Before the Spring Festival in 2018, A Li had been thinking: How to spend the Spring Festival? Is it still like before to buy groceries, cook, wash laundry, mop the floor, watch TV and sleep every day?

After discussing with her grown daughter, she suggested going on a trip!

This suggestion is too in line with Li's heart! It fully proves that my daughter is my mother's considerate little cotton-padded jacket!

But where? There are so many places that Li wants to go!

The little cotton-padded jacket mentioned the places where A Li visited with his colleagues after the Spring Festival in 2017-Lijiang, Shangri-La, and Lugu Lake, and mentioned the Mosuo people's use of logs in A Li's travels "A Journey to Northwest Yunnan, a Journey in Painting, and a Journey in Dreams". The wooden house built raised the whole fat pig placed in front of the wooden house!-- She really wanted to see the wooden house and the big fat pig under the wooden house with her own eyes!

Okay, then let's go to northwest Yunnan, see the wooden house, and see the fat pig!

On New Year's Day in 2018, A Li reported online to travel with a group tour of Lugu Lake in Shangri-La, Lijiang for seven days and six nights.

Late at night on February 13 (the 28th of the twelfth lunar month), A Li and Xiao cotton-padded jacket flew directly to Lijiang on a red-eye flight. They arrived in Lijiang at 2 a.m. on the 14th. A few hours after checking in to the hotel, I got up and took a tourist bus to Lugu Lake.

1. Visit Lugu Lake again

At noon on February 14, 2018 (the 29th lunar month), we arrived at Lugu Lake.

The sky is still extremely blue and the sun is still extremely bright; Lugu Lake is still like a sapphire inlaid in the mountains, and white gulls and black wild ducks are still playing in the lake; Gum Goddess Mountain is still lying on the north bank of Lugu Lake, quietly guarding her people; the Mosuo people still live in houses built of logs and paddle their colorful and dazzling pig trough boats in Lugu Lake.

The difference is that when we were rafting on Lugu Lake last year, the breeze was blowing and the waves were calm. After circling Liwubi Island in the lake, we successfully got to the island and visited Liwubi Temple. We looked down from the highest point on the island. Colorful pig trough boats were cruising in the lake, leaving silver ripples on the blue lake; This year, when we were rafting on Lugu Lake, there were strong winds and surging blue waves. Although the white gulls enthusiastically flew around us, competing for the bread thrown by tourists, it didn't take long for the local oarsmen at the bow and stern to talk to everyone about whether to return: the wind was too strong, and other boats had turned around and rowed towards the shore! Safety comes first, we can only look far into Riewby Island before returning.

Although the boating lake was not fun, the subsequent walks on Lovers Beach and Rigg Peninsula made up for everything. Valentine's Beach is the place where the legendary local goddess Gum met her lover, the male god Hounlong. Today happens to be Valentine's Day, and there are many couples in the group. Strolling around Valentine's Beach is undoubtedly the most appropriate thing to do. The beach is flat and clean, the lake is unobstructed, and a tall tree by the lake is full of branches. Couples posed in various poses on the beach to take photos, while A Li and Xiao cotton-padded jacket played in the water and lingered under the flower trees.

The Ligg Peninsula is located in the northwest corner of Lugu Lake. It is like a huge crocodile swimming from the bank of the lake to the center of the lake. Its slender tail is still close to the bank, and its head and body are already floating in the lake. Except for no houses above their heads, the rest of the place is densely packed with houses. When I came last year, A Li, like most tourists, just stood on the observation deck on the roadside and looked at the Rigg Peninsula, feeling that it was already beautiful. This time, A Li was no longer satisfied with the observation deck and overlooking the area. Instead, he walked down the path to the lake and viewed it from different angles, and what he saw from each angle was a perfect landscape painting.

