Ten-Year Dream: Back to Yunnan (Part 2)
Note: This travelogue was drafted in September 2020. Due to the long journey, vast coverage, and length, it is split into three parts. If interested, please refer to my other two travelogues. My thanks to anyone who comes across this!
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Day 5 in Yunnan. Waking up in the morning, after breakfast, thanked the landlady of Maple Forest Evening Inn, and set off for Lijiang. The ride-share driver was a master from Baoshan, Yunnan, looking in his thirties, chatty. When he opened the trunk for our luggage, we noticed he also had luggage, so we guessed he was traveling too. The driver said, "When I have nothing to do, I also like to go around."
Leaving Dali, the first half of the journey took the Dali-Lijiang route (Dali Line). The driver said, since we’re on vacation, no need to rush, taking provincial or national roads lets you enjoy the scenery along the way.
The Dali-Lijiang route is a winding mountain road with many sharp curves, but there wasn’t much traffic. From high points on the mountain, you could look down at towns in the distance, which was a real pleasure.
Passing through Heqing Xiyi, the driver said the local liquor was excellent. Too bad we drove past without a chance to taste it, leaving it for another time.
At 1:30 PM, we arrived in Lijiang. I still remember that ten years ago I stayed outside the ancient town; this time, I stayed inside. "Yiran Inn," tucked away behind the Zhongyi Market in the ancient town, was very quiet despite being inside. With its vintage style, light-luxury decor, and courtyard full of greenery, the price of around 100 yuan was a pleasant surprise.
Inside Lijiang, perhaps because the pandemic hadn’t been fully lifted or it was still off-season, the streets had few tourists. The rare quiet, with greenery creeping over walls and flowers blooming all around, felt almost like stepping into another world.
Our first lunch in Lijiang, I forgot the name of the place, was in a restaurant tucked away in the ancient town. It was well-equipped with side dishes, condiments, pickles, and seasonings. The food was delicate and fairly priced, about 20 yuan per serving, with different flavors.
After eating, we wandered aimlessly in the ancient town. When we got tired, my companion suggested finding a place to rest. I remembered passing a café earlier, so we traced our steps back.
A cup of cappuccino carried my drifting thoughts for a while. Not trying to be pretentious, honestly I don’t know much about coffee; I chose cappuccino just because it’s a bit sweeter than a latte. Of course, it’s not that I can’t drink bitter coffee – I used to when staying up late writing.
In the early evening, we walked out of the ancient town. The air after the rain was damp and a bit chilly. Looking up, I saw a beautiful double rainbow and took out my phone to capture it.
For dinner, we decided on "Gao Tusi Firepit Beef," a place my friend found on a group-buying app. Not sure what was special about it – another cured rib and beef hot pot. During these 10 days in Yunnan, I felt like I’d eaten more hot pot than I do in a whole year back in Guangdong.
I’m not sure if they were short-staffed or if they saw us as group-buy customers, but after leading us to the second floor and seating us, they almost ignored us until we actively sought a waiter. Overall, the food was neither impressive nor terrible – no standout highlights or major flaws. The hot pot got increasingly salty and spicy towards the end, though the portions were adequate.
After dinner, we continued our aimless wandering in the ancient town, tossing time into the crisscrossing alleys and among the passing travelers. At night, a light drizzle came and went, and the temperature felt a bit chilly, so I had to put on a jacket.
A corner of the ancient town at night. Personally, the ancient town seems only good for strolling or eating and drinking. The overly commercialized environment leaves little real history to absorb. Everywhere, artificially beautified decor, bars with dazzling lights and loud music – none of it really moves me. Many people associate Lijiang with the term "romantic encounter." I don’t know how many come here for that purpose, but in bars, you can’t easily have a "romantic encounter" without paying for drinks. And how many of those potential partners are actually drink hustlers? It’s all down to luck. I still remember ten years ago, a travel buddy told me a dozen beers (small bottles) in a bar cost 600 "big bucks."
I didn’t come for a romantic encounter. If there’s any connection between me and that word, it’s probably with Lijiang’s landscapes – the towering snow mountains, the clear blue skies, the chance to encounter the most beautiful scenery in the world. And such an encounter isn’t found inside the ancient town or amid the noise of bars. If you’re looking for it, I’d suggest exploring the fields outside the old town or the villages where locals live.
