3,586 Yuan for a 10-Day Trip Across 5 Provinces [Fujian/Chongqing/Dali/Lijiang/Shangri-La] Let's Go~

Me: Let's go~ travel.

X Dog: No money.

Me: Budget 3,500 yuan for half a month.

X Dog: I'll borrow from Huabei~ let's go.

Itinerary: Fujian/Wuhan/Foshan - Chongqing - Dali - Lijiang - Shangri-La.

And so, on January 17, 2021, 10 days later, the impromptu trip of the 'Heisei Three Heroes' was born~

Since I travel for work often, I'm used to roughly planning an itinerary and budget, but not too rigidly. Travel is all about uncertainties—that's where the regrets and memories come from.

Before departing, use Alipay's national epidemic prevention check to see if both your city and destination are low-risk areas. Otherwise, you'll be quarantined right off the train!!!

Since the three of us were departing from different places, we chose to meet in Chongqing, which none of us had visited. Considering the budget, we all took high-speed or regular trains.

Sights: Jiefangbei Pedestrian Street; Hongya Cave; Eighteen Steps; Liziba Light Rail; Chongqing Three Gorges Museum; Zoo; Fairy Mountain Forest Park; Wulong Grand Canyon

🍄Food: 1- Hot pot 2- Noodles... 👍

🍄Accommodation: Panda Apartment Homestay 58 yuan... 👍

🍄Tickets: Jiefangbei Pedestrian Street (free); Hongya Cave (free)

⏰We arrived in Chongqing in the evening, rested a bit, and it was around 9pm. We first headed to nearby Jiefangbei Pedestrian Street + Hongya Cave.

The hotel location was very convenient—about a 1km walk to Jiefangbei Pedestrian Street. There was a nice road intersection about 500m away, so I snapped a few photos. The building exteriors were also very impressive 👍

✌At Bayi Food Square, you can listen to music; there are many street snacks on both sides, so you can eat while strolling toward Hongya Cave.

⏰Walk through Jiefangbei Pedestrian Street, then continue about 1.5km to Hongya Cave. Admission is free. Scan the QR code on-site to enter. It's beautiful—the architecture looks like something out of an anime.

⏰For hot pot, there's an old street lined with hot pot restaurants on both sides. Take a taxi and ask the driver to take you there. Taste 👍 price 👍. Oh, and remember to choose micro-spicy o~ ... (I'm the spokesperson for ❀.)

⏰About the hotel—this time it exceeded my expectations. Because of the pandemic + Chinese New Year, Chongqing was full of 58 yuan/night places. You might think it'd be shabby and dirty. But actually... 1.8m king bed + 1.5m tatami mat. The three of us played rock-paper-scissors; the winner got the small bed~

🍄Tickets: Eighteen Steps (free); Liziba (free); Three Gorges Museum (free); Zoo 24.5 yuan

⏰A 200m walk from the hotel brings you to the old buildings of Eighteen Steps. You can stroll around and have breakfast here. The subway entrance is also right there; it takes about 1 hour.

For subway/bus, open WeChat or Alipay, search for 'Ride Code'—no need to buy tickets, just scan to pay, dear~

⏰Liziba Station on Metro Line 2 is an internet-famous spot. You can take photos pretending to swallow the light rail train. Hmm~ I could eat another one 🤭

⏰Continue on Line 2 for 3 stops, get off at Zengjiayan Station. Exit and navigate a 1km walk; along the way, many noodle shops for 15 yuan can fix your lunch. Delicious 👍 a great deal

⏰Chongqing Three Gorges Museum: there's a square in front, and across is the Great Hall of the People. Due to the pandemic, even with a green health code, people from other provinces couldn't enter, so we rested in the square. And incidentally, I had a bird poop lucky moment 😅. Hope you do too...

