Kunming was the first city I visited in China, I flew in from Kuala Lumpur. I was interested in the landscapes and culture of Yunnan so I decided to enter Kunming instead of more popular cities like Shanghai or Beijing.

I've been mulling over going to China since college, I finally got the chance to do so. However, my first trip to the rising dragon wasn't in the usual places such as Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou or even Xiamen. I decided to visit Yunnan first because of the things I discovered online.

Shangri-La is one of the highest places in Yunnan, if I'm not mistaken, it's around 3000 meters above sea level. I was a bit groggy from the journey from Kunming, but I was raring to explore this part of China. I felt a slight headache during the first day, because of altitude sickness, but I got used to it after a day.

I just got out of the overnight bus from Kunming to Shangri-La. I was still drowsy when I got to the hostel. It wasn't check-in time yet, so I was looking for something to do to pass the time. A French guest was planning to go to Sumetseling Monastery that date. She asked me if I wanted to tag along, since I had nothing and no idea what to do, I decided to join her.

After exploring the ancient and UNESCO-listed town of Lijiang, I had time to explore the mountains. Snow Mountain was the nearest destination, and I heard good things about it. Renting a car on my own was expensive, so I decided to go to an area where vans shuttled people to the park.

Lijiang is on a historical route in Yunnan, China; its old town provides visitors with a glimpse of its rich culture and past. I had the chance to visit this lovely place during my trip to this country.

Dali was one of the places I had in mind when I was traveling in Yunnan, I decided to go because it was along the way and between the places I was going to visit already.

I was on again and off again about taking the high trail of Tiger Leaping Gorge, I based my decision on the weather, which was rainy during the first week of my two weeks trip in Yunnan. However, the skies cleared on one of the days, which gave me the perfect opportunity to do the hike, which was said to be one of the most scenic in the region.

It was towards the end of my trip in China and I was on again and off again about which place to visit. I was down to two choices, Dongchuan or the Stone Forest, after thinking about it before returning to Kunming from Dali, I made my choice.