At night, I live in Xiaoshuoshui Village on the north bank of Lugu Lake, at the foot of the Mount of the Goddess Gemu Mountain, facing the vast Lugu Lake. Last year, we lived in Daluoshui Village on the southwest bank of Lugu Lake, opposite Gomu Goddess Mountain. After enjoying the lively Mosuo walking wedding banquet, A Li and Xiao Jinzhai did not enjoy the bonfire party they had enjoyed last year. Instead, they wandered around the quiet lake, feeling the tranquility and elegance of the ink paintings in front of them, and the starry sky. The vastness and brilliance!

February 15th is New Year's Eve. After breakfast, the tour guide took us to Mosuo for home visit.

Last year, A Li also participated in a Mosuo family visit, just to have lunch at a Mosuo family's home on the roadside. During that home visit, A Li admired the local house built of logs and saw the fat pig placed under the window outside the house. This year's Mosuo home visit took the whole morning without food. A beautiful girl wearing national costumes and claiming to be a cultural representative of the local village met us in the parking lot, took us into the village, came to a two-story wooden building with the words "XXX Visiting Garden" written on the door, and walked into the first floor. In the grandmother's room, everyone sat on a small bench that had already been arranged in the room.

Cultural representatives with good Mandarin first explain the culture of the Mosuo people, focusing on the customs of walking marriage. Then he taught the local people some tips for treating diseases: silver bowls, silver cups, silver chopsticks, silver combs, silver belts, silver bracelets and other silverware can cure many diseases without going to the hospital at all. Later, she practiced it on her group members herself: she used the silver bracelet on her hand to scrape the faces of the female group members who wanted to shave-several beautiful girls immediately had a black mark on their faces. Cultural representatives said that their cosmetics contained lead; Combing a male group member with a silver comb on his head, and he immediately became clear-headed and energetic; using a silver cup of silver water placed in the pot to scrape the cervical vertebrae of an aunt with cervical spondylosis, and her cervical vertebrae immediately turned red and black. Everyone listened with gusto and exclaimed from time to time; the more Ah Li listened, the more confused he became: How did this cultural representative say and do so similar to the cultural representative that Ah Li met at the Tibetan village scenic spot in Duoji Water Town on the Jiuzhaigou Huanglong Route the year before last?

On the morning of June 23, 2016, A Li and his group members took a bus back to Chengdu from Jiuzhaigou. On the way, they were taken to Duoji Water Town by a tour guide to conduct Tibetan home visits and learn about Tibetan culture. The parking lot is full of tourist buses. In front of each bus, there is a girl dressed in Tibetan costumes and fluent Mandarin. She serves as a cultural representative of the village to welcome tourists from all over the country. A Li couldn't help but marvel at that time: This Tibetan village is really amazing. There are so many girls with dignified looks and good temperament! The representative of the team that received Ah Li was Zhuoma, who was not very tall but had very white skin. She led everyone into a brand new building-she said it was her new house, but her family had not moved in yet and still lived in the old building. In the living room on the first floor, stools were also neatly placed. After the group members sat down one by one, Zhuoma began to explain Tibetan culture, with the focus on the culture of charity: Tibetans will give one-third of their annual income to the temple-where can they come from if they don't want to give up? Then he began to teach everyone various Tibetan tricks for treating diseases: silver bowls, silver cups, silver chopsticks, silver combs, silver belts, silver bracelets and other silverware can cure many diseases! The arguments are clear, the arguments are rich, the arguments are strict, and the feelings are sincere. Afraid that he wouldn't be able to remember these magical and effective prescriptions, Ah Li quickly took out his mobile phone and turned on the tape recorder and recorded them for a rainy day (Zhuoma told everyone not to take photos after entering the house to avoid blasphemy, but she didn't say that recording was not allowed). After talking about the recipe, Zhuoma began to practice it, using silver bracelets to scrape many tourists, which attracted bursts of exclamations. Finally, Zhuoma led her convinced group members to a large house not far away from the house, filled with various silverware allegedly crafted by local craftsmen-there, Zhuoma immediately became a considerate and enthusiastic salesperson. So tourists rushed to buy silver bowls, silver cups, silver chopsticks, silver bracelets, etc. Because Ah Li was short of money, he was only dragged to try on several silver bracelets and watched the lively scenes in the house. In the end, he did not take out a penny and failed to make any contribution to the local economy! Li felt guilty.

