preface

This was my first time to Yunnan and I didn't choose to follow a group. I had a relaxing time, but the travel arrangements were not very orderly. On November 15, 2017, I set foot on the beautiful land of Yunnan with my daughter-in-law, ideals, and a newly purchased Canon 6D camera. You can see from the plane how drifting and mysterious the mountains and clouds here are. The Shandong Airlines plane landed smoothly at Lijiang Airport at an altitude of 3000 meters. The driver arranged by the inn owner was waiting for us at the exit early. The sun is so close to us that we can only adapt to it by wearing sunglasses. The white clouds are too close to us, as if you can pick them up with your hand.

Lijiang Inn

It took half an hour to ride from Lijiang Airport to the foot of the ancient city of Lijiang. After walking through an antique alley, we arrived at the entrance of the inn where we stayed. We were greeted by a cat. Ideal likes it very much. Its name is Peanut, but the innkeeper is not here. The two-story inn was renovated by a house rented by the owner. The yard is not big, but it is very clean. It has a bar and a rocking chair. There are about 5 or 6 rooms of different sizes. It was very quiet and comfortable. When I came here, there were two young girls staying in the room near the door. Later, I learned that it was two mothers with children who left their children at home and went on a trip. No wonder Lijiang is a city of romantic encounters. Most of the people traveling here are girls. The room we stayed in was not big, but it had everything we needed. After packing my luggage, Ideal and daughter-in-law played with the cat in the yard for a while. I walked up to the roof to experience the whole picture of the ancient city of Lijiang. Lijiang is like spring all year round, and the days are long.

Lijiang ancient city

After resting for a while, we ordered some takeout online. Takeout was very convenient, but the price was not cheap. After dinner, we took our camera and set out to visit the ancient city. Most of the roads in the ancient city are stone roads. When there are many people walking, they are smooth and dotted, and all roads can be connected. At first, we set up navigation before we got to the center of the ancient city where we wanted to go. There are all kinds of shops on both sides of the road here, including those selling African drums, flower cakes, scented tea, jewelry, snacks, and greeting cards. You can stop when you are tired, listen to unrestrained songs at the African Drum Shop, and follow them with a couple of sentences. I especially like this atmosphere. Young men and women can go to the bar for a drink and listen to a song. Our favorite thing is the owner of Xiaochenggu Store singing Little Jumping Frog, Jade Dragon Three Kingdoms. Probably because there are too many people here to visit, the prices of the products here are more expensive. As we walked around, the sky became dark and night fell, but it was very bright. The stream flows in the ancient city, and some people will put a wishing lamp. The endless stream of people walked slowly. Here, I saw many beautiful women beating drums in a drum shop and a person walking alone on the road. I don't know if I really have an affair, but I have no hope anyway.

lashihai

Back at the inn, the owner of the inn came back, asked how we had a day, and brought me some fruits. The owner is a girl from Xinjiang, and she also stayed behind to run the inn after visiting Lijiang. After chatting with us, he recommended me a group to visit Lashihai. The next day, someone came to the inn to pick us and other guests who were traveling with us to Lashihai. I saw the Yulong Snow Mountain on the road. It felt very close, but it was more than 40 kilometers away. When I came to Lashihai, I found that it was a lake. It was not big but very clean, just at the foot of the mountain. We were placed in a fisherman's boat, who sang folk songs while rowing. The mountains were reflected in the water and the wind blew on our faces. We felt a boating in the beautiful river.

After rowing, we came to a simple small restaurant. Everyone tasted Lijiang's specialty super fried chicken and local pickles. It's not delicious, but at least it's delicious. After a hasty meal, I went to the hill behind the restaurant and rode a horse for the ancient tea-horse road.

