Dongba calligraphy
At Amandayan, a lesson in Naxi Dongba, a pictographic script used under the Yuan, Ming and Qing dynasties and one of the world's only surviving hieroglyphs.
China's Mountains by Private Jet
Turquoise lakes, Lijiang's old town and the Tibetan edge of Yunnan, by private jet.
- Eight nights
- Three stays
- China
- Private jet, walking, landscape
Eight nights among the mountain landscapes of western China, linked by private jet. The lakes and waterfalls of Jiuzhaigou and the Tibetan villages around them, Lijiang and its Naxi culture beneath Jade Dragon Snow Mountain, with a lesson in Dongba, one of the world's only surviving hieroglyphic scripts, and two last nights in Tibetan farmhouse country around Shangri-La.
- Length
- Eight nights
- Pace
- Three stays
- Style
- Private jet, walking, landscape
- Route
- Jiuzhaigou to Lijiang to Shangri-La
- JiuzhaigouThree nights
- LijiangThree nights
- Shangri-LaTwo nights
01
Days 1 to 4 · three nights
Jiuzhaigou
By private jet from Beijing to Jiuzhaigou. A day in the valley reserve, by shuttle bus between Arrow Bamboo, Panda, Five-Flower and Peacock lakes and the falls at Pearl Shoal, and a slower day in the Zhongcha Valley. In the villages around the hotel, Tibetan home visits and incense workshops can be arranged, and clear nights are for stargazing.
Where you stay
Rissai Valley, a Ritz-Carlton Reserve
Rissai Valley lies in the Zhongcha Valley close to Jiuzhaigou, with 87 villas designed as a contemporary expression of the old villages around it. Tibetan materials, colours and antiques run through the interiors, and there are three restaurants and the Rissai Spa.
02
Days 4 to 7 · three nights
Lijiang
On by private jet to Lijiang, with views of Jade Dragon Snow Mountain. The canals of the old town and the village of Baisha and its Naxi heritage, a lesson in Dongba calligraphy, the pictographic script of the Naxi, and Pu'er tea in the tradition of the Ancient Tea Horse Road. During local festivals, evenings end with Naxi music and dancing around a bonfire, and there is a free day to wander.
Where you stay
Amandayan
Amandayan sits on Lion Hill above the winding lanes and canals of Lijiang's UNESCO-listed Old Town, with Jade Dragon Snow Mountain on the horizon. Suites and villas are wooden houses inspired by Nakhi architecture, opening onto quiet courtyards, and there is a spa.
03
Days 7 to 9 · two nights
Shangri-La
A four-hour drive north by way of Tiger Leaping Gorge, then time in the old town and the Ringha Valley. The lodge arranges Tibetan home visits, butter lamp making and prayer flag printing, and a picnic lunch on the Na Re Meadow. A private jet home on the last morning.
Where you stay
Banyan Tree Ringha
Banyan Tree Ringha is set in the Ringha Valley, about 18 kilometres from Shangri-La. Its 32 villas are old Tibetan farmhouses taken down and reassembled, with brightly painted wooden posts, carved wood and earthen fireplaces, and there is a Banyan Tree Spa.
Arranged on request
Naxi music by the fire
On festival evenings in Lijiang, traditional Naxi music and dancing around a bonfire.
Tibetan homes around Jiuzhaigou
Home visits and incense workshops in the Tibetan villages around Rissai Valley.
Butter lamps and prayer flags in Ringha
Butter lamp making, prayer flag printing and Tibetan home visits, with a picnic lunch on the Na Re Meadow.
Subject to availability.
Ways to make it yours
- Three nights among the sandstone pillars of Zhangjiajie, by private jet before Jiuzhaigou.
- Two nights among the striped hills of the Zhangye Danxia geopark, by private jet to Jiayuguan.
- An extra night in Beijing before or after the journey.
This is a sample. The hotels, the pace and the order are where we start, not where we finish: every journey is designed around the people taking it.
Made around you
Most travel is bought. This is designed.
Before anything is booked, we talk: who is travelling, how you like to spend a morning, and the hotel preferences below the obvious, from the kind of bath you like to the time you wake and how much daylight you need in a room. You see options where options matter and clean recommendations where they don't.
The same person remains your point of contact from the first reply to the trip after next. No handovers. No team.
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