When I encountered the COVID-19 epidemic this year, I could only stay at home. Thinking back to my free travel days in Yunnan at this time last year was really full of fantasy.

The seasons in Yunnan are like spring all year round, but March is the best season. There are already scenes of flowers. It is really warm spring and flowers are in full bloom. Our old couple and another like-minded couple bought a ticket on Ctrip and went to Yunnan for the second time. Last time, we traveled with a group and took a classic route with a bad impression. This time, we traveled on a free trip to Tengchong, Ruili, Mang City, Dali and Kunming.

The flight from Shanghai arrived at Tengchong Airport in the evening. We booked a hotel and sent a car to pick us up as scheduled. It was an apartment. The picture below shows the exterior view of the accommodation house and their dog. It is more than a kilometer away from the main road, which is not very convenient.

Tengchong City is not big and very clean. It has a main road that leads directly to major attractions and markets. It has multiple bus lines. It is very convenient and is the most suitable for free travel. For the more distant attractions, there are only chartered cars, which are not very expensive.

The next day we went to Heshun Ancient Town and Dareoguo hot spring attractions, which could be reached by bus.

This is the famous Heshun Library in the town. It must have been renovated, but it still retains some ancient books and tables and chairs inside.

After leaving town, we went to the hot spring attraction of Da Reoguo. It was a ravine. The fog in the ditch was a little fairy. We bought a string of eggs and placed them in the covered nest they designated. After a while, they were steamed, and we sat down. Eat.

The picture below shows us when we came out and saw the road we had just walked up the mountain and took a photo.

There is a hot spring hotel in the scenic area where you can take a bath and it is said that it can also cure some diseases. We didn't go there. The next day we moved to a hotel on the main road, but the price was cheaper.

We chartered a car to some further attractions such as volcanic crater, Black Dragon Pool, Gaoligong Mountain, Wetland Park, etc.

Below is the outlet of the Black Dragon Pool, and all the water flows out of an underground outlet.

This is a group of little monkeys on the roadside. Everyone left the food behind, and they ate it safely. Unlike monkeys in some places who want to attack tourists. Last time in Bali, a monkey jumped on my head and grabbed another tourist's glasses. After calling the management staff, he swung a banana over. The monkey put down his glasses, picked up the banana and fled.

This is a crater, an extinct volcano. You can walk around the ridge and come back to where you were. Another picture shows the folds formed after solidification of volcanic lava were taken along another road, indicating that this place was a volcanic active place in ancient times.

This is the scenery of Wetland Park.

Next to the park is the entrance of the famous Gaoligong Mountain Scenic Area. In my early years, I learned in a biographical book that the Japanese invaders built a solid carved castle on the mountain, and the Chinese army dug tunnels and buried explosives to kill it. Later, I started to pay attention to Tengchong from the TV series: My regiment commander, my regiment. The battlefield in front of me had become a tourist attraction. Perhaps we could still find the relics of the trenches of those years. It was really a change.

Speaking of the Anti-Japanese War, my companion was from Chengdu. His father was a Kuomintang veteran who left Sichuan for the Anti-Japanese War. After the victory, he returned to Chengdu alive. It was a narrow escape. He was immediately demobilized and never fought again. There is a national war cemetery in the city, and we went to pay a visit.

We have always been concerned about the jade market in Tengchong. When talking to the local driver, he introduced that there will be a jade trade fair in the commercial square in the city center tomorrow. In addition to local jade merchants, there will also be Burmese businessmen coming to trade. It is very lively. This is really what we want to know.

The next day, we arrived at the trade conference as scheduled. The car was missing in the usual parking lot today and was filled with stalls. There were prepared tables with roofs, and there were also plastic sheets sitting on the floor. The dark faces of Burmese businessmen are easy to recognize. Most of them brought luggage and rushed back from the border crossing. The market charges are not expensive. I think they can only pay 5 yuan. I don't care about jade. The companion who came with me is a jade lover. She also brought a strong light. It was like a fish in water to see such a scene. I ran from one stall to another, and I couldn't find them in a while. I stopped in front of a Burmese businessman's floor shop and saw them talking about business. The guests seemed to be local. They were negotiating a pair of jade bracelets. The local people finally offered 200 yuan. The Burmese businessman refused and the man left. The local people came to the next market easily, but I had no chance, so I added 100 yuan. The Burmese people thought about it and made a deal. Said I knew how to do business and asked what else I wanted. God knows, I'm a layman, so I'd better let my companions who know the industry take a look.

After making a big circle, I finally met everyone. I told me about my experience in buying jade and took it out for strong light to look after it. She said it was worth it. It was real jade. It would be better to throw it brighter and the caliber would be smaller. Instead, they didn't buy much. They probably had to go to Ruili next stop, looking forward to a bigger jade market there. I took a picture of the bracelet.

We had lunch at a cafeteria across the road from the market. We could eat enough for 50 yuan per person. There were a variety of foods, including beer and drinks to drink as you please. Prices in Yunnan are cheap in the country.

We took a long-distance bus to Ruili, which was a border port. There were many Burmese people. The signboards of some shops were in Burmese. We went to the famous Jiegao Border Trade Market. I took a picture at the port.

Sister Ruili's jade market is very large and it is permanent. Some of the market are fixed shops, some are temporary, and there are also people walking around at the door. They don't need stalls and hold their own jade in their hands to show you the price. Most of them are Burmese.

