10-Day Tour of 5 Provinces for 3,586 Yuan: Fujian, Chongqing, Dali, Lijiang, Shangri-La – Let’s Go!

📍 Dali · 👁 1 reads · ❤️ 104 likes

Me: Let’s go traveling!

My buddy: No money.

Me: Budget is 3,500 RMB for half a month.

My buddy: I’ll borrow from Huabei and go~

Itinerary: Fujian/Wuhan/Foshan – Chongqing – Dali – Lijiang – Shangri-La.

And just like that, on January 17, 2021, the spur-of-the-moment trip for us, the ‘Heisei Three’, was born~

Because I travel a lot for work, I’m used to roughly planning an itinerary and budget, but not too rigidly. After all, travel is about uncertainties that lead to regrets but also memories.

Before departure, use the national pandemic prevention check on Alipay to see if both your city and your destination are low-risk areas. Otherwise, you’ll be quarantined when you get off the train!!!

Since the three of us were starting from different places, we decided to meet in Chongqing, a place none of us had been to. To save money, we all took high-speed trains.

Sights: Jiefangbei Pedestrian Street; Hongya Cave; Shibati; Liziba Light Rail; Chongqing Three Gorges Museum; Zoo; Xiannv Mountain Forest Park; Wulong Grand Canyon

🍄 Food: 1. Hot pot 2. Noodles... 👍

🍄 Hotel: Panda Apartment B&B 58 RMB... 👍

🍄 Tickets: Jiefangbei Pedestrian Street (free); Hongya Cave (free)

⏰ We arrived in Chongqing in the evening, rested a bit, and it was about 9 p.m. So we first headed to the nearby Jiefangbei Pedestrian Street and Hongya Cave.

The hotel was very convenient. It was about a 1km walk to Jiefangbei Pedestrian Street. At a road crossing 500m away, it was quite pretty, so I snapped a few photos.

The building’s exterior was also awesome 👍

✌ At Bayi Food Plaza you can listen to music, and there are lots of street snacks along the way as you make your way to Hongya Cave.

⏰ Walk through Jiefangbei Pedestrian Street and continue for about 1.5km to reach Hongya Cave. Free admission. Just scan the QR code on site to enter.

It’s gorgeous, the buildings look like something out of an anime.

⏰ As for hot pot, there’s an old street lined with hot pot restaurants on both sides. You can take a taxi and let the driver drop you off. Taste 👍, price 👍. Oh, and remember to choose mild spicy~ ... (I endorse the flower 🌸.)

⏰ About the hotel, it exceeded my expectations this time. Because of the pandemic and the New Year, in Chongqing there were rooms everywhere for 58 RMB/night. You’d think it must be lousy and dirty, but actually...

1.8m king bed + 1.5m tatami. The three of us played rock-paper-scissors, winner got the small bed to themselves~

🍄 Tickets: Shibati (free); Liziba (free); Three Gorges Museum (free); Zoo 24.5 RMB

⏰ A 200m walk from the hotel brought us to the old Shibati architecture. You can stroll around and grab breakfast there. The metro entrance is also here. We spent about an hour.

To take the metro or bus, open WeChat or Alipay and search for ‘transit code’ – no need to buy a ticket, just scan to pay, dear~

⏰ Liziba Station on Metro Line 2 is an internet-famous spot.

You can take a photo pretending to ‘eat’ the train. Hmm~ I could eat another one 🤭

⏰ Then take Line 2 for three more stops to Zengjiayan Station. After exiting, navigate and walk 1km. Along the way, there are many noodle shops where you can get lunch for 15 yuan 💴. Delicious 👍 and affordable.

⏰ The Chongqing Three Gorges Museum has a square in front, and across is the People’s Auditorium.

Due to the pandemic, even with a green health code, people from outside the province couldn’t enter, so we rested in the square. And I happened to get bird poop luck 😅. Hope you get some too.....

⏰ Then take Metro Line 2 to Zoo Station. Walk 850m to Chongqing Zoo. Ticket 24.5 RMB.

It was my first time getting up close with peacocks, ostriches, and pheasants – zero distance! 👏 Like this.

Finally, took the metro back ~ showered. Then went to have a bowl of noodles nearby. Hot pot isn’t that we can’t eat it. (Even mild spicy was unbearable!!!) (〃＞目＜)

🍄 Tickets: Xiannv Mountain Forest Park 99 RMB; Forest Eye 25 RMB

⏰ A heads-up: Xiannv Mountain is about 200km from downtown, and it takes around 4 hours. We rented a car through LianDong Cloud, total cost about 600 RMB. Regrettably, due to time, we missed Wulong Tiankeng Grand Canyon /(ㄒoㄒ)/~~. See, regrets come, and so do memories~

Woke up at 7:30, grabbed a bowl of noodles nearby, and cheerfully set off. We arrived around noon. Parked the car, and without a word, stuffed a mouthful of snow into my buddy’s face – exactly 3.8 ounces. 🤭

At the entrance there were some amusement rides for kids, and of course... we’re kids too, so we had to play!