However, what A Li didn't expect was that on November 3 and 4, 2016, CCTV News exposed the travel routines on the Jiuzhaigou Huanglong Route for two consecutive days! A Li learned that Duoji Water Town, Deji Meiduo Style Street, Tibetan Pharmacy and local specialty shops on this route all belonged to the same group company. Silverware was bought from Yunnan at a low price and then sold to tourists at a high price. All purchases must be refunded to travel agencies and tour guides, and all shopping rebates are controlled by the sales department of the company's headquarters. A Li then speculated that those beautiful cultural representatives were just employees of this group company, not ordinary girls from the local Tibetan village.

A Li did not meet local cultural representatives when visiting Lugu Lake last year, so he was unable to gain an in-depth understanding of Mosuo culture. When I visited Lugu Lake again this year, how did the Mosuo cultural representative teach me exactly the same recipe as the Tibetan cultural representative in Duoji Water Town? Next, will she sell silverware to her group members like the Tibetan Zhuoma?

A Li is recalling the story of Duoji Water Town, and after more than an hour of cultural promotion, the beautiful Mosuo girl lifted up the cloth on a large table next to her, revealing all kinds of white silver bowls, silver cups, silver chopsticks, silver combs, silver belts, silver bracelets, etc. The group members stood up one after another, tasted these treasures, and began to bargain. The little cotton-padded jacket tugged at Ah Li's sleeve and looked at Ah Li enthusiastically, his eyes full of desire for silver! (Afterwards, she said that she really wanted to buy a silver comb and a pair of silver chopsticks!) Li quickly pulled her up and asked her to accompany him to find the bathroom. Out of the unusually lively grandma's house, A Li told the story of Duoji Water Town to the little cotton-padded jacket, and then took out his mobile phone to find the recording of the Tibetan recipe from that year. A Li always thought that these recipes were the essence of Tibetan medicine, and he was reluctant to delete this passionate recording. After listening to the recording, the little cotton-padded jacket resisted the temptation of silverware and began to notice the exquisiteness of this wooden building, the attractiveness of the rows of bacon, sausage and wax hooves hanging under the eaves, and the rows of bacon and wax hooves. There is a complete fat pig on the table below! The things that the little cotton-padded jacket wanted to see most were immediately presented in front of her eyes. The temptation of silver bowls, silver cups, silver chopsticks, silver combs, silver belts and silver bracelets quickly disappeared from her mind. She just went to admire the wooden buildings and the fat pigs. A Li was at the stall in the courtyard, admiring local specialties, chatting with Mosuo Aunt, Mosuo Girl, and Mosuo Boy, who were not fluent in Mandarin, and finally bought a few kilograms of walnuts and two bags of buckwheat tea, which was considered a contribution to the local economy. Do your best.

The interesting Mosuo home visit lasted from eight o'clock in the morning to eleven o'clock. Everyone gained something. The tour guide beamed and happily led everyone to visit the walking wedding bridge on Caohai.

When A Li came to swim in Caohai last year, the sun hid in the clouds and was shy and refused to see anyone. Today, A Li traveled back to his hometown again. The sun warmly welcomed him with blue sky and white clouds, shining the lake water blue and shining the dead grass golden. Everywhere A Li could see, there were gorgeous oil paintings. The walking marriage bridge, known as the "World's No. 1 Love Magpie Bridge", is not as straight as bridges in other places: it spans both sides of Caohai, and the three-hundred-meter-long bridge body is S-shaped, just like a graceful dancer who wiggles her waist.

Can all this not make Ah Li intoxicated?

Lugu Lake is worth visiting again!

After lunch, our tourist bus drove to Lijiang, and the trip to Lugu Lake came to a successful conclusion! A Li is looking forward to tomorrow's trip to Lijiang.

Lijiang, how will you welcome us?

