Seven Days, Six Nights – Yunnan Free & Easy: Dali, Lijiang, Shangri-La

This summer has Cangshan, Erhai, grasslands, stars, and someone to share the evening breeze with me.

6.20–6.23 Chengdu → Dali

6.23–6.24 Dali → Lijiang

6.25–6.26 Lijiang → Shangri-La

6.27 Shangri-La → Lijiang → Chengdu

1. Sunscreen, sunscreen, sunscreen. Especially at Erhai. A piece of my scalp got sunburned, and my hands turned really dark. The breeze from Erhai makes you feel cool and comfortable, so you don’t notice the heat, but the UV rays are fierce. Even now my feet still have sandal tan lines.

2. We bought solid alcohol fuel; it has to go in checked luggage. Wet wipes too. Make sure you disinfect properly.

3. Let me roughly describe the Erhai map. The West Ring Road is under construction, but you can still go there – the scenery is lovelier and you can get closer to the water. The East Ring Road is well developed; places like Shuanglang and Moon Lake are on that side, but it’s mostly cliffs with the water below. There are a few spots where you can climb down.

DAY1 Chengdu → Dali

During the pandemic, hotel prices were incredibly cheap. We booked a guesthouse just outside Dali Ancient Town. We left early to catch the flight to Dali – I’d been cooped up from the pandemic for way too long. The moment we stepped off the plane, the blue sky and UV rays were something we never get in Chengdu. We dropped off our bags, then found a noodle shop nearby for a simple meal.

Local Crossing Bridge Rice Noodles (there are two types: one like in small noodle shops, everything mixed in one bowl; the other a bit pricier, brimming with lots of side dishes – both are genuine Crossing Bridge Rice Noodles).

We also booked an electric scooter online in advance, planning to ride around Erhai (exhausting). We got a Niu-brand scooter. A full loop around Erhai is 130 km. If you plan to do the loop, make sure you can swap batteries midway. There are many scooter rentals in the ancient town, but they’re only for nearby trips – be careful. While buying something, I overheard a guy: it was past 8 pm, already dark, and he’d ridden all the way to Butterfly Spring, 27 km from the ancient town, with a dead battery and no way back. He had to charge there. No idea what happened in the end. I really don’t recommend riding the loop – the wind and sun are brutal; you’ll question your life choices!

Riding my beloved little scooter, it never gets stuck in traffic.

Caicun Dock: nothing much to see, and they charge admission, so we skipped it. There are lots of flower fields nearby where you can take photos for about 10 yuan per person. I wasn’t that interested. Then we rode counterclockwise along the lake; this is the West Ring Road. Anytime we saw a pretty spot, we just parked and went to explore. I actually found the marked scenic spots on the map rather underwhelming.

Chongsheng Temple and Three Pagodas: (passing by)

We stumbled on a shallow shore while riding, and a forest with locals harvesting clam-like shellfish. They said they’re edible, so we helped gather some.

The sky here is so blue, unbelievably beautiful. Another tip: bring a picnic mat, buy some snacks, and just lie down with the sky as your quilt and the earth as your bed, nestled among the trees, water, and land. It feels so liberating.

We headed back to the hotel the first day since we only had half a day. Day 2 was the main event – the full lake loop.

DAY2 & 3 Dali, Erhai

Exhausting? Very. Thrilling? Absolutely. Headache-inducing? Yes, the wind was strong. Sunburn? Oh yes. Once again, don’t ride a scooter around Erhai, don’t do it!!

We followed Erhai’s ring road, first heading north, passing yesterday’s forest and shallow shore, then reaching Xizhou Ancient Town.

Along the way, white-walled, black-tiled houses peeked through layers of green waves. I couldn’t help thinking about growing old in such a beautiful, waterside spot, rising and resting with the sun.

Xizhou Ancient Town: few tourists, not overly commercial, but honestly nothing special to eat or do. There’s a famous phone booth – a bunch of people queuing to take photos, pretty pointless. The local specialties were just average. If they were really that good, they’d have spread beyond the province, like Crossing Bridge Rice Noodles or Chongqing hotpot. The fact they’re not famous proves they’re just so-so.

After swapping batteries, we continued our scooter journey.

Shuanglang: Honestly, I’d read lots of travel tips online saying the East Ring Road is more beautiful than the West. I just didn’t feel that; in fact, I was quite disappointed. Maybe it was the light or the weather, but it really wasn’t great. Riding the scooter had gone from exciting to numbing.

Shuanglang requires a health code, and scooters aren’t allowed inside. We parked outside for a fee, then walked in. We grabbed a simple home-style lunch at a random restaurant – again, nothing special. However, the flower cakes were super delicious. Panxiangji ones were great.

Right next to Shuanglang is Yang Liping’s Moon Palace. Again, we skipped it. I much prefer natural scenery.

It was already 2 or 3 pm. We were utterly tired, our bums sore from sitting so long. We kept hopping off to take photos, then hopping back on, until eventually we couldn’t be bothered to get off anymore. Along the way we passed Wase, Putuo, etc. If you think it’s pretty, hop off and snap.