On the second day in Lijiang, we joined a small group tour (with a signed contract to avoid pitfalls) for 160 yuan per person, which included horse riding on the Tea Horse Road, a hot pot lunch, and a visit to Lashi Lake Wetland. The horses for tourists, possibly due to breed, weren’t very tall, so getting on and off was fairly easy.
Passing through a village, we entered lush mountains, riding on narrow winding paths that required body coordination with the horse and trust in it.
The old groom would occasionally belt out a few lines of folk songs, and the horses’ bells jingled, making it all very pleasant. I chatted with him and learned that the Tea Horse Road starts in Lijiang, Yunnan, and reaches as far as India. In the old days, a caravan of several hundred people would lead horses carrying goods, trekking through treacherous mountain paths, with a journey taking half a year – incredibly tough.
For lunch, we had a free-range chicken rice noodle hot pot. Not exactly lavish, but enough to fill the stomachs of four grown men.
After lunch, we went to Lashi Lake Wetland Park and followed a guide to learn about Naxi traditions and sacrificial culture. Out of respect for local customs, we didn’t take many photos, but we did obtain three blessing plaques (the exact name needs verification) and hung them in the Yi Cultural Park.
After leaving the wetland park, we had some spare time, so we didn’t take the tour bus back to Lijiang ancient town but detoured to Shuhe Ancient Town. When I visited Shuhe ten years ago, I had a great impression: it wasn’t as commercialized as Lijiang, there weren’t many bars, and on hot days, shops would chill yak milk, drinks, or beer in the clear, cool stream flowing in front, using it as a fridge. This time, however, Shuhe wasn’t the same. The town now has horse-drawn carriages for tourists, and some streets had uncleaned horse manure giving off an indescribable stench.
In the afternoon, it rained on and off, somewhat dampening our mood for wandering. We strolled through a few streets of Shuhe, and as it got dark, we decided to have dinner right there before heading back to Lijiang. We browsed a group-buying app, saw that "Peacock Feast" was popular, thought it looked interesting, and off we went!
When the food arrived, wow, quite stunning! A large round winnowing basket as the base, covered with tin foil, with lemongrass grilled fish, Dai-style lemon chicken, Dai-style sour bamboo shoot beef, grilled pork belly, wrapped baked enoki mushrooms, three-color hand-grasped rice, and some coarse grains and veggies. With some dry ice, it was all misty and ethereal – didn’t it look high-end? The server gave each of us a leaf and a disposable glove, telling us that this was our "bowl," and to mix and squeeze the food together to eat...
Delicious food is supposed to appeal to all the senses. Looking so beautiful and unique, we thought it must be tasty, but reality slapped me in the face. Aside from the rice, egg, lettuce, and some fruits and veggies, everything was either sour or spicy. Combined together, it was even more sour and pungent than pickled vegetables. Maybe we just weren’t used to it; maybe that’s what Dai cuisine is like... Well, putting that aside, the grilled fish was a bit burnt, dry, and hard to flake off. The wrapped baked enoki mushrooms were cold. I mentally calculated: apart from the fish, chicken, and pork belly – the few meat dishes worth a little – the cost of this whole "Peacock Feast" platter was probably less than 100 yuan. Yet for our 3–4 person set meal, the price was 268 yuan. This isn’t just being ripped off; it’s being hacked with an axe. Because of this meal, our group complained for days, vowing never again.
After that heartbreaking dinner, we hailed a ride-share and left. Shuhe Ancient Town, just like that, was glossed over.
Travelogue Contents 1. Revisiting Dayan Ancient Town 2. Tea Horse Road: Tracing the Trade Routes of the Ancients 3. The Shuhe I Miss Has Changed Travel Information Hotel Index Guide Index Flight Index Site Navigation Travel Index Cruise Index Corporate Travel Index Partnership Distribution Alliance Friendly Links Corporate Gift Card Purchase Insurance Agent Agent Cooperation Hotel Franchise Destination & Scenic Area Cooperation More Partnership Opportunities About Ctrip About Ctrip Ctrip Hot Topics Contact Us Careers User Agreement Privacy Policy Business License Security Center Ctrip Content Center Intellectual Property Trip.com Group Algorithm Disclosure
