*All times are indicative and may adjust for weather and on-the-ground conditions.

Day 1 — Arrival

• Afternoon: Your journey inward begins. After arrival, we take our first steps together on an explorative walk through Shaxi's valley — letting the soft light and ancient textures begin to quiet the noise of the world you left behind.
• Dinner: A warm, nourishing welcome dinner at the hotel.
• Evening: A bonfire music party in a local's courtyard. Let the fire do the talking.

Day 2 — Forest & Heritage

• Morning: We greet the day with Baduanjin, followed by breakfast at the hotel. Then we head into the forest for a guided foraging walk — a moving meditation on seeing and receiving, learning to read the land.
• Lunch: Summer / Autumn: We bring our harvest to a wild cooking session — Yunnan mushrooms, fire, and the satisfaction of eating what you found. Winter: An indoor cooking class with foraged plants, warm and intimate.
• Afternoon: We walk the Shaxi Old Town not as tourists, but as students of form — reading the carvings at Xingjiao Temple (兴教寺), the ancient stage (古戏台), and the quiet artifacts of the Tea Horse Road Museum (马帮文化体验馆).
• Dinner: In the old town.
• Evening: An optional quiet sit & meditation to let the day's images settle.

Day 3 — The Maker's Vision

• Morning: Baduanjin to start the day, then breakfast at the hotel. We enter the indigo studio for the first time. Today is about design: guided by a local artisan, you'll learn the vocabulary of traditional patterns and compose your own — a personal visual language drawn from the landscape around you.
• Lunch: At the hotel.
• Afternoon: We visit the Pioneer Bookstore (先锋书店) in Beilong — a celebrated outpost of quiet culture tucked into the countryside. Browse, read, journal. Then we drift to a signature local cafe for their sunset over the valley.
• Dinner: At the hotel.
• Evening: Optional quiet sit & meditation.

Day 4 — Sew & Tie

• Morning: Baduanjin then breakfast at the hotel. Back in the studio, your design becomes physical: you'll sew and tie your cloth, folding intention into every stitch. This is an important step before the dye — and it is slow, meditative work, the kind that quiets the mind without asking it to stop.
• Lunch: At the hotel.
• Afternoon: We visit a local Bai family — an intimate window into the living culture of Shaxi. Tea is poured, stories are exchanged, and the valley reveals another layer of itself.
• Dinner: Cooking with locals — a communal, unhurried feast.
• Evening: Optional quiet sit & meditation.

Day 5 — Dye & Reveal

• Morning: Baduanjin then breakfast at the hotel. Today you'll submerge your tied cloth into the living indigo vat and watch the colour take hold. Then — the reveal: untying each knot to discover the pattern that emerged. No two are alike.
• Lunch: At the hotel.
• Afternoon: We visit our favourite little courtyard in Shaxi to make our own Flower Pastry (鲜花饼) — a Yunnan tradition of pressing edible flowers into delicate, fragrant sweets. A gentle, sensory close to three days of making.
• Dinner: At the hotel.
• Evening: Optional quiet sit & meditation.

Day 6 — The Market & The Return

• Morning: Baduanjin then breakfast. Our final morning begins with the Gan Bai (赶摆) — Shaxi's ancient weekly market, held on Fridays. Stalls of local produce, handmade goods, and the unhurried commerce of a community that has gathered here for centuries. We immerse, we wander, we receive.
• Lunch: In the old town — one last meal in the lanes.
• Afternoon: We end not with a departure, but with an integration. In a closing circle, we honour your journey and practice the simple morning ritual you can take home. Your indigo cloth becomes a sensory anchor — a portal back to this quiet, creative self. From here, you move on to your next chapter, carrying more than a souvenir, but a tool for your return.