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Tour Info

Tour Name: 2 Days Dongchuan Red Soil Photography Tour (All-in Private Tour)

Tour Code: WOY-11-2D1N

Destinations: Dongchuan, Kunming

Attractions: Luoxiagou Valley, Dongchuan Red Land.|

Best time to visit: July - September. The crops in this season get ripe and present gorgeous colors. It is highly recommended for the photographers to take their cameras and photo some fantastic landscapes. Dongchuan Red Land is basically an all-year-round destination. In Spring it is the ocean of flower; in Summer it is the wave of cornfield; in Autumn it is the fairyland on earth.

How to get there: Driving to Dongchuan from Kunming takes about 3 hours.

If there is one word that best captures Dongchuan Red Land, it must be "palette". It is such an amazing spectacle that you can never imagine if you have never been there. God knocked over his palette, dropping the heaven paint, which makes Dongchuan such a stunning masterpiece. Red, green, white and yellow are matched into rolling rainbow ribbons stretching to sky.

Destinations: Dongchuan

Activities: Picking up service from the hotel or the airport, drive to Dongchuan, visit Luoxiagou Valley and enjoy the sunset view of Dongchuan Red Land.

Meals: L/D

Overnight: Hotel in Dongchuan

Destinations: Kunming

Activities: Enjoy the sunrise of Dongchuan Red Soil, join in the farming with local people, drive back to Kunming.

Meals: B/L

Daily Itinerary

Our guide and driver will pick you up from the hotel or the airport, then transfer to Dongchuan District of Kunming City. Visit Luoxiagou Valley in the later afternoon and enjoy the sunset view of Dongchuan Red Land with local villages and farmland.

Dongchuan, a rural place in the Wumeng Mountainous area, about 180km north of Kunming, becomes very famous among Chinese photographers for its red soil. Speaking of Red Soil, the scenery is in fact centralized around Huagou (means colorful valley) of Xintian Township, which is about 50km away from Dongchuan County seat. Those locations are too small to have a name. Locals simply call it 109, 110...the number on the kilometer marker along the road. 109 is almost the highest point on the road, which branches here to another small hamlet. From all around 109 glorious vistas stretch to Guizhou and Sichuan. Dongchuan, as the crow flies not more than 20 kilometers away, is barely visible in the valley far below.

Luoxiagou, or Luoxia Valley at Dongchuan Red Land near Kunming is considered to be the most magnificent red land in the world besides the red land in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, with its beauty more sublime than that in Brazil. It is the most massive red land with typical features of Yunnan highland plateau. With gorgeous and colorful hues, Dongchuan Red Land is praised as a palette on earth, and is more and more favored by backpackers, hikers and photographers.

Luoxiagou (Sunset Clouds Ditch) is considered one of the most beautiful sites at Dongchuan Red Land. As its name suggests, Luoxiagou is where sunset clouds dwell. Its beauty is beyond description or drawing. Its beauty changes with winds, clouds, sunlight, plantation and viewing angles.

Best Time to Visit: The best time for photography there is from mid-May to early-June and from mid-October till November each year. In the winter when it snows, the scenery will be quite different, but the road most likely to be frozen and blocked.

In fact, different seasons offer different views. In summer, potato flowers blossom and wheat is ripe, while in autumn some parts of the red land are ploughed, waiting to be seeded while others are covered with green barley or wheat or other crops. Besides, the unique white Cole Flowers are in bloom. According to local villagers, the scenery is the most beautiful on the third day after raining, because then the land is saturated with rain water, which makes the colors look richer, and sometimes rainbows appear above the red land.

Enjoy the sunrise of Dongchuan Red Soil in the morning. If you are interested in the farming, you will join in the farming with local people in the red land. After lunch, drive back to Kunming. End of service.

Dongchuan Red Land refers to a large area of red land located in Xintian Town northeast of Kunming City. Every year from September to December, part of the red land is ploughed for planting, while another part of the red land has already been planted with crops. The whole multi-colored land with the blue sky, white clouds and changing hues create a magnificent view.

Viewed from afar, the hills and fields appear in all kinds of red colors. Flowers blossom on the hill peaks and slopes, together with golden blades of wheat waving with breeze, creating layers of colors that reach far away.

