ACCESS + RESOURCES
GETTING THERE: From San Francisco, fly Air China (fly-airchina.com) through Beijing to Kunming for about $1,300 round-trip. From there, it's a 50-minute flight to Lijiang, the entry city for trips down the Yangtze or hikes through Tiger Leaping Gorge. PRIME TIME: February through May, or mid-October through November. WHERE TO STAY: Check into the Jian Nan Chun Hotel, in Lijiang's Old Town (011-86-888-5102222). HIKE THE GORGE: Take a bus from Lijiang to Daju and start the trek through Tiger Leaping Gorge, stopping at Sean's Guest House overnight (tigerleapinggorge.com). PADDLE THE RIVERS: Mountain Travel Sobek (mtsobek.com) offers a 15-day rafting-and-trekking trip on the upper Mekong River this April 15–29, starting at $3,090. Its upper Yangtze trips will run February 4–15 and February 18–29, 2008.