Graphic by Meng Xi

This journey begins at the Jade Dragon Snow Mountain. In fact, I have not been very fond of Lijiang over the years. The reason may be that my impression of Lijiang is the bustling bars in the ancient city. As a person who likes to be alone, I can't like the colorful life, so I have never regarded Lijiang as my travel destination. Until I came to Lijiang for business in April this year, I quickly realized that in addition to the ancient city, the surrounding natural scenery is equally dazzling. At that time, due to the rush of time, So I planted a wish in my heart that I would come to Lijiang to drive myself, and now this wish has finally come true.

Since I came for the Yulong Snow Mountain this time, I even chose to stay on the tourist road to the Yulong Snow Mountain instead of living in the ancient city. As I could accept the price and was relatively closest to Yulong, I found a hotel in the Dongba Valley Scenic Area. Dongba Valley is a tourist attraction on the tourist loop, but I don't recommend this tourist attraction. It feels like it is a place contracted by group tourists, and the scenic facilities are almost interesting.

However, this hotel inside is decorated to resemble an ancient city, and you can face the Jade Dragon Snow Mountain in the hotel. However, the weather was very bad a few days before I first arrived in Lijiang, and it was difficult to see the shadow of the snowy mountain. I had to take photos at the hotel.

Because aerial photography is not allowed in the ancient city of Lijiang, these buildings here satisfy my desire for aerial photography.

Especially when the lights are on in the evening, it seems like a scene from a TV series appears.

When I was really bored in the hotel, I decided to drive out. I chose Baisha Ancient Town, which is a ten minute drive away from the hotel. This was the only ancient town I visited in Lijiang this time.

Baisha Ancient Town is located about 10 kilometers north of Lijiang. It is surrounded by Yulong Snow Mountain in the north, Longquan in the south, and Zhishan in the west. It is the ancient capital of the Naxi people and the world-class "Ancient Naxi Kingdom". It was once the political, economic, commercial and cultural center of the Naxi people in Lijiang.

As one of the important birthplaces of Naxi culture, Naxi Mu's Tusi has accumulated experience in planning towns in Baisha. Moreover, Baisha Ancient Town is the origin of the regime of the "Mu Family" of Lijiang Tusi. Baisha Ancient Town is the ancient town with the most Naxi heritage and the most original Naxi village.

The three Gouzi brothers in the ancient town.

Baisha Ancient Town should be my favorite among the three ancient towns in Lijiang. This ancient town has very few tourists, and parking is convenient and free outside. Although I didn't want to go to the ancient town during this trip to Lijiang, I was really bored to stay in the rainy days without seeing the Yulong Snow Mountain. It happened that Baisha Ancient Town was also nearby, so I came here to visit.

Vehicles are not allowed in and out of the ancient town from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.. In addition, there are few tourists, so you will feel as if you have contracted the place. There will be many local old women selling mountain goods on both sides of the main street. There are also pine cones that are bigger than mine and full of pine nuts that are sold for ten yuan each. You can also taste various snacks such as bait silk and tofu chicken. The price is definitely cheaper than those in other ancient towns.

After wandering around the ancient town for a while, I found an open place to take aerial photos of the entire Baisha ancient town, and found that the ancient town was quite big. Buildings with strong local characteristics are very interesting to look at during the scattered period.

Music can see the shadow of the snowy mountains, which is enough to imagine how happy people living here are to see the snowy mountains every day.

In the evening, the clouds began to disperse, but the shy Yulong Snow Mountain still did not emerge. The thick clouds above were like a hat, but it was unwilling to take off the hat in front of me. I had to wash and sleep in the hotel, looking forward to the next day. There will be surprises.

The next day, the Jade Dragon Snow Mountain was indeed revealed to me. I went directly to the scenic area, changed to a shuttle bus, and took the cable car halfway up the mountain to admire the Jade Dragon up close. In fact, looking at the snowy mountains up close is really not as good as looking at the snowy mountains from afar, and it is still a little cold on the mountain. Watching a large number of tourists wearing rented red down jackets storing oxygen tanks taking photos at the stone tablet of the Yulong Snow Mountain, I don't think this is my favorite way to travel, so I decided to just go down the mountain and take a look from afar.

