25% Off! Qingming Festival Zero Waste Vegan Tours in Yunnan
Tour 1 (Saturday, April 3)
Wet Market + Vegan Rice
Noodle Restaurant Tour (Kunming)
Duration | 3-3.5 hours |
Group Size | 2-5 pax |
Departure | 9:30am |
Price(25% off) Varies by Group Size | 2 guests 300 RMB Now 225 per person
250 RMB Now 185 per person |
Kunming Wet Market
The most famous wet market in Kunming has the abundance of fresh fruit and veggies, snacks, and meals available from all regions of Yunnan. Stepping in this market is like going to a botanical garden.
On this tour, you will get to experience this wet market with us from a plant-based and plastic-free perspective. Our guide will introduce you to 3-4 vegan snack foods (which you will eat while exploring the stalls) and 1-2 vegan meal-sized dishes (that you will sit around a table to enjoy). Some dishes to sample include: douhua mixian or Kunming’s famous rice noodles smothered in spices and tofu and xidoufen a delicious, thick gravy made from ground peas topped with spices. You’ll try cakes made from local buckwheat, corn or purple rice and sample freshly fried lotus fritters. As you wander through the market stalls, vendors will hand out samples from their shops and our guide will help you ask for a taste of anything that catches your eye.
The amount of delicious vegan food you can find in this market is enough to impress any carnivore. You don’t need to be a vegan or vegetarian to sign up for this tour; we guarantee that you will leave this tour with your stomach full, taste buds satisfied, and your curiosity piqued.
Lunch At A Vegan Rice Noodle Restaurant
At this restaurant, guests will try a vegan version of one of the most well-known dishes of Yunnan cuisine, Crossing-the-Bridge Rice Noodles. This restaurant is the first one to create a vegan rendition of the dish that utilizes fresh ingredients pulled from the local landscape, including wild mushrooms and rainbow noodles made from rice and a variety of local, in-season vegetables. The name of this dish comes from a well-known and well-loved legend in China which tells the story of a wife travelling across a bridge to bring her husband lunch as he studied for his imperial exams. At first, the noodles grew soggy and the soup became cold by the time the wife reached her husband. Then, the cunning wife decided to store the soup in an earthen pot with a layer of oil on top and keep the noodles and toppings in separate containers. When she arrived across the bridge, she mixed the warm soup, noodles, and toppings together for her husband. Soon, all the scholars wanted her Cross-the-Bridge noodles for lunch! Guests will love mixing together their own vegan bowl of Cross-the-Bridge noodles here as well as sampling their other vegan snacks such as vegan fried chicken and shrimp.
Tour 2 (Sunday, April 4)
Liantie Market Tour & Pottery Making
Workshop Vegan Day Tour (Dali)
Duration | 10-11 hours |
Group Size | 2-5 pax |
Departure | 8:30am |
Price(25% off) Varies by Group Size | 2 guests 1400 RMB Now 1050 per person 1100 RMB Now 825 per person |
Liantie Market Tour
Ethnic Markets in Yunnan are great places to observe the unique mixture of ethnicities and minority culture that live in the area. Local artists and farmers come regularly to sell their crafts and produce. You will be able to sample scrumptious Yunnan snacks and dishes freshly made by the nearby villagers who set up their stalls at a different market every day to make a living. Small cities and townships will host these gatherings usually once every five to ten days, depending on the venue. Many of the minority women dress their best (traditional colorful costumes) on a market day.
Liantie Market is one of the most busy and interesting markets near Dali. Pretty much everything you find here is hand-made and locally produced. The Yi women here wear very distinctive headdress from the Yi in other parts of Dali. The drive to the market and away from the market offers breathtaking views of mountain ranges and lakes. The road leads up to an elevation over 3000 meters.
Lunch
Enjoy a delectable vegan lunch, with vegetables that are local and grown organically. A delish array of in season vegetables will be prepared and served by the local family, who also run the pottery-making workshop.
Afternoon-Pottery Making Workshop
Located in an ancient village a pottery workshop will be held, using traditional methods of the local people. The village has over 600 years of history and experience in producing pottery, from exquisite vases, to bowls and plates. Guests are also welcomed to get creative and choose to make something of their own! The pottery creations will be dried and fired in the kiln and shipped to the guests after a month when they are ready for use (delivery fee for shipping abroad is not included in the tour).
There are 30 preserved dragon kiln sites, five of which still use wood to keep burning. Throughout the small village you will find plenty of rammed-earth complexes as well as alluring cherry blossoms, blooming in the cold winter months.
