Sparkling Starlight, Rippling Waters — A Journey Overflowing with Love (In Search of Beauty in Dali, Lijiang, and Lugu Lake)

The love for dreaming has always been hidden deep in our bones.

No stiff, polite smiles here, only a broad expanse of shimmering, emerald water.

There are clouds edged in gold, blue skies, sunlight, and faith.

No need to shy away from others' gazes;

you can quietly observe the hurried passersby or the leisurely, contented visitors.

You can also wander aimlessly, never stopping,

roaming between dream and reality.

Every step, every landscape is brought together by an unseen destiny.

Sometimes I can hardly tell how far apart dream and reality really are.

Is it pressure that makes me choose escape, or anticipation that makes me choose faraway places?

I seek my answers on the road.

Travel keeps me in good contact with the world.

Sometimes, I even daydream:

if one day, traveling could become life itself.

When you truly focus on doing one thing,

in due time, it will surely blossom in countless ways.

I touch the edges of the world with my eyes, and tell you about the scenery.

Earning a steady salary, living a stable life — on the surface, everything seems calm and peaceful, without a ripple, yet there's that drowsy feeling like reading aloud during morning self-study. That sums up my life over the past half year.

We set off, leaving behind all the dust and noise, carrying hearts full of joy.

To be honest, this is not so much a typical travel journal as a miscellany, recording the sights and feelings along the way, along with some new understanding gained over the past year.

Day 1: Shanghai–Kunming

【 Nightfall 】

At 4:30 p.m., we departed from Shanghai, heading for Kunming.

On the plane, I leaned against the window. As the sky gradually darkened, the lights on the ground gathered and scattered into various shapes and lines, some bright, some dim, more like scattered stars in the night sky. It was the first time I had so earnestly looked down at a city from thousands of meters above. It looked so beautiful. Only then did I realize that only when we quiet down can we notice the lovely scenes we've overlooked a thousand times.

Day 2: Dali–Erhai Lake–Xizhou

【 Xizhou 】

On a 1:6,000,000 map of China, the straight-line distance from Shanghai to Dali measures 50.3 centimeters. In reality, we are 3,019 kilometers apart.

A sleepless night on the swaying train, and we arrived at Dali station while it was still dark. At seven in the morning in Shanghai, some roads are already showing congestion on the traffic map; on the subway platforms, office workers are already jostling to get a good spot. But here, it's so quiet you can only hear the roosters crowing in distant villages.

【 Erhai Lake 】

I had long heard of Erhai Lake's beauty, and this time I deliberately booked a hotel in Heyijiang Village right by the lake. From the hotel rooftop, you can overlook the lake and mountain scenery below. Sunlight spills over the rippling water, riding the gentle breeze — like elves dancing.

【 Stars 】

The sky nowadays is empty, as if everything has been wiped away, yet once the Milky Way was as common as dust. Starlight turns everything into a captivating black-and-white film. No matter where you are in life, no matter your mood, if at night there is a sky full of stars, you will feel rich. — Toni Morrison

Day 3: Xizhou–Lijiang

Early morning Erhai Lake is quiet, filled with an ethereal, otherworldly air.

【 Lijiang 】

In my eyes, every place has its own unique charm. But whenever people talk about Lijiang, the most typical comment is that it's too commercialized. Is so-called "commercialization" praise or criticism? At eleven or midnight on Sifang Street, lights still blaze brightly; there are small bars with guitarists softly singing, and smoky, noisy ones like discos; there are cozy, bohemian coffee shops and bustling food stalls — a dazzling array, a constant flow of traffic and people.

I think to myself, the flagstone path on Wuyi Street worn smooth by footsteps — that is not Lijiang.

The hurried, fleeting hustle and bustle in Sifang Square — that is not Lijiang.

Lijiang should be about slowness, about subtle grace,

about a profound, gentle warmth

lightly tucked away beneath the bluestone slabs, under the eaves, in the frog croaks of the gardens.

When Lijiang learns to be slow again,

the long-missed Lijiang will return.

The night in Shuhe Ancient Town is so peaceful, even more comforting and reassuring.

[Mint] Environment: The setting is quite nice. I found this highly rated restaurant inside Shuhe Ancient Town online. The owner specially informed the ancient town gate guards to let us in, which was very heartwarming. The food was also rather distinctive. Best of all, it's rare to find such delicious food in an old town like this.