Yulong Snow Mountain

When you come to Lijiang and don't go to the Yulong Snow Mountain, you will have regrets. At first, I was worried about lack of oxygen and didn't plan to go to Yulong Snow Mountain. It is recommended to go to Yulong Snow Mountain. It is more appropriate to sign up for a group, because the round-trip taxi fare, tickets and other expenses add up to more than 300 per person. We took a taxi there. The drivers here are still relatively civilized and will not charge arbitrary fees. They will also stop at scenic rafting places for you to take a photo. The taxi driver took us to the entrance of the scenic spot, and we needed to take a bus to enter the scenic spot. As the bus slowly drove out, we began to see the spectacular Yulong Snow Mountain. The trees at the foot of the mountain were lush and the vegetation was lush. What makes us most unforgettable is the Blue Moon Valley at the foot of the Jade Dragon Snow Mountain. The Blue Moon Valley was formerly known as the "Baishui River". On sunny days, the color of the water is blue, and the valley is crescent-shaped. From a distance, it looks like a blue moon inlaid at the foot of the Yulong Snow Mountain, so it is called Blue Moon Valley. The name Baishui River is also called Baishui River because the mud at the bottom of the lake is white and the water turns white when it rains.

Standing next to the Blue Moon Valley, it feels like you are in a paradise or a fairyland on earth. There seems to be no more beautiful word to describe this feeling. In addition to being amazed, I was still amazed that there was such a beautiful scenery in the world. It's a pity that I didn't take a cable car to watch the Yulong Snow Mountain.

Dali Cangshan Erhai

Because of the lesson from going to Yulong Snow Mountain, I signed up for a group when I went to Dali this time. This time I went to Dali to meet a family from Taiyuan, Shanxi Province, including grandparents, sister-in-law, parents and a child. Ideal and children became friends. I wonder if Ideal will still remember this experience when he grows up. I was waiting for the bus to Dali at the intersection early in the morning. When I arrived in Dali, I first went to Chongsheng Temple for a walk, which was at the temple at the foot of Cangshan Mountain. It is said that there was an earthquake before, and all other buildings were rebuilt, except the three towers of Chongsheng Temple were not affected. After coming out of Chongsheng Temple, I came to Butterfly Spring in Dali, where the forest coverage rate is very high. Butterfly Spring is one of the famous tourist attractions. It has beautiful scenery and clear spring water. It is unique to a rare spectacle in the world (Butterfly Festival). With the spread of the film "Five Golden Flowers", which reflects the life of the Bai people, the strange landscape of Butterfly Spring has become even more famous at home and abroad. The more famous ones are Dali Butterfly Spring, Zaozhuang Butterfly Spring, Yangshuo Butterfly Spring, etc. Here, I had a great time with the child and took many photos.

After visiting the two scenic spots, the bus took us to an apartment hotel on the Erhai Lake in Dali, where we could have a panoramic view of the Erhai Lake at night. Big floor-to-ceiling windows, big bathtub, big bed and room are destined to be very comfortable at night in Dali.

After getting up and eating breakfast the next day, the bus took us to the Erhai Lake for a cruise ship terminal. It was crowded with people and felt like we were going on a long journey. The ship is very large, can seat 2000 people, 5 floors up and down. Ideal was very happy. This was the first time I took such a big ship. After waiting in line for a long time, the ship was finally about to set sail. On the Erhai Lake, you can see Cangshan Mountain, with rippling blue waves and driving in the middle of the Erhai Lake. After a while, I passed by Yang Liping's former residence, but it had stopped receiving tourists and could only take a few photos from afar. After a while, a flock of white doves followed the ship. I went to the rooftop of the ship with my ideals to watch the vastness and beauty of the Erhai Lake. After driving for a while, the ship stopped on a small island. It felt isolated from the world. Everyone got off the boat and came to the island to play.

Only on the island can you experience the scenery of Dali, where fish and geese fall. After traveling for about 2 hours on the cruise ship, we took the bus to the ancient city of Dali. The ancient city of Dali is the hometown of Duan Yu, the protagonist of our TV series "Eight Parts of the Dragon". Compared with the ancient city of Lijiang, this place has neither the romantic atmosphere nor the feeling of prosperity. It only has a relatively retro impression. Bought some Dali origin coffee from here.