Thanks to the Star Alliance's truly global reach, I'm thinking of going as far as Lijiang on my next award ticket to China (might as well, right?). I'd then spend a week making my way to Chengdu before flying back to Shanghai (and then spending some time in the China I'm already familiar with).

Any thoughts on such a tourist itinerary? I understand there's some brand new train service in Lijiang, which might be pleasant to ride. Also, is it worth going as far as Chengdu (never been), or should I just fly out of Kunming back to Shanghai? To see the sights in 7 or 8 days, it would seem like I'd have to fly from Kunming to Chengdu (which doesn't seem expensive).

Thanks!

I did Dali and Lijiang around five years ago and found that I enjoyed Dali much more than I did Lijiang. Lijiang's historic city centre can be a bit touristy at times but it's still worth a look. I quite enjoyed the more laid back vibe in Dali.

We travelled from Kunming to Dali by overnight train, which was quite enjoyable and then from Dali to Lijiang by bus. After that, the return from Lijiang to Kunming was by flight.

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!

We enjoyed Lijiang more than Dali. Be aware that Lijiang is very, very touristy, though the tourists are almost all Chinese. There are a couple of smaller heritage towns very close to Lijiang (30 minutes by taxi) that are also worth exploring -- sorry, I don't recall the names at the moment. In the wilderness area near Lijiang is a pageant celebrating the local minority group. It was staged by Zhang Yimou, the famous film director, and is an enjoyable way to spend an afternoon. Kunming is a typical smaller industrial Chinese city. There is a theater there that stages a show of minority dances -- that was also fun.

A friend recently did the itinerary you mentioned (she was supposed to go to Tibet instead of Lijang, but the government closed it off due to the anniversary of the uprising). She went to Chengdu for the pandas (found the center to be quite a delight) and paid the "donation" to hold one for several minutes. She absolutely loved that and the pictures are terrific. Definitely inspired me to do the same trip. If you're interesting, drop me a note and I'll send you a link to the photos. Her photos of Black Dragon Pool Park, outside Lijang, are quite lovely.

Wow, that's great news for you! Did you ask about FM's nonstop from Shanghai?

I didn't try to book the Shanghai Airlines flight. My recollection is that CO is still working out the kinks on award availability with them. Also, I "rigged" an itinerary such that I fly into China on Air Canada through PEK, get a free "extra" 24-hour (next available flight) stopover there (enough time for duck and some shopping), and then fly on Air China to Lijiang, connecting in Chengdu.

I then open jaw, flying Chengdu to Shanghai on Air China, where I do my official stopover. I fly home on Air Canada.

BTW, from the US east coast, always think Air Canada for award availability on Star. There always seems to be plenty of it through Toronto, unlike say on CO through EWR. AC has lots of connecting flights to the US, and you get the time-saving routings over the pole. Their service and aircraft are superior to UA.

If you're heading "out west" in China, these awards represent extreme value, as you get the expensive trip to places like Lijiang for free on your already reasonably-priced Asia award.

This is all great news! Two years ago I tried to do almost the same itin on awards (using UA miles), and it was impossible to find any availability inside China (FM was not even part of *A then I think). I was booking almost 10 months out, still to no avail.

Yeah, I tried it too on US in the past without success.

I'm wondering if it's SUPPOSED to be available. I read a report (maybe at viewfromthewing?) that "extra" Singapore inventory was also magically appearing at OnePass.

In any event, it's great for getting to the more expensive inland destinations in China.