Yunnan province presses hard against Tibet, Myanmar, Laos, and Vietnam, and that borderland position shows — in the food, the minority cultures, the altitude, and the sheer variety of terrain that fits within one region.
Tiger Leaping Gorge remains one of the finest one-day hikes in Asia: a high trail above one of the world's deepest gorges, the Yangtze below, Jade Dragon Snow Mountain across. The section from Tina's to the Tea Horse Guesthouse is the classic.
Lijiang's old town is the comfortable base, but Shangri-La and the remote Nujiang Valley offer deeper immersion for travelers prepared to go further. Yunnan's food — crossing-the-bridge noodles, wild mushrooms, Yunnan ham — is some of the best in China.
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