Originally Posted by
moondog
I'll be very impressed if you manage to score that ticket. While CTU is easy to pull off, those --full fare only-- tourist destinations are pretty tough to swing with miles.
In any event, I encourage you to keep an open mind and feel free to PM me if you need suggestions for other interior destinations (it's nice to have a list in mind when you call up United).
To my amazement, CO is giving me these Air China flights. Which is why I'm thinking of taking them -- I would not otherwise be willing to buy the expensive airfare to Lijiang from PEK or PVG.
I need to look at this some more (CO tells me I have to ticket within 24 hours), but I'm thinking of taking the new train from Lijiang to Dali, and then taking the overnight train from Dali to Kunming (as kevincrumbs mentions). I think I would then fly Kunming to Chengdu, as the train looks slow and the airfare is inexpensive. Seems like a good, cheap adventure!