This is where the cable car reaches, and I can continue to hike up. I really didn't like climbing mountains and gave up.

Clouds came quickly under the mountain, and I also came across the first rainbow I met in Yunnan. The probability of meeting a rainbow in Yunnan is actually very high, but I was still excited to record it.

Parking the car in the open space, sitting on the grass and watching cattle and sheep leisurely grazing, feeling the changes in light and shadow as the wind blows through the clouds, basking in the sun comfortably and not crowding people. This is my favorite way of traveling. This is one of the reasons why I like to travel by car. I can enjoy traveling easily and comfortably. Choose a favorite song list from the vehicle's central control, put down the chair and lie down comfortably for a while.

From this central control panel, we can find that the intelligent network connection systems used by the 21 VV5 are more in line with the usage habits of young people. The interface is very design and the theme is young and dynamic. Such as iqiyi, these mainstream Internet video applications have also appeared on this system, and the entertainment is significantly enhanced.

After seeing the Jade Dragon Snow Mountain, I decided to head towards Shangri-La and see the "sun and moon in my heart".

These lakes of varying sizes under the Yulong Snow Mountain are quite interesting. I have always wondered whether these are naturally formed or artificially made. Later, with a local answer, I learned that these lakes of varying sizes were artificially built. In order to regulate Lijiang's climate, I was a little confused.

In fact, the reflection of the lake here is really beautiful, but it can only be photographed in the morning. After that, it will blow all day long and you can't see the reflection at all.

At present, the only way to travel from Lijiang to Shangri-La is by national highway. It is said that the Lijiang-Shangri-La highway will be opened to traffic at the end of the year, and there will be no need to drive cautiously on the winding national highway. Starting from Lijiang, National Highway 355 turns to National Highway 214. It takes about 4 hours to get to Diqing City. Since there is only one road at present, there are still a lot of cars, especially in the first half of National Highway 355 up the mountain and the second half of the mountain. You must not speed and change lanes. When you reach the 214 country, the roads will be much wider. However, if you rush to rainy days, there will be low fog on several hilltop sections and the visibility is very poor, so you must drive carefully.

On this section of the road, I encountered foggy weather, and I saw with my own eyes a car rushing down the roadbed in front of me. Fortunately, it was on the inside. If it was on the cliff side, the consequences would be unimaginable. Since it was driving with extremely low visibility, I simply parked the car in a safe location, flew a drone and took aerial photos. The fog was scattered among the mountains. The Wuhua Mountain in autumn was looming in the clouds and clouds, and a colorful landscape painting appeared in front of me.

The fog became smaller and I continued to drive forward. The surprise hit again. A whole rainbow spanned in front of me. I quickly got off the road to take pictures of the rainbow.

At first, I still opened the window and used the camera to take pictures of rainbows, but the rain was still falling and the interior was wet, so I had to close the window and let the drone out to take pictures.

I also went to Shangri-La after taking rainbows. When talking about Shangri-La, I must mention Songzanlin Temple. Songzanlin Temple is the largest Tibetan Buddhist temple in Yunnan Province. It is also one of the famous large temples in Kham District. It is also the center of the Yellow Religion in Sichuan and Yunnan. It plays a pivotal position in the entire Tibetan area and is known as the "Little Potala Palace." The temple is built against a mountain and looks like an ancient castle. It integrates Tibetan plastic art and is also known as the "Tibetan Art Museum". Songzan Forest Temple is now in the no-fly zone of Diqing Airport, so drones can no longer be flown. Let me show you a few photos of Songzan Forest Temple taken by me many years ago.

This is the Songzan Forest Hotel behind Songzan Forest Temple.

