Looking at the golden ginkgo trees on both sides of the road against the blue sky, my mood is very beautiful.



If you want to eat local snacks, we will find a vegetable market. Following the navigation, we rode a donkey to the nearest market. There are really many local snacks. Baozhi tofu is very good , I didn't dare to try the bait nugget. I even bought a roasted corn without any seasoning, which became my snack for the next few days. 。

caicun

There is still a long way to go from Dali City to the ancient town. We retired the donkey and changed into a public bus. More than an hour later, we arrived at the Haiyao Inn where we booked, and it was just time to check in. The inn is located in Cai Village, near the Erhai Lake. Due to the epidemic, there are not many tourists. A lake-view room with more than 200 yuan a night is unimaginable now. Lying on the big bed and looking out the window at the rippling waves and rolling clouds of the Erhai Lake, my whole heart is calm down. This is what a vacation should look like.

The sky in Yunnan has never disappointed me, and it takes a photo of it. Outside the inn is the Erhai Lake, with a wide view and many wild ducks playing in the water on the lake.

I lay on my bed early in the morning and waited for the sunrise. There was no one on the road along the lake. It was quiet. The Phnom Penh on the top of the mountain in the distance gradually became clearer. Unfortunately, the mountain was too high and when the sun came out, it was already slightly dazzling. As the sun slowly rose, the silent lake returned to life.


Today, I want to visit the ancient city. There is a public bus from Caicun Wharf to the ancient city, which is quite convenient. On the way to the dock, you will pass a metasequoia, which looks particularly red against the blue sky.


You can see firecrackers flowers in many places in Dali. The orange-red flowers are crawling all over the fences and walls. I like them very much. I bought a few online and planted them home. I didn't even have a bud after a few years. I am disappointed!

Dali ancient city

After breakfast, walk to March Street to go to the market. It is very lively to sell snacks, fruits, flowers, specialties, clothing and everything.


There is a shop selling hairy tofu on the roadside. It is neatly placed on a shelf. Looking up close, there are some black spots smaller than sesame seeds. The fluffy ones are cute, but I don't dare to try them.

The Internet celebrity road in front of Dali University stretches straight to the Erhai Lake, attracting many people to take photos here. The traffic police uncle reminded us to pay attention to safety.

Most of the buildings here have cornices, and the blue and white carved beams and painted buildings are very gorgeous. This is not only true for the park, but also for ordinary people's houses. When chatting with a local person, he told us that the custom here is like this. Even if the house has no money to make it well, the facade must be built beautifully. I think this custom should be changed.


The ginkgo trees that can be seen everywhere in the ancient city are the most beautiful season when their leaves are yellow.



I wonder if the fallen leaves on the road were deliberately left like our bauhinia petals, leaving a trace of romance in the ancient city.


As night falls, the gate of the ancient city looks particularly brilliant under the illumination of the landscape lights. I had a meal of preserved pork ribs hot pot in the ancient city. It was quite special. It felt like it was just slightly processed. It tasted like bacon, but it was not as hard as the bacon here. There is live in the small bar directly opposite. She sings well, and before you know it, it's nine o'clock. The bus to Huicai Village was no longer available at 7 p.m., so we had to go back after visiting the night market.

Three Pagodas of Chongsheng Temple

During the epidemic, the ticket prices were extremely low, so we took the bus from the ancient town when we had nothing to do. After entering the park, I walked around at will and occasionally overheard the short stories told by the passing tour guide, and I was satisfied 。
The severely weathered stone fence reminds us of the vicissitudes we have experienced here.




Tired from shopping, I sat on the bench of the temple and watched the people coming and going at the gate. I basked in the sun lazily and was so warm that I almost fell asleep.

Huanhai East Road

Because there are no strategies, this map is our next itinerary. The tour around the sea is divided into two sections. One day, we ride a small electric donkey along Huanhai West Road to the north, Caicun Wharf-Majuyi-Haishue-Xizhou, and then return to Longkan Wharf for dinner. On the other day, I rented a car and stayed in Xiaoputuo through Shuanglang, and finally returned the car to Dali Station.