The jade articles here are priced at a high price, some of which cost tens of thousands or hundreds of thousands. They are different from the markets in Tengchong. They are not in a hurry to sell them. Some have set up mobile phones and lighting to start online live broadcasts. My jade-savvy companion spent several thousand yuan to buy some ring noodles, saying they were better than the tens of thousands of ones she had in Shanghai. I also bought a ring face for my wife. She used a flashlight to shine on it and said that there was a flaw in the ring face that could not be seen with the naked eye. The Burmese businessman also agreed that the price was reduced from 300 to 50. The transaction was completed. There is a shop in the market that makes silver withdrawal. It only costs 20 yuan to install it.

We went to Hansha Border Village in Ruili, where the buildings look like Myanmar and Thailand.

We walked 3 kilometers to the Yizhai Liangguo Scenic Spot. Across the river is Myanmar.

The buildings in Ruili are a bit Burmese style, and the streets are clean and a little exotic. I haven't been to Myanmar yet and I'm going to go next year.

We were going to our next stop, Mang City, and the innkeeper helped us charter a car. The cost per person was similar to that of a long-distance bus and delivered it directly to the hotel. There is a big market next to the hotel and not far from the main road. This is perfect for people like us who like to walk and visit the market. The breakfast buffet in this hotel is also good and I am very impressed.

We saw a tree holding a tower in the city, which was similar to a temple in Angkor Wat in Cambodia. All banyan trees have this function.

We went to the Botanical Garden in the urban area. There were many plants that were not seen in Shanghai, including large jade blocks and stocked peacocks.

They like to be in the trees.

Not far from the Botanical Garden is the Shwedagon Pagoda Scenic Area. On the navigation map, it is not far away. It was not easy for us to walk. We had to make a detour and go up the mountain, but it was still convenient to take a taxi. Taxis here was surprisingly cheap.

These trees are blooming really well in the Shunda Pagoda Scenic Area.

We left Mang City and went to Dali. We went on a group tour last time, but we didn't have a good time. This time it was a free trip and we had enough time. First, I went to Santa Temple, which I didn't go to last time. It's a pity that such a magnificent temple in the southwest does not come.

The ancient city of Dali only photographed the west gate and street scenes.

The picture below shows Xizhou Old Street of the Bai nationality. The last time I came here, it was a small village road, but now it has been converted into a pedestrian street.

Today is Sunday. I went shopping on March Street, and then I went to Dali University, which is not far away. Cherry blossoms were in full bloom all over the campus. I met with a concentrated display of handicrafts made by students themselves. It was really beautiful. I accidentally ran into a March 3 flower fair.

We live not far from the Erhai Lake. The water quality of the Erhai Lake is really good. Swarms of red-billed gulls come from Siberia to spend the winter and soar freely on the water's edge. There are bursts of howling cries. We encounter this beautiful scenery.

Dali's streetscape is also good, and it's a bit unforgettable. But we have already bought high-speed rail tickets to Kunming, and a better scenery lies ahead. Dali to Kunming had a high-speed rail, and we soon arrived in Kunming. The hotel is in the center of the city, and the subway is right outside the door. There are many scenic spots in Kunming that are not arranged with group tours. In the evening, we went to the Jinbi Archway in the city center and had dinner at a time-honored rice noodle restaurant nearby. There are branches along the way, but I finally found its main store tonight, but the price is the same.

Go to Dianchi Lake the next day. The seagulls here will compete with people for food, so be careful to peck your hands.

How nervous is my wife's expression? Seagulls have strong flying skills. The Longmen Scenic Area is on the opposite mountain and can be reached by a cable car.

The cable car only reaches the entrance of the scenic area. By climbing the mountain, you can reach the highest point of Longmen, and you can have a panoramic view of Dianchi Lake and some distant views of Kunming City.

There are also many seagulls in Cuihu. Not far away is the Lecture Hall.

We went to the Golden Temple Park again. We had to climb a small hill, or we could take the relatively gentle mountain trail to reach the Golden Temple on the top of the mountain.

This was built by Wu Sangui when he was King of Southwest. The entire hall was assembled with copper pieces and is a cultural relic. There is also one on Wudang Mountain, which was from the Hongwu period of the Ming Dynasty. A bronze hall was also built in modern times, but I forget which mountain it is on, so it is not unusual.

The group of copper plastic parts in the picture below is arranged beside the road of Dazhong Temple in the park. This is a replica of the exhibits in the Yunnan Province Museum. When enlarged, it looks clearer, more charming and more sophisticated. Copper has been produced in Yunnan since ancient times.

Before we left, we went to the Kunming Flower Market. It was indeed large. The main exhibition hall was a two-story structure. We went to the succulent plant museum upstairs. This was one of them. We bought some and took them home.

Yunnan Free Tour is about to end, and I booked a ticket from Kunming to Shanghai. The plane made a short stop in Xingyi. Outside the window was the scenery of mountains and forests mentioned in Xu Xiake's travels. It took no effort to get the beautiful scenery.

The scenery along the way is really good. I have been playing freely for 20 days, but the photos I took in some places have not been put up yet. From Tengchong, Ruili, Mang City, Dali, to Kunming, only 4,500 yuan was spent per capita. March is still the off-season, accommodation is not expensive, and food is much cheaper than Shanghai. We met some migratory birds, most of whom came from the north and from Sichuan. They flew to live in the winter. They rented houses that were more affordable. We have planned to come to Yunnan again after the Spring Festival this year. We will go to Qujing Luoping to see rapeseed flowers, then to Jianshui, Maitreya, and Xishuangbanna, and maybe to Tengchong to buy jade. I booked my ticket early on Ctrip. com, but it failed to materialize. But as long as I keep this thought and my body is feasible, I will go.