The golden roof of Songzanlin Temple

The temple of Songzanlin Temple is surrounded by an oval city wall. The main hall is majestic and gorgeous. The murals in the hall are brightly colored and the brushwork is exquisite, mainly describing historical sites and allusions and promoting Buddhist teachings. The two main temples of Zhacang and Jikang were built at the highest point and located in the center of the entire temple. The main temple faces south and is a five-story Tibetan-style carved building. The upper floor of the main hall is gold-plated copper tiles, and the corners of the hall are surrounded by animals. It also has a Han-style temple architectural style. The lower floor hall has 108 pillars, representing the auspicious number of Buddhism. The hall can accommodate 1600 people. The left and right walls are the "Ten Thousand Scroll Cabinets" of Buddhist scriptures. The front seat of the main hall houses a bronze statue of the fifth generation, and behind it is lined with the remains of famous eminent monks. The main building on the top floor has a special Buddhist temple and Buddhist hall dedicated to the fifth and seventh Buddha statues, as well as the Bayeye Sutra Scroll, Thangka, and handed down magic tools.

Photo of Songzan Forest Temple from the direction of Songzan Forest Hotel

Although it is not possible to take aerial photos now, I have the best viewing point for Songzanlin Temple to tell you. There is an open space under construction in the direction from Diqing to Napa Sea, which is the best place to take pictures of Songzanlin Temple from a high place. location.

Although Songzanlin Temple is very good from this location, the taste here doesn't taste very good. I don't know if it's cow dung or something. It has a strange smell, but I have been hiding in the car. The 21 VV5 is equipped with a CN95-level air conditioning filter element, which can filter out 99% of bacteria and create a clean interior environment for people to breathe safely. After I stopped the car and went to shoot, I also used WEY's APP remote control in advance to ensure that I turned on the cabin cleaning function before getting on the bus, so that I could have fresh air after getting on the bus after enduring the strange smell outside.

If the weather is good enough, I really want to take a sunset here.

The steering wheel of the 21 VV5 has just the right size, and I can hold it and steer it very easily while driving.

Continue driving forward for more than ten minutes from this shooting point and you will reach Napahai.

Coastal roads in the Napa Sea

Napahai is the largest grassland in Diqing County. Due to the humid climate of the reserve, forage grass grows faster than similar areas. In May every year, the grassland shoots out, while the Napa grassland is already lush with green grass. At the beginning of June, all kinds of wild flowers are blooming, and the vast grassland is filled with Qionghua and Yao grass. Flocks of cattle and sheep rise and fall with the sea of grass, as if floating in the sea. In the vast wilderness, there are beautiful grassland scenery where "cattle and sheep are seen low on the grass in the wind". The three snowy mountains of Shika, Shika and Xinyala stand tall in the west. Snow-capped mountains, grasslands, cattle and sheep make up the northern scenery of the southwest. Now this season, the mountains are colorful, and although the grassland has turned yellow, it is still gorgeous. There are very few people in Napahai this season. Driving on the highway around the sea, opening the window, and letting the cool autumn wind hit me. It feels very comfortable.

The scattered red leaves on the mountain complement each other with Tibetan houses

This place is completely different from the Erhai Lake in Dali. The cattle and horses on the grassland are leisurely eating grass. You can also accept the invitation of local herdsmen to ride horses and gallop towards the sea on the grassland. Of course, this is for a fee, but this is a good experience for people who have never ridden a horse. In the off-season, you can bargain, and herdsmen can let you experience it at a similar price.

There is also a very beautiful road to the Botanical Garden on the Napa Sea, and there is also a viewing platform overlooking the Napa Sea.

I like the 21 VV5 China Net very much. It imitates electroplating paint and looks brighter and younger.

I actually want to complain about the design of the 21 VV5 gear handles. Although the gear handles are very comfortable, I am very not used to the design of P gear being a single button. I have parked R gear as P gear many times. Fortunately, the timely reversing screen on the central control panel allowed me to quickly discover that I have put in the wrong gear.

This road leads to a village on the top of the mountain. It twists and turns for several kilometers, and it is a road built completely close to the mountain.

Halfway through my self-driving journey in northwest Yunnan is here. In the next chapter, I will tell you a legendary story and show you a beautiful secret attraction. Stay tuned.