Puzhehei – Dali – Stone Forest – Fuxian Lake – Kunming 10-Day Family Free & Easy Trip

Foreword: This Yunnan trip was originally intended for the 2020 Spring Festival. We had already booked all train tickets and hotels, aiming to see the red-billed gulls, but an unexpected epidemic disrupted all our travel plans. Half a year later, we re-launched our Yunnan journey. Though there were no red-billed gulls, the 20,000 mu (about 1,333 hectares) of blooming lotus flowers in Puzhehei offered a different enchanting spectacle. Considering that we were traveling with elderly parents and a child, we kept the itinerary relaxed and not rushed. After many previous trips, I had intended to write a guide but was always delayed by one thing or another. This is my first attempt at a guide, and I hope it helps with your travels.

We traveled as a group of four adults and one child—my husband, me, my parents, and our kid. Total expenses amounted to 22,000 yuan (covering high-speed train, accommodation, main meals, car rental, entrance tickets, and in-park transportation, excluding snacks and shopping). Since both my parents are over 70 and I'm a medical worker, three of us adults enjoyed free entry. Yunnan was also offering half-price tickets at the time, so only my husband and child paid half-price, saving us quite a bit on entrance fees.

Here is the overall itinerary and accommodation summary:

Day 1: Shenzhen – Kunming South – Puzhehei (high-speed train) Accommodation: Puzhehei Lanyunju

Day 2: Qinglong Mountain – Torch Cave – Painted Boat Cruise – Wetland Park – Sunset viewing Accommodation: Puzhehei Lanyunju

Day 3: Swan Lake – Filming location of 'Eternal Love' Accommodation: Puzhehei Lanyunju

For these three days, breakfast was included at the inn. Dinner was always at 'Red Clay Stove', which was quite tasty. For lunch, we ate on the go at scenic spots depending on how the day progressed.

Day 4: Puzhehei – Dali, explore Dali Ancient Town Accommodation: Dali Flower Goddess Hermitage

Day 5: Private car tour around Erhai Lake Accommodation: Dali Flower Goddess Hermitage

Day 6: Morning – Dali Three Pagodas; afternoon – Dali to Kunming South, pick up rental car Accommodation: Wuyuan Garden Villa

Day 7: Stone Forest day trip Accommodation: Fuxian Lake Regent Holiday Hotel

Day 8: Fuxian Lake day trip Accommodation: Wuyuan Garden Villa

Day 9: Dianchi Lake Cableway – Western Hills Scenic Area – Golden Temple Accommodation: Kunming Junle Hotel

Day 10: Morning – Military Academy; Afternoon – return car at Kunming South Station, take high-speed train back to Shenzhen

Because we had seniors and a child, our schedule was quite relaxed; young travelers could easily cut two days.

Our first stop was Puzhehei, located in Qiubei County of the Wenshan Zhuang and Miao Autonomous Prefecture in Yunnan. In the Yi language, Puzhehei means 'a lake full of fish and shrimp'.

We took the G2926 high-speed train from Shenzhen to Kunming South at 8 a.m., arriving after 7 hours. Without exiting the station, we used the convenient transfer passage to reach the waiting hall, then boarded the D9854 bullet train to Puzhehei. The ride from Kunming South to Puzhehei took only 1 hour and 12 minutes.

We arrived at Puzhehei at 5:08 p.m. The inn had arranged a pickup service (for a fee), and it took about 40 minutes from the train station to Puzhehei Village.

Accommodation: Puzhehei Lanyunju Inn. The inn is in Puzhehei Village, less than a 5-minute walk from the main street, so it's convenient for strolling yet very quiet at night. At 4 a.m., you could hear roosters crowing in the distance—haha, so interesting! The last time I heard a rooster crow was over 30 years ago.