It’s our mission to encourage and take people to places which they wouldn’t have found on their own. We provide cultural immersion tours, that help people have an in-depth Yunnan experience whilst promoting local sustainable businesses and traditions, keeping the local communities prosperous and alive!
Tour 3 (Monday, April 5)
Jizu Mountain Market Tour & Yi Macrame or Embroidery Workshop Vegan Day Tour (Dali)
Duration | 10-11 hours |
Group Size | 2-5 pax |
Departure | 8:30am |
Price(25% off) Varies by Group Size | 2 guests 1400 RMB Now 1050 per person 1100 RMB Now 825 per person |
Jizu Mountain Market Tour
Ethnic Markets in Yunnan are great places to observe the unique mixture of ethnicities and minority culture that live in the area. Local artists and farmers come regularly to sell their crafts and produce. You will be able to sample scrumptious Yunnan snacks and dishes freshly made by the nearby villagers who set up their stalls at a different market every day to make a living. Small cities and townships will host these gatherings usually once every five to ten days, depending on the venue. Many of the minority women dress their best (traditional colorful costumes) on a market day.
Jizu Mountain Market is located at a small town at the bottom of the holy mountain where they hold an ethnic market every Monday. There are many vegan restaurants at the base of the mountain just a short walk from the market.
Lunch
Enjoy a delicious vegan lunch at a tranquil traditional courtyard vegan restaurant at the foot of the holy Jizu Mountain. The staff here are super friendly, polite and attentive, they offer you free tea and snacks even you are not eating there.
Afternoon - Yi Minority Macrame or Embroidery Workshop
Located in a tradtional Yi ethnic village south of Xiagua(Dali city) where over 100 families call home. Diaocao Village is just like any village in China, where younger generation moves out to cities for better economic opportunities and children and the elderly are left behind. Biaoxiang is the official intangible heritage guardian of Dali Yi minority traditional crafts. He started his company years ago in the village aiming to keep their culture and handicrafts alive and their community prosperous and enable the female villagers, usually stay-at-home moms to earn higher income. The workshop will be led by one of the female instrcuctors in the village, you can make macrame barelet or Yi embroidery of your choice.
Price Includes
All Food and Water
One to two bottles of local beer(Dali)
Local English-Speaking Guide
Licensed Private Car with Professional and Responsible Driver
Workshop(Dali)
Price Excludes
Additional fee for pickup if your pickup location is outside a 5km radius from Dali old town, 5 RMB per extra km(Dali)
Tips (Optional)
Souvenirs and Personal Expenses
Good To Know
The markets are not a vegan market. Participants can expect to see non-vegan stalls, such as butchers and live fish vendors. In China, it’s still common to use the same cooking tools for meat and non-meat food. This tour is not recommended for vegans who mind cross-contamination. Non-vegan participants are welcome on the tour and non-vegan food options will be available for purchase. However, we ask that any participants refrain from purchasing non-vegan food until after the tour ends. On this tour, our guide will also share with you our plastic-free lifestyle. We will help you to refuse all single-use plastic disposables from the vendors and provide you with a reusable food container, a water bottle, etc. Through the day, there are restrooms available but there is very slim chance that we will find western-style toilets.
What To Bring
We will provide each guest a reusable food container, chopsticks, spoon, and reusable water bottle, but feel free to bring your own if you have. Please also bring a reusable bag in case you want to purchase any snacks at the market we visit. You can expect to be on your feet walking and observing for at least an hour; comfortable footwear is recommended.
We Provide
Reusable Utensils
Scan to book a tour
Registration closes 24 hours before a tour starts, minimum 2 pax, maximum 5 pax. All tours are subject to cancellation due to insufficient number of participants.
Zero Plastic Vegan Tours, is a sustainable tour company that advocates for a better world, emphasizing on delicious plant-based cuisine and a greener plastic free lifestyle. We bring our guests to exuberant local markets in the rich cultural streets of China, that are hidden and unexplored to many, giving them the opportunity to savor traditional vegan snacks and flavorsome dishes. We aim to highlight and promote local sustainable businesses and traditions to support traditional crafts and help others to experience in-depth traditional Chinese culture off the beaten path. We strive to be plastic free and eco-friendly to all!
At the moment, there are 2 half-day tours in Kunming and 5 day tours in Dali available. Tours can be booked through Tripadvisor(https://www.tripadvisor.com.sg/Attraction_Review-g298558-d21500360-Reviews-Zero_Plastic_Vegan_Tours-Kunming_Yunnan.html), airbnb（https://www.airbnb.com/experiences/1403610) or via our website(www.zeroplasticvegantours.com). Or you can contact me directly through WeChat(leolingchina) .
Facebook/Instagram @zeroplasticvegantours
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