We kept riding along the ring road. Around 6 pm, the sun had set but it was still light out. The wind was crazy strong – 360 degrees with no shelter. We had to bend low to keep the scooter from being blown over. It gave us a splitting headache. We’d been riding all day, from dawn to dusk.

Finally, that evening, we found a mushroom hotpot restaurant in Dali Ancient Town. Gotta say, you must try mushrooms when in Yunnan. We booked one online and it was genuinely good. Back at the hotel, the ancient town’s nightscape was gorgeous, and we could see stars. Sipping skewers and beer, chatting about life.

The next day was truly laid-back. We couldn’t stop thinking about that shallow shore from the first day, so we bought a bunch of snacks, brought a raincoat (as a picnic mat), and lay in the sun. In the afternoon we returned to the old town – we’d never properly explored it before. It’s not overly commercial; many locals still live there. We even checked out their food market – lively, everyday buzz.

DAY4 Dali → Lijiang

We booked train tickets online. First time on a double-decker train – such a quirky experience.

We stayed inside Lijiang Ancient Town. So few people – many shops were closed. The pandemic dealt a huge blow, but the emptiness actually made the ancient town more beautiful. Walking on the flagstone paths, seeing the mottled moss and old buildings, you feel like you’ve become a small-town lass.

Every shop in the old town is so tastefully designed, with flowers and plants at the doorstep.

In the afternoon we visited Shuhe Ancient Town, a very quiet town with a slow pace of life – perfect for a relaxing getaway or healing a broken heart.

We ate at Shuhe’s popular internet-famous restaurant and were very happy, very nice. We checked out at least three places on Bar Street and finally picked Little Pot Rice. When the food arrived, I gave myself a thumbs up – great choice! The best dish was the Dongba grilled fish. Honestly, we’d had grilled fish every day these past few days, but today’s was the most authentic! And the little pot rice was fragrant and delicious – a must-try! The most pleasant surprise: on Bar Street, a bottle of Dali Fenghua Xueyue beer usually costs around 40 yuan, the cheapest 38, but here at Little Pot Rice it was 12 yuan. I thought I’d misread – truly honest pricing!

Back in Lijiang Ancient Town, it was so lively – a world apart from Shuhe.

DAY5 & 6 Lijiang → Shangri-La

❤ Honestly, we’d been to so many ancient towns already, and years ago I’d come here with my mom, so I was pretty numb to it. Therefore, Lijiang was just our transit point; our real destination was Shangri-La. Remembering the mistakes from our unplanned Dali trip and the transport issues, we decisively booked a small-group pure-play tour in a business van. Prices range from 200 to 700 yuan per person; we didn’t dare book the cheapest. At 590 yuan each, it was a really good trip with no shopping.

In Shangri-La, we stayed in Dukezong Ancient Town, also called Moonlight City.

The world’s largest prayer wheel needs ten people to turn it together. Go give it a spin for some blessings.

Corresponding to that is Songzanlin Monastery. Ganden Songzanlin Monastery is the largest Tibetan Buddhist monastery in Yunnan Province, one of the famous monasteries in the Kham region, and the center of the Gelug school in Sichuan and Yunnan. It holds a weighty position across the entire Tibetan area and is known as the 'Little Potala Palace'.

Inside Songzanlin Monastery, Tibetan volunteers serve as guides. If you wander on your own, you’ll only see the surface. I suggest listening to their explanations to get an overall understanding of the temple – it’s truly magnificent and made me want to visit the Potala Palace even more.

After visiting the monastery, there’s a lake opposite, their sacred lake. A boardwalk circles it, perfect for panoramic photos. Since it was June and the grass was thick, we couldn’t capture reflections; otherwise it would’ve been even prettier. Once again with a bag of snacks, we found a shady spot under a tree and leisurely ate.

In the afternoon we went to Napahai. Originally we’d planned Pudacuo, but I’d been before, and my husband was more keen on Napahai’s grasslands and what’s been called the most beautiful internet-famous highway.

Late June to early July is the most beautiful time on the grasslands, when nameless little flowers bloom everywhere (I feel like I’m writing a school essay). You can walk into the grasslands (some parts are off-limits). Many locals with horses nearby offer rides. Books describe ‘wind-rippled grass revealing cattle and sheep,’ but in reality, you look up and see cattle and sheep, look down and see cow dung, sheep dung, and horse dung. So better to find a spot with fewer people and animals for some nice photos.

Dukezong also had few visitors. This was our hotel with a lovely dog, not scared of strangers at all. If you’re afraid of dogs, don’t worry – this dog is intuitive; if it senses you’re scared, it won’t come close.

DAY7 Lijiang → Chengdu

Time to head back. Finally, we took a bus back to Lijiang.

This trip was genuinely a leisurely one. Blame the intense work pressure; I just wanted to find a place with beautiful scenery and quietly lie around, feeling the breeze.