14-Day Sichuan-Yunnan Road Trip
Travelers: Flower Face Cat & Jade
Pre-trip preparations:
ID card, sunscreen, hat, sunglasses, shawl, water bottle, phone charger, power bank, toiletries (facial cleanser, toothbrush, toothpaste, towel), skincare products (face masks, toner & lotion), several sets of clothes (for spring, summer, autumn, and winter), sports shoes, sandals…
Download the "GPS Altimeter" app on your phone in advance to monitor real-time altitude and avoid altitude sickness.
Have your car serviced to ensure a safe journey.
Day 1: Chengdu – Xichang
Day 2: Xichang – Panzhihua
Day 3: Panzhihua – Kunming
Day 4: Kunming city center
Day 5: Kunming Dianchi Lake
Day 6: Kunming – Mile
Day 7: Mile – Jianshui
Day 8: Jianshui
Day 9: Jianshui
Day 10: Jianshui – Yuanyang
Day 11: Yuanyang
Day 12: Yuanyang – Mengzi
Day 13: Mengzi – Zhaotong
Day 14: Zhaotong – Chengdu
Stay in Xichang – A Feast for the Senses
We arrived in time for dinner and caught the Qionghai Lake sunset, posing for photos with the cheerful firecracker flowers.
Dinner was a grand feast: drunken shrimp, barbecue (at Hetao Village Laodifang BBQ and downtown Huoyanshan BBQ).
Stay at Panzhihua Yinshanlan – A Healing Time
Crisscrossing paths, a world away from strife; under a brilliant starry sky, the night was so captivating it was hard to sleep.
Yishala Village: the first Yi village, with red walls and grey tiles, honest White Yi people, tomato and strawberry fields, and magnificent views of the Jinsha River valley.
Yinshanlan: an organic vegetable garden and a terrace for post-lunch lounging.
Foods: crispy-skin pork, sugar-coated tomatoes, mini crispy pork, sweet cabbage.
Stay in Kunming – Love at First Sight with Wild Mushrooms
The expressway from Panzhihua to Kunming offered breathtaking scenery, with towering viaducts crossing massive mountains at an average elevation of 2,000 meters.
We rested in Yuanmou and tried the local specialty cold chicken, with a refreshing dipping sauce that was incredibly appetizing, and set off firecrackers for safety.
Nanping Street Night Market: Jungu Mushroom Soup (featuring matsutake, chicken fir mushrooms, lion's mane, and more…).
Stay in Kunming – Encountering Siberian "Spirits" in the Spring City
In Wuhua District: feeding birds at Cuihu Park (bread at 10 yuan per bag), visiting Lu Han's Mansion, and seeing cherry blossoms (not yet in bloom) at Yuantongshan Zoo.
Daguan Zhuanxin Farmer's Market: purchasing local specialties like beef, small pineapples, and pine nuts.
Food: Baoyanxiang Crossing-the-Bridge Rice Noodles.
Baiyu Homestay in the villa area: a light-luxury stay with underfloor heating, a tea room, and artistic design, perfect for photos with a bouquet of flowers.
Haigeng Dam: feeding seagulls – their flying spirit is truly admirable! A random small pot rice noodle shop along the road had excellent flavors.
Giant Giant Ya Ge Hot Spring Hotel in Mile
From Kunming, passing through the Stone Forest, we arrived at Mile. Mile is a resort destination ideal for both the elderly and children.
Lunch was a tilapia hotpot with fresh, original-flavor vegetables (great value for money).
In the afternoon, we explored Keyi Village (meaning "auspicious"), an ancient Yi village.
Check-in at Lanshe Weiyuan Purple Pottery Art Inn.
Dongfengyun: kaleidoscopic architecture designed by Luo Xu. Bring brightly colored clothes against the red bricks and blue sky for picture-perfect photos.
Banduoyun Western Restaurant: a pure brick structure without steel bars, brimming with artistic flair, well worth a visit. Stroll through the nearby wetlands, breathe fresh air, and get close to nature.
At noon, we set off for Jianshui, driving through many mountain roads – drive carefully! We reached Jianshui at dusk.