⏰ Continue following signs for 500 meters to start a treetop walk. The endpoint is the Forest Eye, yay!!

✌ Lunch was at Forest Eye – we splurged 6.5 RMB on instant noodles. Didn’t even use Huabei~

⏰ After coming out of Forest Eye, we drove on following signs – I forget the exact name. When we saw a place that looked like a ticket hall, we’d arrived. We took a little train for about 15 minutes. After getting off, we walked 500m back in the direction we came from to reach the spot. Took photos, enjoyed the view, then waited for the return train at the three-way intersection.

⏰ TIP: Ask the driver what time the last train back is. Don’t get too carried away and miss it – it would be a 1-hour walk back to the parking lot 😄

⏰ Back in the city around 9 p.m. The Jiefangbei Pedestrian Street parking lot had dedicated LianDong Cloud spaces, so we returned the car right there. Then we walked out of the underground garage and had dinner at Jiefangbei Food Street.

Left at 8 a.m., took a taxi to Chongqing West Station, and after 8 hours arrived in Dali.

🍄 Hotel: Dali Mihai Inn, double bed + single bed, 70 RMB/night 👍

🍄 Dinner: Wild Mushroom Emperor Seaview Restaurant (group-buy 3-person set) 👍

🍄 Tickets: Cangshan Scenic Area 115 RMB; Erhai Lake (free)

⏰ We wanted to take a taxi from Dali Station but waited ages. Neither app nor hailing worked, so we took a bus plus walked (just use navigation). The hotel was right by Erhai Lake. For dinner, we just walked 600m along the lake from the hotel. Eating while enjoying the sunset glow – so pleasant 😊

⏰ In the morning, we opted to cycle around Erhai Lake. We rented bikes right next to the hotel (the only rental nearby). 80 RMB per bike, with a range of about 180km. Breakfast was also at the little eatery next door.

⏰ My route: Cangshan Scenic Area – Dali Ancient Town – Haishe Ecological Park – Xizhou Ancient Town – Shuanglang Ancient Town – Xiaoputuo (cycling was really cold...).

✌ Cangshan Scenic Area is fairly close to the city, so you can do that first. Ticket 115 RMB.

⏰ After visiting Cangshan, you can head down to stroll around Dali Ancient Town, which is right next door – it’s already included in the ticket.

✌ Then enjoy the scenery along the cycling route. Many people rent convertible sports cars to circle Erhai Lake, usually over 1,000 RMB.

⏰ I’d suggest there’s no need to circle the entire Erhai Lake – it’s just so-so. Instead, take a taxi to the city entrance of the Erhai boardwalk. Rent a bike and ride halfway around; stop and go, look at the lake, have some coffee. Isn’t that better?

A side note: I’m a bit of a boozehound. Coming to Dali, of course I had to hit a bar. But the experience was terrible – not only was the vibe off, there weren’t even any shills. Thumbs down ~ and we even had to pay a separate table booking fee of 200.

Today we had more time – the 12:29 high-speed train. We ate breakfast at a leisurely pace and strolled by Erhai Lake right outside the hotel.

⏰ Dali – Lijiang: 2 hours.

🍄 Hotel: Lijiang Yuanmeng, two double beds, 92 RMB/night (with washing machine and gym) 👍

🍄 Dinner: Rice bowl at a street stall, 15 RMB. 👍

🍄 Tickets: Lijiang Ancient Town (free)

In the afternoon, we wandered through the ancient town, which was full of guesthouses. You can scan QR codes on roadside signs to get a cute cartoon map of the whole town. On the way up to the highest point we passed Lion Mountain but didn’t go in – and not because it charges an entrance fee. Up at the highest spot, we ordered a pot of tea for 58 RMB and sat down. At that moment, the clouds felt within arm’s reach.

⏰ For a late-night snack, we walked 200m from the hotel to Caicai BBQ outside Zhaoqing Market. Price 👍 taste 👍.

🍄 Tickets: Lashihai 30 RMB; Yuhu (free)

At 9 a.m. we took a bus to Lashihai Wetland Park, which took about 1 hour. Use Baidu Maps for directions. After getting off, you still need to walk 1km to the scenic area.

Outside the scenic area you can also choose to ride a horse around the lake, but that’s an extra cost. On the way back, since the bus was taking forever, we used an app to hail a taxi, about 40 RMB.

⏰ In the afternoon, because we still had time, we thought of visiting Heilongshan Park. But to enter you need to pay a Lijiang maintenance fee of 50 RMB per person, so we gave up.

⏰ So we took a taxi to nearby Yuhu, about 60 RMB. The distinctive feature is houses built from a mix of stone blocks and timber.

Yuhu Village has Joseph Rock’s former residence. He lived in China for 27 years, studying Yunnan culture. The trekking route up Jade Dragon Snow Mountain was also discovered by him.