Day 2: After breakfast at the inn, we officially began our Puzhehei adventure. Puzhehei Village isn't large; horse-drawn carriages and sightseeing electric carts are the main transport between scenic spots. If you can ride a motorcycle, renting one is even more convenient, around 10 yuan per hour (this was the pandemic-era price; not sure if it's normally more expensive). With our elderly and child, we relied mainly on horse carriages. Every morning, carriages would wait outside each inn looking for passengers. The fare was 10 yuan per person regardless of distance, and children rode free. Actually, since distances are short, you can bargain it down to about 5 yuan per person.

Today’s main itinerary: Qinglong Mountain – Torch Cave – painted boat cruise on Puzhehei Lake.

Qinglong Mountain is probably the highest point in Puzhehei. From the summit, you get a panoramic view of the village. The mountain isn't high but is quite steep and not easy to climb; the elderly or frail should avoid it. After descending, there was still an hour before the next painted boat departure—perhaps due to the pandemic, there weren't many people and boats left every hour. We used the gap to explore Torch Cave at the foot of the mountain, a sizable natural karst cave.

After the cave, it was almost time to board. We took the boat from Qinglong Mountain Pier to Shuangjiashan Pier, passing through the Swan Lake scenic area with vast lotus ponds. There are two types of boats in Puzhehei: one is the painted pleasure boat we rode, suitable for seniors and kids; the other is a small wooden boat used for water fights—people on different boats splash each other, which is great fun.

At Shuangjiashan Pier, there's a ticket booth for electric sightseeing carts. You can buy an all-day pass for 30 yuan per person, unlimited rides. We took the cart to explore the Wetland Park, then returned to the inn. At 6:30 p.m., we hired a private car (100 yuan for a 7-seater) to watch the sunset at Leshuidong Village.

The next day, we woke up naturally, had breakfast, and hopped on our beloved horse carriage to Swan Lake. Since it was summer, there were no swans, so it was really all about the lotus. At the entrance, we took the scenic area's sightseeing cart (15 yuan per person) to the central zone, then walked back out.

After lunch at a roadside spot outside the scenic area, we continued by horse carriage to the filming location of 'Eternal Love' (Three Lives Three Worlds, Ten Miles of Peach Blossoms).

Back at the inn by 3 p.m., we strolled to the nearby Lover's Bridge to enjoy the pastoral scenery. Not much strategy here—I'll let the photos speak for themselves.

Puzhehei Summary: If you're fairly energetic, two days are enough to see the highlights. We had dinner every night at 'Red Clay Stove' on Puzhehei Village's main street. It was recommended by our innkeeper, and we liked the food from the first night, so we returned all three evenings, ordering different dishes each time—expect queues during peak hours. Be sure to try the signature deep-fried lotus petals: lightly sweet and delicious.

After a natural wake-up and breakfast, we had a private car to the station and took the D8707 bullet train (10:53–14:46) to Dali.

We arrived at our Dali inn around 4 p.m., checked in, rested briefly, then headed to Dali Ancient Town.

Accommodation in Dali: Dali Flower Goddess Hermitage. The inn is on Sanyue Street, less than a 10-minute walk to the West Gate of the ancient town. During our stay, the inn offered free car transfers to and from the ancient town.

We spent the whole day touring Erhai Lake with a chartered car arranged by the inn, visiting Wase Ancient Town, Shuanglang Ancient Town, and Xizhou Ancient Town, and saw some tie-dye art. Unfortunately, the weather wasn't great—mostly cloudy with only brief sunny spells, so the lake didn't look as blue as it could. By the time we got back, the elderly and the child were too exhausted to move, so my husband and I snuck out again to enjoy bars in Dali Ancient Town.

Since we had a train just after 1 p.m., we visited the Three Pagodas of Chongsheng Temple in the morning—Dali’s only 5A-rated scenic spot. The site has sightseeing carts; if you're not up for walking, you can take the round-trip cart, or ride up and walk down. Those with energy can walk both ways; the air inside is fresh and you might spot squirrels. Actually, the best place to photograph the pagodas reflected in the water isn't inside the Three Pagodas complex but at the adjacent Three Pagodas Reflection Park, about a 10-minute walk away. Entry to the Reflection Park is included with the Three Pagodas ticket, though it isn't sold separately.

