Shaxi&Dali

Four-day excursion (April 1-4) to the well-preserved ancient town of Shaxi, which was once an important stop on the tea-horse caravan trade route between Yunnan, Tibet and Burma. Tracing back to the Tang Dynasty (618-907) the Chinese of Yunnan province would trade their famous Pu'er tea for the sturdy horses bred in Tibet.

Here's an interesting National Geographic article about it:
ngm.nationalgeographic.com/2010/05/tea-horse-road/jenkins...

Dali is a scenic tourist town about 350km west of Kunming, which features the natural beauty of Erhai (large lake) and farmland ringed by mountains. Dali old town is known for laid-back inns, coffee houses, and shops displaying foods and crafts of the Bai minority group.