Zou Zhe Qiao Travel: 599 RMB for 6 Days and 5 Nights! What Kind of Yunnan Trip Is It?

📍 Lijiang · 👁 1 reads · ❤️ 29 likes

The long-awaited trip to Yunnan finally came to fruition thanks to Zou Zhe Qiao Travel. Before that, although I had been yearning for Yunnan and wanted to take my children there, I had been hesitant because of videos and articles online about the locals being rude and barbaric, and tour guides insulting and mistreating tourists. It wasn't until I stumbled upon the WeChat public account 'Zou Zhe Qiao Travel' promoting 'Yunnan Time—a six-day, five-night light luxury tour of Dali and Lijiang' that I, in a dilemma, took a gamble and purchased travel vouchers for a family of four.

Although the tour company's itinerary looked quite good, I was still very uneasy: 599 RMB for 6 days and 5 nights, would we end up staying in a shady hotel? Eating at street stalls? Would there be extra charges? Would we be forced to shop? ... My colleagues, hearing about such a cheap group tour, were also skeptical, thinking I would either be cheated or end up in a forced-shopping tour group, and if I didn't shop, the guide would definitely curse the tourists out! This made me terrified.

Anyway, I had bought the travel vouchers half a year ago, valid for one year, and I thought I had to take the kids this summer no matter what. But when I tried to book the trip online, I found that there were no slots left for the summer vacation, only for September. I was stunned, immediately contacted customer service, and they suggested I first randomly book a date with available slots, then note the desired change date. The customer service was very enthusiastic in helping me coordinate, and soon I was told I could travel in early August! A travel concierge soon contacted me about the specific travel arrangements, and all I had to do was wait for the auspicious day!

DAY1 Flying from the Furnace to the City of Eternal Spring, What a Delight!

The children were flying for the first time, feeling excited and curious. Outside the window, the white clouds sometimes looked like rolling snow-capped mountains, sometimes like surging ocean waves, and imagining ourselves riding on a giant roc soaring amidst the blue sky and white clouds, the clouds around us were so white and soft, seemingly within arm’s reach! Beneath the clouds, the green mountains and houses on Earth were only faintly visible. Only then did I truly understand the scene of clouds 'floating' in the sky, and I could genuinely watch the clouds drift and unfold.

An hour later, the plane landed at Kunming Changshui Airport. As soon as we got off, we felt the climate was indeed different: just a short while ago, Changsha's heat was like a furnace steaming people, but now Kunming was as cool and pleasant as spring or autumn. At the airport, the tour company staff took us to the reception hall and gave each of us a fresh flower, making us feel the warmth of the 'City of Flowers'. Then a beautiful female driver drove us to the city's Jin Yue Hotel and told us we could have free time today.

It was noon, and if we were at home in the scorching heat, we certainly wouldn't go anywhere, just stay in the air-conditioned room to escape the heat. But now, taking advantage of this great summer day, we didn't want to waste a single second, and immediately went to visit the old site of the National Southwest Associated University, one of the places I most wanted to visit in Kunming. In the era of gunfire, three thousand teachers and students traveled thousands of miles to the southwest, creating a miracle in education history and erecting a spiritual monument. Near the classrooms of the Southwest Associated University, looking at the tombstones of revolutionary martyrs, and thinking about how the great masters and passionate youth of 80 years ago continued the lifeline of Chinese culture here, a feeling of admiration for the intellectuals of that era welled up in me.

DAY2 Stepping into the Wild Land—Naigu Stone Forest

'Naigu' is a word from the Sani language of the Yi people, meaning ancient and black. Our local guide, Ashima, led us through the stone forest, sometimes entering deep stone caves, sometimes walking through narrow rock crevices. This is the filming location for 'Three Times Beating the Bone Demon' in Journey to the West, and we couldn't help but think of the scenes where monsters appear in the story. Then, suddenly it opened up, with open grasslands and blooming flowers, refreshing the mind. Here there were towering steep stones and rich vegetation. Various oddly shaped stone pillars and peaks rose from the ground, and formations like Liang Zhu Reunion, Peacock Spreading Its Tail, and Two Lions in Love were breathtaking, the incredible craftsmanship of nature fully displayed. The rocks had no soil on them, but many honeycomb-like holes. Yet, the vitality of the plants and trees was so tenacious! Look! This small tree struggling to survive in the crevice and these wild flowers blooming not for show but just to bloom! Don't you think they are particularly awesome?

After touring the Naigu Stone Forest, we headed to the next stop—Dali, passing through Chuxiong Yi Autonomous Prefecture, where we had wild mushroom hotpot at a local restaurant. It was the first time I saw grasshoppers served as a delicacy on the table! But I didn't dare try them. Tonight we stayed at Century Star Grand Hotel.