2. Visit Lijiang again

February 16, 2018 is the first day of the first lunar month. The simple and hospitable Lijiang treats us with its beautiful scenery, rich activities, and warm service. It makes A Li and Xiao Jiaoxin happy all day and lays a solid foundation for a whole year of happiness.

In the morning, we rode horses on the ancient tea-horse road and felt the joy of riding horses.

Although it was the first day of the first lunar month, there were a lot of tourists coming to ride horses, so we waited for a while at the racecourse. The horses in the film and television works give people the impression of being tall and handsome, but the Dian horse in front of A Li is short and docile-the horse leader explained: Yunnan is mountainous, and short horses are more suitable for walking on rugged and narrow mountain roads. Carry forward with heavy loads. This was the first time for both A Li and Xiao Jiaoxin to ride horses, but the horses were very obedient and walked steadily. During more than an hour of riding, even if they were climbing mountains and downhill or walking in dense forests, they did not make people feel scared.

After the horse riding, we went to Lashihai for boating to experience the joy of boating. There were also tourists, but we didn't wait long before we got on the boat successfully. It's really refreshing to break through the waves in the green Lashi Sea in the spring breeze.

In the afternoon, we went to Shuhe Ancient Town to experience the beauty of the ancient town. Because of last year's experience and lessons, A Li took a small cotton-padded jacket and went upstream along the canal and directly to the western district of the ancient town. Along the way, there were gurgling running water, blooming flowers, and trees, and finally we reached Jiuding Longtan.

After visiting Shuhe Ancient Town, we hurried to the Ancient City of Lijiang. When I came last year, all intersections of the ancient city of Lijiang were filled with staff to check whether tourists had paid the 80 yuan ancient city protection fee. When he came back this time, Ah Li didn't see the staff checking the protection fees, but only saw an endless stream of tourists. Is it because today is the first day of the New Year and the staff are all on vacation? No solution!

A Li and his friends stayed near the ancient city of Lijiang for four nights last year. They used sporadic time to visit the ancient city three times in the morning, afternoon and evening, but each time they came and went in a hurry and failed to visit the most famous Mufu in the ancient city of Lijiang. The Mufu at the foot of the Lion Rock is the residence of the Mu family, who has inherited Lijiang's Tusi for more than 200 years. It is known by the world as the "Grand View Garden" of Lijiang's ancient city culture. CCTV's popular TV series "Mufu Fengyun" was filmed here. Some people even say: To go to Lijiang but not to Mufu means that you have never been to Lijiang!

This time, Li didn't want to leave this regret behind. So he and the little cotton-padded jacket quickly walked through the people of the ancient city, and finally arrived there before the Mufu closed. The conductor in Mufu does not have any vacations, but because it is the Spring Festival, the ticket price is discounted-the original price is 60, but now it is 20% off.

Walking into Mufu is like walking into the Forbidden City-the Mufu was built in imitation of the Forbidden City in Beijing: the grandeur of its architecture, the glory of the palace, the exquisite carving, the exquisite components, and the brilliance of the paintings make people marvel and have to linger!

It was already around six o'clock in the afternoon after touring Mufu. The main door was closed, and we walked out through the side door. The afterglow of the sunset shone on the wooden buildings, turning them golden. Accompanied by the sunset, we shuttled through the ancient alleys, walked out of the ancient city along the bluestone slabs and along the small canals, returned to the Red Sun Square, and returned to the hotel behind the tall and kind statue of Father Mao, waiting for tomorrow's trip to Shangri-La.

Shangri-La, how will you welcome us?

3. Visit Shangri-La again

February 17, 2018 is the second day of the first lunar month. Before 6:30 in the morning, we arrived at Red Sun Square and waited for the arrival of the tourist bus. There were few pedestrians on the street, only the kind statue of Father Mao still standing in the square, waving to us.

The bus arrived soon and took us to Shangri-La!