Checked into Lanshe Weiyuan Purple Pottery Art Inn, a Republic-era-style hotel. The highlight was the owners' stories: one was a Shanghai-educated youth supporting the border region, whose creation felt just like his Shanghai home; the other was Zhang Hui, an intangible cultural heritage purple pottery artisan.
Jianshui Confucian Temple, the largest Confucian temple in the south, with flying eaves and imposing ancient trees full of spiritual energy.
Lunch: steam pot chicken at an intangible heritage restaurant in Jianshui Ancient Town. The broth was deliciously fresh, and the meat tender. The secret lies in the soup – no water is added to the steam pot; it's entirely heated by steam, which extracts the fat and juices from the chicken, making the broth richer than ordinary chicken soup.
Zhu Family Garden, known as the Grand View Garden of Yunnan, was impeccably maintained and bursting with blossoms.
Seventeen-Arch Bridge, a Ming Dynasty structure, its bluestone bricks polished to a jade-like smoothness by years of footfall.
Dinner: Jianshui barbecue. Recommended dishes: grilled tofu, roast potatoes, rice noodles with vegetable sprouts, and fried rice noodles.
Stay at Yigongfang, a hollow-brick structure and an Insta-worthy spot.
From Jianshui to Tuanshan Folk Houses, the route is dotted with old bridges, perfect for taking photos along the way.
Xianghuiqiao Railway Station at sunset: the sky painted in brilliant colors, complementing the surrounding farmland.
Tuanshan Folk Houses were historically inhabited by the Yi people; in Yi language, it is called "Tusheer," meaning "a place to hide gold and silver." Tranquil and ethereal, the architecture displays distinctive Yunnan characteristics, and the spirit of "endurance" resonates deeply here.
Purple Pottery Street: a vast array of pots and jars in various styles and price ranges – pick whatever catches your fancy.
Departing for Yuanyang, Honghe Hani-Yi Autonomous Prefecture. The road was rough; Tiger Mouth had collapsed, so we watched the sunset at Bada.
The scenic overlooks couldn't compare to wild viewing points by the roadside, so don't skip any beautiful scenery along the way.
The Hani people are incredibly resilient. Originally from near Qinghai Lake, they were displaced to Yunnan. Their ancestors, embodying the spirit of the Foolish Old Man moving mountains, carved out terraced fields and built a prosperous life. The locals are simple and honest; children catch rice paddy fish, and women carry stones on their heads – labor methods remain primitive.
Dinner at "Liumei Beef Shop": fresh ingredients and various wild herbs, with mint added to nearly every dish. Recommended: minced beef stir-fried with celery, and eel.
Early morning at "Aichun Blue Terraces" to see the blue-hued terraces under a sky-mirror effect.
At noon, we headed to Azheke Village, an ancient hamlet deep in the mountains. The "mushroom houses," built of stone and mud, have roofs shaped like mushrooms and served as a filming location for the movie "Forever Young." "Azheke" means "a place where bamboo thrives" in the Hani language. According to oral tradition, the ancestors of Azheke migrated here from Dawazhe, another Azheke.
For terrace photos, you can rent local clothing for 5 yuan to capture stunning shots.
Dinner: dried beef, tofu and green vegetables, chatting with Hani villagers. Locals enjoy long lives with little stress; they rarely have high blood pressure or diabetes, though arthritis is common.
People in Yuanyang live on mountaintops because the area is hot, and the hilltops are windier and cooler.
Check-in at Mengzi Hongxiang Hotel.
We departed in the morning for Mengzi, passing near Hekou, which borders Vietnam and boasts a wide variety of fruits.
Mengzi has the former site of the French Consulate and Bisezhai, a filming location for "Youth." You can dress in military-style uniforms and search for your own youthful days, though overall there isn't much to do, so it's not highly recommended.
Zhaotong serves as a transit hub, one of the must-pass routes between Chengdu and Kunming, each a 6-hour drive away.
Straddling Sichuan and Yunnan, it's very eco-friendly and a favorite summer retreat for Chongqing residents.
Zhaotong Skewer BBQ: the beef skewers are astonishing.
Departing early in the morning, we passed through Shuifu (the potato cakes were delicious) and Yibin, arriving in Chengdu in the afternoon. The journey came to a perfect end.
Bring your beloved on this romantic journey~~