In the morning, we rode our rented donkey and set out for Xizhou. The Huanhai Road was under construction, so we had to walk on the road outside from Caicun to Majuyi. It was very dusty and there were also large carts roaring past us. It made people scared. Fortunately, the journey was not long. As soon as we arrived at Majiuyi, we quickly slipped back into the village. The birds on a fence on the roadside were so cute.

Through villages, through green and gold fields.
We drove the donkey back to the lake in seven turns. We walked through the streets and alleys and felt very comfortable, but we didn't know that we would have to pay the price for letting ourselves go like this on the return journey. From time to time, there are small surprises beside the plank road, the little squirrel passing by, and this unknown beautiful bird.

After a period of treatment, the water quality of the Erhai Lake has improved a lot. Along the way, some pumping stations were seen filtering the lake water, and some banks were clear enough to see the stones in the water.

Xizhou

When I arrived in Xizhou, it was lunch time. I had a yak hot pot. The restaurant was not big. In a private courtyard, the black pottery pot was very unique. The 135 set meal was quite cost-effective. It contained steaks and stewed slices of beef tenderloin. The aroma of beef bone soup came to my nostrils. I couldn't wait to eat it and completely forgot to take pictures.

There is a commercial street in the ancient town. We bought some souvenirs, flower cakes and so on. What we had never seen was butterfly sinus flower sauce. We dug a spoonful and flushed the water and got a cup of blue-purple drink. It was sour and sweet and delicious.
There are carriages in the town, and the poor white horse is dirty.

You can also braid small braids. Sister braids colorful silk threads into her hair in a few times. The craftsmanship is really good. I washed them twice and still haven't dropped them. Give me a compliment.

After leaving Xizhou, we drove back along Huanhai West Road, hidden in the thick clouds. There are many vacant rooms for rent on the roadside. It would be great if I could have one.

Back at Longkan Wharf, you can see the urban area of Dali across the lake.

After dinner, I continued to walk back. At this time, the donkey was running out of power. It was moving forward at a high speed, looking at the bright lights of the ancient town opposite us, but the road in front of us was dark. I prayed to God that we could return to the inn. This is the result of letting ourselves go around early in the morning.

Huanhai West Road

Today, we are going to drive a rented car around the lake. There are many beautiful cars. The old car on the right is ours. This Mercedes-Benz Smart 160 has all manual windows. Fortunately, it has air conditioning. Feng Sheng said that it was not as easy as our small E's. I heard that many small E's in Dali can be rented now.

After the only way out, we set out for Shuanglang.


Passing by Butterfly Spring.

After passing Shangguan Town and entering Huanhai West Road, the scenery becomes different. Cangshan Mountain in the distance becomes the background of the Erhai Lake.


Looking north from the east of the lake, you can't see the edge, but it really looks a bit like the sea.

shuanglang

Soon we arrived at Shuanglang. The epidemic affected few people, and many shops were closed. The stage in the town was full of locals entertaining.

Look at these little flowers, they look like little girls dancing in skirts. There are also giant mandala flowers that bloom all over the tree.

The double corridors are already very commercial. There are shops and restaurants on both sides of the street, and B & Bs by the lake, so I plan to stroll around and have lunch before leaving. The most famous one is Yang Liping's Moon Palace, which is partially open for tourists to visit for free. The road to entry is very narrow, basically a one-way street. If two people face each other, they have to turn sideways.
There was a bird standing on the wooden stake, and it stayed like a decoration for a long time.

Continue to drive forward after lunch, and the sun slowly approaches Cangshan Mountain. Although the sunlight shines on the lake is a little dazzling, it makes people can't help but take a look more.

Xiaoputuo

Siberian red-billed gulls spend the winter here. Many people watch by the lake. They are not afraid. Someone raised his hand and the lake immediately boiled.

The sun slowly set on the other side of Cangshan, and the birds disappeared for an instant.

The afterglow turned Cangshan Mountain golden, and the Erhai Lake returned to calm.

As the sun set, the last day of the trip came to an end. This trip made me fall in love with Dali. Maybe I fell in love with a new way of traveling, leisurely, free, no place to go, nothing to do, everything to do.

Postscript: The winter cherry blossoms we planned to see were already over by then. Coupled with the long journey, we gave up, which gave us an extra reason to come back.

Finally, I borrowed a sentence I saw on the road,"Shut down, see you in the Jianghu!"