At about 10 a.m., we arrived at the Tiger Leaping Gorge. The sun is still as bright as last year, the sky is still as blue as last year, and the Haba Snow Mountain and Yulong Snow Mountain are still wearing snow hats as last year. But the wind is different! It is no longer as warm and pleasant as last year, but aggressive and ruthless! As soon as we got out of the car, it pounced forward and gave everyone a big cold bear hug. It scared everyone to immediately return to the car and put on cotton coats issued by the tour guide over their jackets. After getting off the bus again, everyone was like tightly wrapped red rice dumplings, heavy and cumbersome! A Li and the little cotton-padded jacket walked hand in hand, afraid that if they let go, the wind would blow us into the air. Down one-third of the canyon, the little cotton-padded jacket suggested stopping the descent and overlooking the canyon from the observation deck. A Li went to the valley bottom last year and saw the rushing river water and the man-made tiger statue, so he immediately responded. So the two of them took a few photos of their trip here on the observation deck and then returned.

At about two o'clock in the afternoon, we arrived at Pudacuo National Park. Shudu Lake is still charming and charming, but Miritang and Bita Sea are no longer open to tourists-the tour guide said they want to protect an endangered fish there. A Li didn't feel sorry because he had traveled to Miritang and Bita Sea last year; Xiao Jinzhai had never been to these two places and didn't know that there were any other places, so he didn't feel sorry. The park has blue skies and clear water, dense forests, snow is everywhere, and the plank road is flat. Tourists are intoxicated by walking through it, not to mention a beautiful bird jumping on the plank road, pecking at the food leaked by tourists. What about food?

At about 5 p.m., we finished touring Pudacuo National Park. Walking out of the door, two happy little black pigs came to meet us groaning, begging for food like old acquaintances. The little cotton-padded jacket, who was born with a love for small animals, beamed and immediately took out his bread to show his love. After all, the little black pigs had never gone to school or read, and did not know how to pay attention to their image. They jumped up eagerly and vigorously, snatched the bread from the little cotton-padded jacket, and almost bit her hand. A Li reminded the little cotton-padded jacket to throw the bread on the ground and not feed it with your hands. After eating the bread, the piglets were still hungry, and the little cotton-padded jacket was reluctant to part with it. But we are going to attend a Tibetan toast banquet, and we are going to experience Tibetan food culture! Little black pig, I can only bid farewell to you!

The Tibetan Tusi Banquet in the evening was indeed extremely luxurious. It was the most sumptuous group meal in our entire trip: there was a stage in the middle of the lobby on the first floor of the former Tusi's house, and there were dozens of tables around the stage, each table with eight people, and each person had a small hot pot. The table was piled with hot pot dishes: yak meat, Chinese cabbage, tomatoes, soybean oil skins, vermicelli, etc. You can drink highland barley wine and butter tea as you please, and you can eat tsamba and chopped steamed buns as much as you like to drink and eat! From time to time, there are service staff holding dishes and asking if they want to add them. It's a pity that we can't enjoy the taste of these delicacies, so we can just taste them and stop.

The song and dance performance after the meal was very lively. The host with pigtails, earrings and a short skirt is a fat black guy who can speak and sing, is good at interacting with tourists and arousing their enthusiasm. There were not only handsome and beautiful men performing on stage, but also a local old grandma. The old grandma's song attracted thunderous applause, and countless people came to the stage to present hada to her. When every tourist entered the Tusi Building, they received a hada presented by a local beauty. The white hada on the old grandma's neck was piled high and almost collapsed. After that, we didn't attend the bonfire party because we were eager to return to the hotel to rest. In short, this night in Shangri-La was different.

February 18 is the third day of the first lunar month. In the morning, the tour guide first took us to visit the resplendent Shambhala Shilun Mandala, and then took us to the ancient city of Dukezong. On the way to the ancient city of Dukezong, the tour guide told everyone sincerely and bluntly that he would soon take everyone to a Tibetan pharmacy to visit and study. People in need can buy some precious local Chinese medicinal materials; the things are definitely real, but the price is a bit expensive; everyone who bought them will contribute to the local economy and will also bring some income to him. He thanked everyone on behalf of the people of Shangri-La! Later, the tour guide introduced some methods to identify medicinal materials.

