Sustainable Tourism in Southwest China – China Travel

In part 3 of a series, Sascha profiles two people whose encounters with the Horse and Tea Trade Route have changed their lives forever. Jeff Fuchs was hiking in the mountains when he came upon the trail and a dream, and Zhang Mei returned to Yunnan after traveling abroad and hatched a plan. Both are inextricably tied to this route and the people and places that make it live today ...

Chinatravel.net interviews travel writer and trekker Michael Woodhead about tracing the footsteps of 1920s adventurer and scientist Joseph Rock. Some of the trails Rock blazed through rugged Southwestern China's Tibetan mountains hadn't been revisited since Rock first put them on the map, while others have become major tourist destinations.

The Old Town of Lijiang (丽江市), traditionally a home to the Naxi minority, has a history spanning 800 years. Once a junction on the Tea Horse Road where caravans carried goods to and from Tibet, Lijiang is a lesser known route than the Silk Road, but nonetheless important in facilitating communication and trade between Tibet and the provinces of Sichuan and Yunnan.

a sleepy town makes for a nice overnight getaway

Langzhong, located 220km northeast of Chengdu, is a pleasant, laid-back town with an excellently preserved section of traditional architecture. Rich with historical prominence, it makes for a convenient overnight or weekend getaway from Chengdu or Chongqing.