We took a bullet train after 1 p.m. to Kunming South Station and picked up our rental car there. For the next few days, we'd drive ourselves around Kunming.

Accommodation that night: Kunming Wuyuan Garden Villa. The inn is in a villa complex where many villas have been turned into guesthouses. It's not far from Dianchi Lake—just a 10-minute walk to the lakeside.

After breakfast, we drove to the famous Stone Forest. Due to the pandemic, all Yunnan scenic areas were offering half-price tickets until December 31, 2020—good for the wallet, haha~~.

The Stone Forest scenic area is huge. You first arrive at a car park, then take a free sightseeing cart to the ticket office. After buying tickets, you need another sightseeing cart to reach the actual entrance; this leg is charged. I recommend taking the cart as it's a fair distance and saves energy for exploring inside. Trekking enthusiasts might opt to walk :)

Upon entering, to the right is the Large Stone Forest, to the left the Small Stone Forest (we only realized after exiting the Small Stone Forest that it looped back to the start). Typically, you visit the Large Stone Forest first, then take a sightseeing cart to the Small Stone Forest. In fact, many of the stone-teeth clusters along the way are even more spectacular. There are several stops between the two areas where you can hop off and explore.

After the Stone Forest, we headed to the next stop: Fuxian Lake in Yuxi.

Accommodation: Fuxian Lake Regent Holiday Hotel.

Fuxian Lake sits at an altitude of 1,721 meters, with a maximum depth of 157 meters and an average depth of 87 meters, making it the deepest lake in Yunnan and the second-deepest freshwater lake in China after Changbai Mountain’s Tianchi. The water quality is excellent—while Dianchi Lake is greenish, Fuxian Lake is a vivid, deep blue. It's perfect for kids; this was the only place our child simply didn’t want to leave :)

Our hotel, the Regent Holiday Hotel, was just across the road from Moon Bay Wetland Park. After breakfast, we crossed the street and were there. You can bike, boat, and kids especially love playing in the sand.

After visiting Lucheng Scenic Area, we drove back to Kunming.

Accommodation: Kunming Wuyuan Garden Villa.

In the morning, we drove to Haigeng Park and bought tickets for the Dianchi cable car to cross the lake. Since we needed to return to our car, we purchased round-trip tickets at 70 yuan per person—quite good value. The cable car took us straight to the entrance of Western Hills Park (half-price tickets at 15 yuan per person). Inside, we switched to the park's small chairlift (25 yuan per person, half-price for children) to go up. After visiting the sights, we took a sightseeing cart (10 yuan per person) back down—this is the most energy-efficient way.

Accommodation: Kunming Junle Hotel.

Descending from the Western Hills, we took the return cable car back to Haigeng Park, then drove about 40 minutes to the Golden Temple—Wu Sangui's back garden. A tip for self-drivers: we didn’t realize the car could go straight up the mountain, so our navigation led us to the West Gate. From there, you have to climb 200 steps and then walk a distance to reach the main scenic area. If you're driving, navigate to the North Gate instead; you can park right at the entrance to the main area and save a lot of energy.

Travel Diary Index

1. Day 1: Arrival in Puzhehei

2. Day 2: Puzhehei Qinglong Mountain – Painted Boat Cruise

3. Day 3: Swan Lake – Three Lives Three Worlds Filming Location

4. Day 4: Puzhehei – Dali – Ancient Town

5. Day 5: Full-Day Erhai Lake Tour

6. Day 6: Dali Three Pagodas, Dali – Kunming

7. Day 7: Stone Forest – Fuxian Lake

8. Day 8: Fuxian Lake Moon Bay Wetland Park, Lucheng Scenic Area, Return to Kunming

9. Day 9: Dianchi Lake – Western Hills Scenic Area – Golden Temple

10. Day 10: Army Lecture Hall, Kunming – Shenzhen

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