Price

Included in the tour price
- Private transportation service in the program;
- 4* hotel (Standard), twin-bed room with private shower and WC;
- Daily meals as shown in the tour itinerary;
- All entrance fees as listed in the program;
- Licensed and experienced English-speaking tour guide;
- Private modern air-conditioned car and skilled driver;
- Travel Agency's Responsibility Insurance; 
- Service Charge & Government Taxes;

Excluded in the tour price
- International / domestic flights and taxes;
- Chinese Visa fee;
- Single room supplement;
- Personal consumption;
- Personal Travel Accident Insurance;
- Tips for tour guide, driver and porter;

- "Naturally China" provides comprehensive consumer protection plan to safeguard and ensure your peace of mind based on the rules and regulations of China National Tourism Administration, this tour package already includes the travel agency’s responsibility insurance, but we strongly suggest you purchase travel insurance in your own country or region, including personal travel accident insurance, trip cancellation insurance, trip interruption insurance, lost baggage insurance etc. This is for your own protection;

- If you want us to book the flight tickets and/or train tickets which are not listed in the program for you, please leave a remark in the enquiry form;

Meals

"Naturally China" will do our best to provide our clients with well-arranged dinners when traveling. We do hope you can enjoy Chinese delicacies during the tour. If you have any specific dietary requirements (vegetarian, vegan, food allergies) please inform us on the inquiry form so that we can provide advance notice about any special accommodations that may be necessary for you. If you are a food lover, Naturally China can be your culinary guide and provide you the opportunity to savor tempting local food and world-famous dishes.

Meals are included as specified in the itinerary. Meal codes are: B=Breakfast, L=Lunch, D=Dinner.

Breakfast - Each breakfast will be served in your hotel. Breakfast selections include both Chinese and Western dishes to meet your taste.

Lunch - Lunches are normally arranged at the Chinese restaurants near the scenic spots. Your tour guides will order food according to your appetite. Most are Chinese dishes, and some are modified to fit westerners' tastes. A complimentary glass of beer or soft drink is served.

Dinner - Dinners are normally arranged at the Chinese restaurants near the scenic spots or your hotel. Your tour guides will order food according to your appetite. Most are Chinese dishes, and some are modified to fit westerners' tastes. A complimentary glass of beer or soft drink is served.

Hotels

Standard Class Tour / Dongchuan Tailong Business Hotel / 4* hotel

Notes

- The hotel accommodation is based on two persons sharing one standard twin room with private facilities in all relevant locations. If a single client requests a twin room alone, the single room supplement will be charged.

- The hotels will be changed to the same class hotels if the rooms are not available.

Transfer

"Naturally China" have received wide recognition for our transfer service. We provide different vans with good air-condition and skilled driver according the number of clients. With our on-time service, you will never feel alone while traveling through China.

With our China tours, you can feel safe in the knowledge that you will enjoy flexible tour arrangements and you will have your own tour guide, car and driver in each destination, exclusive to your own group of friends or family. The driver is very skilled and familiar with street in every city as well as excellent service to the clients. You will feel you are at home with our guide and driver.

"Naturally China" use only modern air-conditioned luxury cars, vans and small buses on all tours. The comfort and safety of our customers is of utmost importance, so we ensure that all of the vehicles that we use are well-maintained and always very clean.

Groups of 1-2 persons: 5 seats car
Groups of 3-4 persons: 7 seats van
Groups of 5-9 persons: 19 seats van
Groups of 10-20 persons: 30-39 seats bus

Notes

1. Altitude Sickness:

Yunnan is a mountainous Province with high elevation. Sometimes people maybe suffer from the altitude sickness, you should drink much water, walk slowly and take some rest after walking a distance. The elevations of Yunnan are as followed: Kunming (1895M), Dali (1976M), Lijiang (2416M), Shangrila (3280M).

2. Ethnic Folk Customs:

Please respect the local ethnic culture when you visit Yunnan. There are 55 ethnic minorities in China, you can find 52 of them in Yunnan Province.

3. Weather and Climate:

Yunnan is very nice to travel all the year around. For more information about the climate in Yunnan province, please see our page "Yunnan Guide".

4. Tips for photography fans

The unique high attitude, exotic culture, highland landscapes and friendly people in Yunnan offer perfect photo opportunities to all those foreign tourists. Here are some helpful tips for travelers with a hope of photography.

Take necessary technical precautions to protect your camera in case of extreme temperatures due to the harsh climate. It's a good idea to take enough film and batteries. Photographing in monasteries is generally allowed; however taking pictures inside the chapels is forbidden or usually charged at extremely high rates to prevent photography.

Respect the person you invite to take picture and avoid to disturb them. If it is necessary, you can send them some tiny presents, which is much better than giving them money. If there are some avaricious guys asking you for money when you take pictures in public places. You can refuse to pay money strictly. To take pictures in the hall of the monastery, do remember to ask the lama or monks for permit.

Pictures