[Service Bell] Service: The boss is very polite and easygoing. The small pot rice was the tastiest — the fried potatoes had a wonderful aroma.

Steam pot chicken soup was fragrant and fresh, but the meat itself was very bland.

Pu'er tea braised pork belly was springy and bouncy.

Sweetheart plum braised spareribs were the absolute best; you must savor them well.

Day 4: Lijiang–Lugu Lake

We set off from Lijiang at 9 a.m. and spent nine hours lurching along in the car. The mountain road was just wide enough for two vehicles to pass. Along the way, we only heard the person beside us exclaiming in alarm. The direct bus was scheduled for eight hours, but in the end we had to change vehicles three times, crossing ridges and valleys until we reached Lugu Lake Daluoshui Bus Station after 6 p.m., just in time for the regular finish of a workday. Tips: From the bus station, share a car to Lige for 20 yuan per person. It's said a new road will open in the coming year, and then the journey from Lijiang to Lugu Lake will take only three hours. On the return, you can charter a car from the village back to Lijiang for 100 yuan per person, which takes about six hours. No need to first share a car to Daluoshui — it's more economical than the bus, and you don't have to change cars, so the ride is comfortable, but there's no insurance. You can also buy a return ticket directly at the bus station for 100 yuan per person; it takes about nine hours, with only one daily departure to Lijiang at 10:30 a.m.

【 Lugu Lake 】

Lugu Lake is as tranquil as a teardrop, transparent, reflecting the blue of the sky and the green of the trees, tinged with a hint of sadness and a touch of pride, isolated from this noisy world.

Day 5: Around Lige, Lugu Lake

Keep walking up the mountain steps. Passing a Mani stone pile, we took a photo of our little car.

If you just shot the Mani pile alone, the picture would have no highlight. But add a lamp, and the image immediately gains a three-dimensional feel.

Day 6: Cycling Around Lugu Lake

Before dawn, we chartered a boat to the opposite shore to watch the sunrise.

I have to say, the temperature difference at Lugu Lake is really huge. The early morning temperature dropped to nearly -5 degrees Celsius, and a thin layer of ice had formed on the boat. Blue, yellow, and even pink boats were moored by the shore, gently rocking with the ripples. Rowing the boat from the shore of Lige toward the mountains, seagulls flew over our heads, circled down, and turned into white duckweed on the water. Even after the sun rose, its dazzling light was not enough to break this tranquility.

Lige – Lige Peninsula – Nisai Village – Lover's Beach – Zhaojia Bay (Goddess Bay) – Walking Marriage Bridge (Grass Sea) – Luoshui Village – Lige

Another viewing platform: The must-visit spot for overlooking Lige from above. Often, a tour bus stops, a swarm of tourists rushes to the platform, stands at the same angle, trying hard to capture that heart-shaped lake that you see in the paid photo displays, and then boards the bus. A dozen minutes later, another bus arrives, another swarm, repeating the same actions. Just imagine putting together all the photos taken by everyone — how amusing it would be, like the same person just changed into different clothes.

Day 7: Lugu Lake–Lijiang

【 Saying Goodbye to Lugu Lake at Dawn 】

Even after leaving, I often think of it. Just like some photos that have been stored in your phone for ages — you still flip through them from time to time. Just like having a loved one far away, out of reach, yet you still miss them. Having a place you constantly remember like this, even after saying goodbye, your heart remains happy.

【 A Dream About Stars 】

On the return bus, we were stuck for two hours midway because of an accident. We set off at 10:30 a.m. and were supposed to arrive a little after 7 p.m., but were delayed until around 9 at night. Although the journey was tough, it also created a perfect opportunity: passing through small mountain villages, the peaks just right to block the moonlight, through the window, the Milky Way and stars were clearly visible. What made it even more magical, the scattered lights in the villages also looked like stars in the night sky in the darkness, as if we were drifting in some corner of space, a blend of reality and illusion, as if having a dream about stars. At that moment I felt totally at a loss for words, unable to find a single appropriate adjective to describe their beauty; the only thing that came to mind was how mesmerizing they were. For that one hour, my eyes never left those stars, thinking about the light that had traveled several or even tens of thousands of years to reach Earth, and perhaps by now those stars had already fallen, faded away, ceased to exist. Thinking of this, I couldn’t help but look a few more times, and even though my neck grew terribly stiff, my brain still told me this was the right thing to do.