congjiang to spend 2 days there to explore the minority villages.

The food in Yunnan has its own unique style because of its geographic location, diverse local plant and animal species, and numerous ethnic minority groups. When you stay in Kunming, you should try the regional specialty known as "Crossing the Bridge Noodles," a delicious noodle soup that is brought to you boiling in a covered stone bowl, with a tray of fresh ingredients such as finely sliced pork, quail eggs, and sliced herbs and vegetables for you to add to the broth according to your tastes; Steamed-pot Chicken, it is one of the typical dish can be found in Yunnan and it is unique for its steaming pot, which was invented by Yunnan residents; Xuanwei Ham, it is one of China's three most famous ham dishes. It is known for fragrance, appearance, and fantastic taste.

Tibet is one of the most remarkable destinations in the world, and for many travelers, a China tour to visit Tibet Tours is once in a lifetime travel experience. When you in Tibet region, you can visit the changing of the natural landscape, climb up to the Qomolangma which is one of the ultimate travel destination, Mt. Qomolangma Base Camp sits at an altitude of 5,200 meters, and gives you the best view; And Tibet also has some of the best high-altitude treks in the world, and for those that love trekking; Tibet is also famous for the buddhist culture since it is the holy land of buddhism, you will immerse yourself into the Tibetan Buddhism.

Tibet has a four-season monsoon climate, and despite being subject to the Indian Southwest Monsoon in the summer months from June to Septembe. The temperature can be warm during the winter in some part of Tibet, such as Lhasa with a average temperature around 12 degress, other areas can have daytime temperatures as low as -10 degrees in winter. In the summer, it is not uncommon to find warm temperatures up to 24 degrees in the warmer areas, despite the harsh conditions, and even at Mt. Qomolangma Base Camp, the summer sees temperatures of up to 14-16 degrees. All in all, summer is the most popular season for people come to visit Tibet.

Yes, we can arrange 5 days Yunnan tour from Shanghai that includes Kunming & Lijiang. The approximate itinerary for 5 days Kunming and Lijiang Tour as as follows

D1 Shanghai--Kunming: Fly to Kunming from Shanghai, visit the Green Lake Park
D2 Kunming: visit local market at Zhuanxin Farmers' Market in the morning, sightseeing at famous Stone Forest in the afternoon
D3 Kunming--Lijiang: take 2-hour bullet train from Kunming to Lijiang, visit Black Dragon Pond & Lijiang Ancient Town
D4 Lijiang: explore the Tiger Leaping Gorge & visit the First Bend of the Yangtze River along the way
D5 Lijiang--Shanghai: visit the Baisha Village, take flight back to Shanghai after the tour

Compared to the tour in Beijing, Xian, Shanghai, Chengdu, traveling to southwest part with Tibet will be more expensive. But the cost of tour can be different from season to season, with summer being the most expensive and winter being the cheapest. You can book very cheap hotel & flight ticket during the low season. Another reason for the higher cost is the transportation since it's not such convenient as the easten part of China, mostly go around by driving. 

If you book our all inclusive southwest China tour package, the tour covers the tour guide service, all the transfer, entrance tickets for the sites listed in the itinerary, meals & accommodation in each city.