Strolling through the Ancient City of Dali; Experiencing Bai Tie-dye; Admiring Cangshan Mountain and Erhai Lake

'A stream encircles Cangshan, Cangshan embraces the ancient city.' We took a tourist bus for three to four hours from Chuxiong to the ancient city of Dali. The ancient city is large, with streets like a chessboard, shops lined up along the streets selling various specialties, snacks, and handicrafts. Old houses can be seen everywhere, courtyards with well-spaced flowers and trees, and outdoor streams flowing, truly 'a well for every three households, a few pots of flowers for every home.' There are attractions like Wenxian Tower, Foreigner Street, and Wuhua Tower.

Yunnan has the most ethnic minorities in China. The Yi and Bai are the two major ethnic groups in Yunnan, and the Bai mainly live in Dali Bai Autonomous Prefecture. So visiting Bai folk houses and experiencing Bai customs is a must when in Dali. Besides watching the Bai 'Three-Course Tea' song and dance performance, we also personally tried the Bai tie-dye craft. The raw material for tie-dye is white cotton cloth. After designing a pattern, it is stitched tightly with needle and thread, then soaked in a dye vat. The dye comes from the Isatis root plant growing on Cangshan Mountain. Through several immersions, the color changes from green to blue, and finally it is rinsed, fixed, and dried to complete the process. Look, these are the works we saw the artisans produce right before our eyes (the patterns were chosen by us), and they were given to us free of charge right after being taken out of the big dye vat.

Then we finally arrived at the legendary Erhai Lake. Riding a jeep around Erhai was quite nice. Despite its name (sea), it is actually a freshwater lake. Cangshan Mountain loomed in and out of the mist, while Erhai Lake lay gentle and peaceful beneath it. The mountains and water reflected each other so beautifully that I couldn't bear to hear the noise of people disturbing this tranquility. Of course, taking photos at the internet-famous check-in spots here was also a must. That night we stayed at the Harbour Hot Spring Hotel in Dali Bai Autonomous Prefecture.

DAY4 Jade Dragon Snow Mountain 'Romantic Encounter' with Blue Moon Valley

Today we headed to Jade Dragon Snow Mountain in Lijiang. Our guide was a rugged mixed-race Tibetan and Naxi man named A Peng. He bluntly said that if we expected to see white snow on the Jade Dragon Snow Mountain, or even ski and have snowball fights there, we would definitely be disappointed. As he said, there was no snow on the mountain this season, which disappointed us a bit, but I must say, the rolling peaks in the mist looked mysterious and incredibly beautiful! The large-scale live performance Impression Lijiang and the stunning Blue Moon Valley somewhat made up for our disappointment. Impression Lijiang was magnificent, with the exotic charm of ethnic minorities, leaving a deep impression.

The water of Blue Moon Valley was milky blue, like a mixture of milk and indigo. But when you scoop up a handful, you find the water is so clear and cool! In some places, the reflection of green mountains, blue sky, and white clouds in the lake was so distinct and vivid, so sharply defined! Upstream, there were small and large waterfalls. The large waterfall was the familiar scene from Journey to the West that appears at the end of each episode when the closing song plays, like a huge, white, dynamic water curtain hanging off a cliff. Even standing far away under the waterfall, you could feel the spray and mist like flying petals and shattered jade. The small waterfall, though not spectacular, was charming as the stream cascaded down in layers. No words can describe the beauty I saw; I'll just show the pictures, but the photos simply cannot compare to the real scene I witnessed with my own eyes!

DAY 5 Lijiang Ancient Town—A Person's Romance

My first impression of Lijiang Ancient Town was that it was exceptionally bustling and lively. It was crowded with people, shoulder to shoulder. There were many bars, and from outside through the glass walls, you could see the bright lights, loud music, and energetic dancing inside, which made me understand why it's called 'Lijiang for one person.' If you're single, perhaps you really can have a romantic encounter! The shops here were also row after row, with a dazzling array of goods, everything you could need, including local specialties like jadeite, yellow dragon jade, gambling stones, snowflake silverware, traditional brown sugar, and flower cakes. We bought some of each to take back.

Today, we took a tourist bus from Lijiang back to Kunming, a relatively long drive. In the evening, we checked into the four-star Longwei Hotel in Kunming.

DAY6 End of the Journey, Goodbye Yunnan

On the last day, we visited the tourist distribution center and then the trip ended. The tour company arranged airport or train station transfer. Looking back on the journey, the tour company partnered with Zou Zhe Qiao Travel was truly a conscientious business. The next morning when we met the guide, we received a small gift that the company had carefully prepared for each visitor. Throughout the trip, the hotels arranged were all star-rated, with good conditions, and breakfast was served at the hotel. Honestly, the cost-performance ratio of this group tour at this price was quite high. Although there were a few shopping stops where the guide encouraged spending, it was truly voluntary. Even if some visitors bought nothing, the guide's attitude remained fairly polite, without any of the rumored abusive behavior toward tourists.

Thanks to Zou Zhe Qiao Travel, I got my first taste of Yunnan, but this time felt like just skimming the surface. Next time, I will definitely take a deeper trip to Yunnan! Goodbye, mysterious and beautiful South of the Colorful Clouds!