Sparkling Starlight, Rippling Waters: A Journey Full of Love (A Quest for Beauty in Dali, Lijiang, and Lugu Lake)

The love of dreaming has always been a nature hidden deep in our bones.

There’s no stiff fake smile here, only a stretch of shimmering emerald water.

Gilded clouds, blue skies, sunshine, and faith.

No need to avoid anyone’s gaze.

You can quietly observe the hurried passersby or the leisurely visitors,

Or wander aimlessly, never stopping,

Drifting between dream and reality.

Every step, every scene, is born of some unseen fate.

Sometimes I can’t tell how far reality is from dreams.

Is it pressure that made me escape, or expectation that led me to distant places?

I search for answers on the road.

Travel keeps me in good contact with the world.

Sometimes I even let my imagination run wild—

If one day travel could become life,

When you focus on doing one thing for long enough,

In due time, it will surely burst into many flowers.

I touch the edges of the world with my eyes and speak the scenery to you.

With a steady salary and a stable life, on the surface it looks peaceful and uneventful, but it feels like the drowsiness of early morning self-study chanting—that’s been my life for the past half year.

We set off, shedding the dust and clamor, carrying a heart full of joy.

Strictly speaking, this isn’t a typical travelogue; it’s more like a miscellany, recording impressions and insights along the way, as well as new understandings gained in the past year.

Day 1: Shanghai – Kunming

【 Night Scene 】

At 4:30 p.m., we departed from Shanghai for Kunming.

On the plane, I leaned against the window. As the sky darkened, the lights on the ground gathered into lines of various shapes, bright or dim, more like stars in the night. It was the first time I had looked so earnestly at the city thousands of meters below; it looked so beautiful. I realized that only when we quiet down can we discover the lovely scenery we’ve overlooked a thousand times.

Day 2: Dali – Erhai – Xizhou

【 Xizhou 】

On a 1:6,000,000 map of China, the straight-line distance from Shanghai to Dali is 50.3 cm, but in reality, we are 3,019 km apart.

After a sleepless night on the jolting train, we arrived at Dali Station before dawn. In Shanghai at 7 a.m., traffic reports already show congestion on some roads; on subway platforms, commuters are jostling for good spots. But here, it’s so quiet you can only hear roosters crowing in distant villages.

【 Erhai 】

I’d long heard of Erhai’s beauty, so this time I specially booked a hotel in Heyejiang Village right by the lake. Standing on the hotel’s rooftop, you can overlook the lake and mountain scenery below. Sunlight falls on the rippling water, and with the gentle breeze, it’s like elves dancing.

【 Stars 】

Nowadays the sky is empty, as if everything has been wiped clean, but once the Milky Way was as common as dust. Starlight turns everything into a charming black-and-white film. No matter where you stand in life, no matter your mood, if at night there is a sky full of stars, you will feel rich. – Toni Morrison

Day 3: Xizhou – Lijiang

In the early morning, Erhai is quiet, with a touch of ethereal charm.

【 Lijiang 】

In my eyes, every place has its own unique charm. Whenever Lijiang is mentioned, the most typical comment is that it’s “too commercialized.” Is “commercialization” praise or criticism? Sifang Street is still brightly lit at eleven or midnight, with small bars where people strum guitars and sing softly, and others filled with smoke and noise like discos. There are cozy coffee shops and lively food stalls—a whole spectrum, bustling with traffic.

I think Wuyi Street’s worn-smooth flagstones are not Lijiang;

The hurried, fleeting noise of Sifang Street is not Lijiang.

Lijiang should be slow, gracefully restrained,

A rich, gentle warmth

That is subtly hidden in the blue flagstones, under the eaves, in the croaking of frogs in the garden.

When Lijiang learns to slow down,

The long-missed Lijiang will return.

The night in Shuhe Ancient Town is so peaceful, even more comforting and reassuring.

[Mint] Environment: The environment is okay. I saw this highly rated restaurant in Shuhe Ancient Town online. The owner specifically informed the ancient town gate guards to let us in, which was very heartwarming. The food is also quite distinctive, and it’s rare to find something so delicious in the ancient town.