Tip: The starting point for the Jade Dragon Snow Mountain trek is right at Yuhu 😄

On the way back, seeing a coffee house at the village bus stop, we ditched the taxi and took the bus. Ordered a pot of tea, tried some local red paste snacks, and played a few losing rounds of Honor of Kings 😔.

After showering in the evening, we continued to explore Lijiang Ancient Town. We went to the observation deck at the top of the town – my buddy brought a camera, I brought five Buds.

🍄 Tickets: Jade Dragon Snow Mountain + Blue Moon Valley 100 RMB

⏰ Jade Dragon Snow Mountain is 30km from the city, taxi around 120 RMB. Solo travelers can take the bus for 70 RMB. The ticket includes Blue Moon Valley, but you need to buy a separate shuttle bus ticket to get there.

⏰ Tip: Check the weather for Jade Dragon Snow Mountain a day in advance. If there’s rain or heavy fog, reschedule. Otherwise you’ll end up like me, seeing nothing but emptiness. Howling wind, whiteout, and stuck at the viewing platform... 😔 I didn’t take any photos since it was all white.

Blue Moon Valley consists of several lakes at different elevations connected to each other, each with its own charm.

⏰ From Lijiang to Shangri-La, only buses are available. Ticket 76 RMB, taking 2.5 hours.

🍄 Hotel: Wanglai B&B, double bed + single bed, 124 RMB 👍

🍄 Food: Yak hot pot (I forgot the name, just ask the B&B owner); tsampa; yogurt candy; butter tea

🍄 Tickets: Napahai 30 RMB; Songzanlin Monastery 90 RMB; Dukezong Ancient Town (free)

We set off at 9 a.m. and arrived in Shangri-La at noon. After dropping our luggage, we headed straight to Napahai. You could skip paying, but considering...

⏰ And there were aunties constantly trying to get you to ride a horse around the lake – just to be clear, we didn’t ride not because we had no money 😄. She started at 200 per person, then dropped to 180, 120, 90, but ultimately the sales pitch failed...

⏰ If you choose to walk like we did, remember to bring plastic bags to cover your shoes. It’s basically a wetland, and the paths are all soft, muddy dirt.

🐟 Napahai is huge, so while walking through the village I suddenly wanted to experience some local hospitality.

🐟 Because the UV here is strong and the women’s skin tends to be rough, I accidentally started chatting with a ‘big sister’ (actually a young lady)... She didn’t have time, but she called her friend over and told her to take us to her house for butter tea, tsampa, and yogurt candy. To be honest, the moment she agreed so readily, my first thought was a bit sleazy: Are we going to get ripped off?...

🐟 Well, butter tea and yogurt candy were good. Tsampa... was also pretty good. I’m grateful that ‘big sister’ sat across from me and didn’t leave, which made me swallow that tsampa. When we left, they didn’t charge us, but we secretly left 100 RMB behind 😀

🐟 Later, we’re also thankful to the big bro who gave us a lift, though I don’t know if he ever found the money we secretly put on the back seat 😀

The ride dropped us off here, next to a gas station. Navigation showed it was 1.5km to Songzanlin, so we walked. Songzanlin Monastery is often called the Little Potala Palace.

In the evening we went out to explore Dukezong Ancient Town. Very few people, and 70% of the shops were closed. Actually, it was similar in Dali and Lijiang.

We had hot pot for dinner and were very pleased to meet a pretty young lady.

Side note: Locals here don’t follow their parents’ surnames. Instead, after birth, they go to a temple to ask for a name, all four characters long. So a son doesn’t share his father’s surname – don’t misunderstand anything 😊

🍄 Tickets: Pudacuo National Park 138 RMB

⏰ Pudacuo is 25km from the city, taxi about 120 RMB. When leaving, you can buy special souvenir stamps at the reception hall for 80 RMB a set. The young lady there is really pretty~

Lijiang – Guangzhou flight: 300 RMB

Total expenses: 3,586 RMB.

And with that, the journey came to an end. Arrived home on the 29th day of the lunar year. Perfect~ 😊

Coming up: Planning a trip to the northwest around the end of 2022, also with a budget of 3,000–4,000 RMB for 10 days ヾ(•ω•`)o

Travel Diary Directory: 1. Day1: Chongqing, Hongya Cave; 2. Day2: Shibati + Liziba + Three Gorges Museum + Zoo; 3. Day3: Chongqing, Xiannv Mountain Forest Park; 4. Day4~5: Dali, Cangshan, Erhai Lake; 5. Day6: Lijiang Ancient Town; 6. Day7: Lashihai, Yuhu; 7. Day8: Jade Dragon Snow Mountain, Blue Moon Valley; 8. Day9: Shangri-La, Napahai, Songzanlin Monastery, Dukezong Ancient Town; 9. Day10: Pudacuo National Park

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