When we arrived in the ancient city, we were led directly into a large-scale Tibetan pharmacy. Each person was first served a free cup of precious saffron tea, and then was guided by many shopping guides to learn the magical functions of various precious medicinal materials. Ah Li and Xiao cotton-padded jackets, wearing the same black hat, also moved slowly with the crowd, watching and listening, especially seriously, unwilling to miss this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to learn medical knowledge.

Suddenly, someone patted Ah Li on the shoulder. Ah Li thought he had met an old friend in another country, so he hurriedly looked up in surprise to find his old friend-the old friend didn't see it, but found a strange middle-aged man with a blue birthmark on his face looking seriously at him. The person first introduced himself in fluent Mandarin as the resident Tibetan doctor of this pharmacy, then pointed to the little cotton-padded jacket and said,"Are you her mother? How did you become a mother? You don't care if your daughter looks so bad?" Without waiting for Ah Li to reply, he led Ah Li and the little cotton-padded jacket to leave the study team and went to an open space next to him. He sat the little cotton-padded jacket down, checked her pulse, looked at her face, shook his head and said to Ah Li: "Your daughter is very weak. She needs to recuperate quickly." A Li nodded repeatedly and bluntly said that the little cotton-padded jacket studied very hard and often stayed up late. The Tibetan doctor immediately took over: "I can tell that your daughter often stays up late. Staying up late is very harmful to the body. Many celebrities die suddenly because they often stay up late. Your daughter needs to recuperate quickly. If you believe me, I will write a prescription for you and buy medicine in this store. It will take a few courses to adjust her body!"

Ah Li could already see that the little cotton-padded jacket was angry: The miracle doctor said that those celebrities died suddenly after staying up late, which was obviously cursing her! Before the miracle doctor could tell his recipe, A Li resolutely interrupted his narration: "Thank you. If my daughter is weak and needs conditioning, I will take her to our local traditional Chinese medicine hospital!" The miracle doctor was about to take a pen and prescribe a prescription when he didn't expect Ah Li to be so uncooperative. A surprised expression appeared on his face, and the green birthmark became even greener. No matter what, Ah Li used the excuse of looking for the bathroom, pulled up her little cotton-padded jacket and walked out of the pharmacy, ending the pharmacy visit and study activities early.

In the ancient city, we walked on the Qingshiban Road, admiring the beautifully carved wooden houses on both sides, and chatting about the adventure we had just had. The little cotton-padded jacket was still a little angry: This Tibetan doctor is so bad that he even curses others at will! A Li comforted her: The Tibetan doctor was regretting it. He finally found an opportunity to make a lot of money, but it fell short!

After lunch, we will return to Lijiang. The tour guide bid farewell to everyone and thanked everyone for their support for his work. He was also going on vacation. A new tour guide who was preparing to pick up tomorrow's tour group accompanied us back.

On the return trip, A Li suddenly remembered that the ID card collected by the tour guide yesterday had not been returned to him. He hurriedly asked other tourists, and everyone suddenly remembered that he did not have the ID card. Ask the driver, but the driver doesn't know; ask the new tour guide, but the new tour guide doesn't know either. Fortunately, some tourists left the mobile phone number of the former tour guide and quickly dialed it. The former tour guide picked up and said that his ID card had been brought here by a tourist bus behind us. Before arriving in Lijiang, the bus stopped to add water and wash the car, and the bus behind it finally caught up with us, and the ID cards finally returned to each of us safe and sound!

In the evening, we returned to Lijiang safely, and our visit to Shangri-La ended successfully.

On February 19, 2018, the fourth day of the first lunar month, A Li and Xiao cotton-padded jacket passed through Guiyang and successfully returned to their home in Wuhan.

The seven-day and six-night tour of northwest Yunnan is over! A Li's 2018 Spring Festival is colorful, tortuous, and full of surprises because of it.

What will the Spring Festival be like in the future?

Worth looking forward to!

2018、5、27