[Service Bell] Service: The boss is very polite and easygoing. The small pot rice is the best, with fragrant fried potatoes.

The steam pot chicken soup is fragrant and fresh, though the meat is rather bland.

Pu'er tea braised pork is bouncy and tender.

Lover’s Plum Braised Ribs—this is the most delicious, you must try it well.

Day 4: Lijiang – Lugu Lake

We set off from Lijiang at 9 a.m. and jolted along for nine hours. The mountain road was so narrow that two cars could barely pass; all the way we heard people gasping. The direct bus was supposed to take eight hours, but we ended up changing buses three times, crossing mountains and ridges, and didn’t arrive at Lugu Lake Daluoshui Bus Station until past 6 p.m., right at the usual quitting time. Tips: From the bus station, you can share a car to Lige for 20 yuan per person. They say next year a new road will open, and then the trip from Lijiang to Lugu Lake will take only three hours. On the way back, you can charter a car from the village back to Lijiang for 100 yuan per person, about six hours, without having to share a ride to Daluoshui first. It’s more convenient than the bus, no transfers, and more comfortable, but without insurance. You can also buy a return ticket at the bus station, 100 yuan per person, about nine hours, with only one bus a day to Lijiang at 10:30 a.m.

【 Lugu Lake 】

Lugu Lake is as quiet as a teardrop, transparent, reflecting the blue of the sky and the green of the trees, with a touch of sadness and a hint of pride, isolated from this noisy world.

Day 5: Around Lige, Lugu Lake

We walked up the steps along the mountain, passed a mani stone pile, and took a photo of our little car.

If you only photograph the mani pile, the picture has no highlights. Add a lantern, and suddenly the image gains depth.

Day 6: Lugu Lake Circuit

Before dawn, we chartered a boat to watch the sunrise from the opposite shore.

I have to say, the temperature difference at Lugu Lake is huge. In the early morning it was almost -5°C, and a thin layer of ice had formed on the boat. Blue, yellow, even pink boats were moored by the shore, gently swaying with the ripples. We rowed from the shore of Lige toward the mountain, seagulls flying overhead and then dipping down, turning into white duckweed on the water. Even as the sun rose, its dazzling light couldn’t break this tranquility.

Lige – Lige Peninsula – Neisai Village – Lover’s Beach – Zhaojia Bay (Goddess Bay) – Walking Marriage Bridge (Grass Sea) – Luoshui Village – Lige

Another viewing platform: a must-visit spot to overlook Lige from above. Often a bus stops, and a huge wave of tourists flocks to the platform, standing in the same spot, trying hard to capture the heart-shaped lake pattern that the paid photo service promises, then they get back on the bus. Ten-odd minutes later, another bus arrives, another crowd, repeating the same actions. Imagine how amusing it would be to put everyone’s photos together—like one person changed into different clothes.

Day 7: Lugu Lake – Lijiang

【 Goodbye to Lugu Lake in the Morning Light 】

Even after I leave, I’ll often think of it, just like photos saved in my phone for a long time—I still flip through them now and then. Just like when you love someone far away, unable to see each other, you still miss them. With a place you constantly long for, even when you say goodbye, your heart is still happy.

【 A Dream About Stars 】

On the return bus, we were delayed for two hours mid-way due to an accident on the road. We departed at 10:30 a.m. and were supposed to arrive around 7 p.m., but it dragged on until about 9 p.m. Though the journey was hard, it created a perfect opportunity. Passing through small mountain villages, the peaks just perfectly hid the moonlight, and through the window, the Milky Way’s stars were clearly visible. What made it even more magical was the sparse village lights, which in the darkness resembled the stars in the night sky, as if we were in some corner of space, both real and illusory, as if having a dream about stars. At that moment I felt lost for words, unable to find a suitable adjective to express their beauty; the only thing I could think of was how captivating they were. For that one hour, my eyes were fixed on where those stars were, thinking that the light transmitted to Earth years or even tens of thousands of years ago—perhaps right now they had already fallen, faded, ceased to exist. Thinking of this, I couldn’t help but look a little longer, even though my neck ached badly, my brain still told me it should be so.