May Winds and Waves of Grain: Splendid Moments with My Bestie in Lijiang

Looking back on the past year, it was a year of stumbling and willfulness. Maybe it was this very moment that made me see things in a subtly different light, and perhaps it also gave me more courage to make decisions—whether to take a break or keep moving forward.

Life is always full of uncertainties. Since graduating from university, we hadn't seen each other. Lately, we've been chatting nonstop on WeChat. We had so much to say that texting just wasn't enough. We had to meet up and talk the night away.

So we said, why not have a weekend get-together? Just like that, we bought tickets and headed to Lijiang.

Actually, Lijiang was already very familiar to us. We spent four years here at university. This time, we wanted to relive those memories—walk the old town again, revisit the same restaurants we used to go to. Our mood was completely different now.

The wide stone-slab streets, the lazy afternoons, the slow pace of life... these kept my longing for Lijiang alive.

Compared to the hustle and bustle of Dayan Ancient Town, Baisha feels much quieter. Among Lijiang's three major ancient towns, Baisha is the least crowded and commercialized. But if you go back to the Song Dynasty, this was the ancient capital of the Naxi people, the heart of Lijiang at that time. Even after centuries of change, Baisha remains the town with the strongest Naxi heritage.

Just a few years ago, Baisha was still inhabited only by local Naxi people. Now it's gradually being renovated, making it easier for visitors to spend a leisurely, comfortable time here.

Just a few days before we left, a friend living in Lijiang sent us a photo of a wheat field under the snow-capped mountains. Seeing the gentle breeze stir layers of golden wheat rippling with such peace and tenderness, I was instantly smitten. So a few days later, once we arrived, we decided to head to that exact spot, using our friend's location, to take some healing portrait photos.

It turned out my friend had discovered this wheat field by chance while flying a drone. It's just behind the popular café "Xiaodao Jia," in a patch of farmland not far away. Because each plot is protected by hedges planted by the owner, at first we walked along the mountain paths and didn't see the wheat field we were hoping for. Just as we were hesitating whether to give up or push on, we met an old lady climbing a dirt slope to do farm work on her land. We greeted her and explained we only wanted to take photos in the field without stepping on the crops. She agreed and let us follow her into the field.

The moment we stepped onto the ridge and stood among the wheat, with blue sky, white clouds, and the snow mountain as the backdrop, a vast expanse of green wheat swaying in the wind—I couldn't help but sigh at how beautiful it was.

The whole field, brushed by the breeze, rippled like waves of the sea. Eyes closed, I felt the soft wind on my face, as if I could even smell the gentle scent of the breeze drifting across the fields. If someone asked me what "wind" really is, I'd say maybe it's this sight of grain rippling in the wind.

No noise—only the sound of the wheat waves and the old lady humming a Naxi tune while working. In that moment, my heart naturally felt as open as the wheat field itself. Looking back now, it was incredibly healing!

The shops in Baisha Ancient Town line up one after another: there are interesting ethnic handicraft workshops and some cozy, Insta-worthy cafés. If you have time, I really recommend popping into a little shop and learning to make a local handicraft with a master. Just thinking about it feels so fun.

Find any roadside café, sit down, order a coffee, watch the tourists strolling past and listen to the locals calling out their wares. In this slow-paced town, you feel as if time has frozen you right in this beautiful scene. And that indolent, blissful laziness of the ancient town can only be deeply appreciated when you're sitting so quietly under the Jade Dragon Snow Mountain.

No matter how plain and scruffy we may be in daily life, whenever I travel with my bestie, we always dress up to the nines. We absolutely have to leave a trail of gorgeous (if slightly doctored) photos and make a mark in our friends' circle photo contests.

Chores and routines eat up our time—how long has it been since we've properly dolled up and enjoyed a bit of vanity time together?

Come on, let me take your picture!

We'd never been to Dongba Valley Wellness Town at the foot of the snow mountain before and felt we'd been missing out. White buses, a pink castle, a big lawn—we could run freely on the grass. The angles here for photos are perfect: you can face the snow mountain, listen to the wind by the lake, and get that effortless Instagram vibe.

The whole scenic area is huge, with outdoor shows and horse riding. You could easily spend a whole day there, but since it got late, we headed back.

We had dinner at Yunxueli in the old town, near Red Sun Square. The Snow Mountain Fish is their signature dish.

The fresh pepper chicken was so delicious~

Matcha Cloud Top—a touch of coolness on a summer day.

One bowl of shredded chicken rice noodles was definitely not enough~

After dinner, with nothing else to do, we went to see Lishui Jinsha. We'd never watched an indoor performance in any city before. This time, since we'd already been to many places, we decided to kill time by catching this show. It started at 7:30, and since it ended early enough, we could still hang out in a little bar nearby.

We loved the ethnic-style performance. Many young actors put on a brilliant show. The costumes, makeup, and props were all professional, and some moments were especially memorable.

At the end of the Wa people's "Weeding Song," a group of girls threw a young man into a pond—and he even caught a fish! The scene was completely unexpected, and I couldn't help but cheer out loud.

Along this journey, we've cried, been afraid, and felt exhausted. But more than anything, we've walked every stretch with smiles.

We believe a happy life means finding what you want most while you still have time. Some love the steady rhythm of simple meals and tea. Some love the warmth of a big family. Some love challenges and adventures. As for us, we want to embrace the hundreds and thousands of different lives this world has to offer.