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

Day 6 (continued) — One More Night in the Valley

While the main group says farewell, the extension guests remain. The valley softens in the late afternoon light, and with fewer voices around, Shaxi reveals yet another register of quiet.

• Afternoon: The rest of the day is yours. We offer three gentle invitations: a boat ride on Jianhu Lake (剑湖), where highland waters meet an enormous sky; a walk through Thousand Lion Mountain (千狮山) and its carved stone guardians; or simply — more time wandering the lanes of Shaxi on your own terms, unhurried and undirected.
• Dinner: At the hotel.
• Evening: Rest. Let the valley hold you one more night.

Day 7 — Jianchuan to the Foot of the Mountain

Today you leave Shaxi behind and begin the northward journey. The landscape shifts — from valley to highland, from Bai to Naxi — and by evening, you'll be in the shadow of Jade Dragon Snow Mountain.

• Morning: After breakfast at the hotel, we visit the Tea Horse Road Museum (茶马古道博物馆) in Jianchuan — a quieter, more scholarly encounter with the trade routes that shaped this entire region. Then a slow walk through Jianchuan Old Town (剑川古城), where woodcarving traditions and local life continue undisturbed.
• Lunch: A farewell-to-Jianchuan meal at a beloved local restaurant.
• Afternoon: We drive to the stone village of Yuhu (玉湖村) — the last settlement before the mountain begins in earnest. A 1–2 hour walk through the village brings you to the edge of the glacial highlands, with Jade Dragon Snow Mountain towering above. This is not the cable-car Lijiang. This is the quiet one.
• Dinner: Gathered around a Naxi fire pit (纳西火塘) — an evening of warmth, local food, and the kind of storytelling that only happens around open flame.
• Evening: Rest. You've arrived somewhere new.

Accommodation: Boutique design hotel in the Shuhe area, your base for the next three nights.

Day 8 — A Free Day in Shuhe

Today has no agenda. After six days of curated rhythm, this is your day to follow your own curiosity. We provide gentle guidance, but the hours are yours.

• Morning: Explore Shuhe Old Town (束河古镇) at your own pace — one of the last genuinely quiet corners of the Lijiang area. We recommend a walk to Jiuding Dragon Pool (九鼎龙潭), a spring-fed pond surrounded by old trees and locals doing their morning tai chi. Stop for coffee when the mood strikes.
• Lunch: On your own — we'll share a short list of our favourite local spots.
• Afternoon: For those interested, we can arrange an ethnic-style portrait session (民族风旅拍) — a popular local tradition where you're dressed in Naxi or Bai clothing and photographed against the mountain backdrop. It's playful, beautiful, and entirely optional. Otherwise: read, sketch, walk, rest.
• Dinner: On your own — we'll recommend.
• Evening: A Naxi bonfire gathering (纳西族篝火晚会) — music, dancing, and the kind of communal warmth that needs no translation.

Day 9 — Snow Mountain, Blue Water, Ancient Walls

The fullest day of the extension — and the most visually extraordinary. Today covers the landscapes that made Lijiang famous, seen without the crowds.

• Morning: We begin at Black Dragon Pool Park (黑龙潭公园), where Jade Dragon Snow Mountain reflects perfectly in still water — one of the most iconic views in all of Yunnan. Then to the Lijiang Museum (丽江博物馆), home to the Dongba culture collection: the living pictographic script, ritual texts, and spiritual heritage of the Naxi people.
• Lunch: A relaxed midday meal at a beloved old-town restaurant in Shuhe.
• Afternoon: We drive to Blue Moon Valley (蓝月谷) — glacial turquoise waters at the base of the snow mountain, impossibly vivid and silent. Time to walk, photograph, and simply be in the presence of something ancient. From there, we visit Baisha Old Town (白沙古镇) and its five-century murals — the finest surviving examples of religious painting in the region, blending Buddhist, Daoist, and Naxi traditions on a single wall. Then back to Shuhe as the light fades.
• Dinner: A farewell dinner together — a Western-style meal this time, a small shift in register to mark the closing of the journey.
• Evening: Rest. Tomorrow is goodbye.

Day 10 — Farewell

After breakfast, we arrange your transfer to the airport or train station. The journey forward is yours. What you carry with you — the quiet, the colour, the fire, the mountain — is already part of how you see.