Spring 2023 Yunnan Trip

1. Planning the Trip

In the blink of an eye, I’ve been retired for over half a year. The three-year pandemic has finally passed, yet February is still a bit chilly. The first destination my wife and I chose for travel was warmer Yunnan. On the map of Yunnan, we picked Xishuangbanna, Dali, Lijiang, and Kunming. If you're visiting more than one area, it's worth taking a look at the map of Yunnan.

2. Xishuangbanna

On February 20th, we flew to Xishuangbanna, our first stop, and checked into Chufan Jiangsu Resort Hotel (Xishuangbanna Jinghong Gaozhuang Xishuang Jing Starlight Night Market branch). There were no direct flights, so we connected through Chengdu.

Clouds seen from the plane.

The river view from the room at Chufan was lovely, and their infinity pool was another highlight. The service was a bit lacking, and there were some minor issues with the facilities.

In the evening, we strolled through the night market, which was very lively.

On February 21st, as planned, we visited the Tropic of Cancer Marker. We researched a bit: take a Didi to the train station, a train to Mojiang, then a bus to the Tropic of Cancer Marker Park. The one-way trip took a little over two hours. Tickets were 40 yuan per person.

On February 22nd, we chose the Primeval Forest Park. I won’t go on about the huge tropical plants. My accommodation was less than 10 km from the park. The hotel guide recommended a chartered car for a whopping 300 yuan, but we actually took a Didi round trip for under 40 yuan.

The peacock show is worth seeing—do check the performance times.

Don’t miss the Hani ethnic performances in Aini Village.

And there were adorable monkeys.

On February 23rd, we chose Manting Park. Our main activities were a circuit of Erhai Lake and hiking. Erhai is quite large, and it takes a full day to go around; chartering a car is convenient. The hotel quoted 450 yuan, which I felt was reasonable. The driver was responsible, and we had a great time.

The service at this hotel was excellent—they even upgraded our room for free.

Erhai is not a sea but a lake. Its loop is 116 kilometers.

A bookstore in Xizhou Bai Ancient Town with some history.

The Corner Tower in Xizhou Bai Ancient Town.

Butterfly Spring was one of our must-see spots, owing to the film Five Golden Flowers nostalgia.

One of the lakeside attractions.

A moon-viewing spot on Erhai Lake.

On the second day in Dali, we climbed Cangshan Mountain. We started hiking from the Gantong entrance and, at the exit of the Gantong cable car, we walked the Jade Belt Cloudy Path (5 km). After over five hours, we decided not to summit; we took the cable car down and, on the descent, visited the film location for Demi-Gods and Semi-Devils.

The Demi-Gods and Semi-Devils filming base.

Master Duan’s Condor Heroes restaurant—decent food, slightly pricey.

Next to the hotel was the photogenic Cang’er Avenue, a street of halal food, with Cangshan at one end and Erhai at the other. The sunrise there was also beautiful.

In Lijiang, we stayed at Huazhu·Lijiang Old Town Zangyuan Snow Mountain View Hotel. Across the street was Black Dragon Pool Park. The service was quite good.

The view from our window.

On the first day in Lijiang, we visited Lugu Lake. Considering the distance, we joined a small group tour of six people, which included a circuit of the lake, a ride on a “pig trough boat,” and lunch.

Lugu Lake is the most beautiful of the three lakes (along with Kunming’s Dianchi Lake and Dali’s Erhai Lake).

This is the Jinsha River I photographed on the return journey—the river of Lijiang is the Jinsha River.

On the second day in Lijiang, we tackled Jade Dragon Snow Mountain. We again signed up for a six-person tour, and the experience was poor. First, the guide pushed oxygen bottles, claiming one wouldn’t be enough—but we barely needed them; the highest point is 4,680 meters. Second, the so-called “paying respects to the snow mountain” was mainly a ploy to sell prayer flags; we didn’t buy any, but it wasted a lot of time. Third, the arranged lunch was far away and involved more sales pitches. Fourth, those watching the show and those not were put in the same group; we didn’t want to wait after coming down, so we had to take a taxi back ourselves. Fifth, they pestered for a five-star review; I didn’t give one, but it put me in an awkward spot. My advice: don’t join a tour, but grab tickets at 7 a.m.

These two pictures are of Blue Moon Valley, part of the combo ticket.

On the cable car up.

There’s a landmark at 4,508 meters.

The highest point accessible to tourists is 4,680 meters; the main peak at 5,596 meters can only be admired from a distance—there are no paths and climbing is not allowed.

Lijiang Old Town is much larger than Dali Old Town; with limited time, we could only take a quick spin.

We took shared bikes for a nighttime tour of Shuhe Ancient Town and luckily stumbled upon an open-air movie, something I hadn’t seen in ages.

In Kunming, we stayed at Deting Garden Hotel (Kunming High-tech West Side Times store). The service was great, and I especially loved that bottled water was freely available.

We originally planned to stay seven nights, but after arriving, my wife didn’t like Kunming’s traffic environment—too many electric scooters—so we adjusted to just two nights. Changing the flights cost us 840 yuan; clearly, itinerary changes require careful thought. We mainly visited Dounan Wetland Park, Yunnan Nationalities Village, Xishan Scenic Road, Green Lake Park, and Dianchi Lake.

Dounan Wetland Park is quite distinctive.

Green Lake Park, an open public park.

The legendary datura flower.

On March 4th, we flew back to Tianjin. To have more time in Kunming, we chose a 5:40 p.m. to 8:55 p.m. flight.