⏰Then take Metro Line 2 to the Zoo station. Walk 850m to Chongqing Zoo. Ticket 24.5 yuan. I had my first zero-distance encounter with peacocks, ostriches, and pheasants~ 👏 like this

Finally, take the metro back~ shower. Then go eat a bowl of noodles nearby. Hot pot isn't off-limits. (Even micro-spicy ❀ can't handle it!!! (〃＞目＜)

🍄Tickets: Fairy Mountain Forest Park 99 yuan; Forest Eye 25 yuan

⏰A heads-up: Fairy Mountain is about 200km from the city, taking around 4 hours. We rented a car through Lian Dong Yun, and all costs came to about 600 yuan. Regrettably, due to time constraints, we didn't go to the Wulong Tiankeng Grand Canyon /(ㄒoㄒ)/~~. See, regrets come, and so do memories~

Woke up at 7:30am, ate noodles nearby, and merrily set off. Arrived at noon. Parked the car, and without a word, I rewarded my buddy with a mouthful of snow. Exactly 3.8 liang, no more, no less. 🤭

At the entrance are some amusement facilities for kids to play—of course... we are also kids, and we want to play too!

⏰Continue following signs for 500 meters, and you can start the treetop walk. The endpoint is the Forest Eye, YEAH!!

✌ Lunch was at the Forest Eye, where I splurged 6.5 yuan on instant noodles. Didn't use Huabei for that~

⏰Exit the Forest Eye. Drive ahead following signs—I forgot the exact name. You'll see something like a ticket hall and that's it. Take a small train for about 15 minutes. After getting off, walk 500m in the direction you came from. Take photos, enjoy the scenery, then wait at the three-way intersection for the return train.

⏰TIP: Ask the driver what time the last return train is. Don't get carried away and miss it; you'll have to walk 1 hour back to the parking lot 😄

⏰Back in the city around 9pm. The Jiefangbei Pedestrian Street parking lot has dedicated Lian Dong Yun spaces, so we returned the car there. Then walked out of the underground garage and had dinner at the Jiefangbei food street.

At 8am, took a taxi to Chongqing West Station, and after 8 hours arrived in Dali.

🍄Accommodation: Dali Mihai Inn, double bed + single bed 70 yuan/night 👍

🍄Dinner: Wild Mushroom King Sea View Restaurant (group-buy 3-person set) 👍

🍄Tickets: Cangshan Scenic Area 115 yuan; Erhai Lake (free)

⏰After exiting Dali Station, we wanted to catch a taxi but waited a long time. Neither the app nor hailing worked, so we took a bus + walked—just navigate.

The hotel is right by Erhai Lake~ For dinner, just walk 600m along the lake from the hotel. Enjoy the meal while watching the sunset glow—so pleasant 😊

⏰In the morning, we chose to bike around Erhai Lake, renting from right next to the hotel (the only rental nearby). 80 yuan per bike, good for about 180km. Breakfast was also at the next-door little eatery.

⏰My route: Cangshan Scenic Area - Dali Ancient Town - Haishe Ecological Park - Xizhou Ancient Town - Shuanglang Ancient Town - Little Putuo (cycling was really cold...)

✌ Cangshan Scenic Area is fairly close to the city, so you can visit it first. Ticket 115 yuan.

⏰After Cangshan, you can head down and visit Dali Ancient Town, which is right next to it. Included in the ticket price.

✌ Then it's cycling to admire the scenery along the way. Many people rent convertible sports cars to circle Erhai Lake, generally over 1,000 yuan.

⏰I suggest no need to circle the whole Erhai Lake—it's just so-so. Just take a taxi to the city's Erhai boardwalk entrance. You can rent a bike for half a loop, enough. Pedal and stop, gaze at the lake, sip coffee. Isn't that better?

Side note: I'm a bit of a boozer. Coming to Dali, of course I had to hit a bar. Turned out the experience was awful—bad vibe, and not even any shills. Thumbs down. And they even charged a 200 yuan table reservation fee.

Today we have plenty of time; our train is at 12:29. Leisurely breakfast. Stroll by Erhai Lake at the hotel doorstep.

⏰Dali to Lijiang: 2 hours

🍄Accommodation: Lijiang Yuanmeng, two double beds 92 yuan/night (with washing machine and gym) 👍

🍄Dinner: Rice bowl at the intersection 15 yuan. 👍

🍄Tickets: Lijiang Ancient Town (free)

In the afternoon, wander the ancient town—B&Bs everywhere. Scan the QR code on roadside signs for a cute Q-version map of the whole town. On the way to the highest point, we passed Lion Hill; didn't go in—not because it charges admission. Reached the top, ordered a 58-yuan pot of tea, sat down. In that moment, the clouds above seemed within reach.

⏰Late-night snack: just a 200m walk from the hotel to Caicai BBQ at the entrance of Zhaoqing Market. Price 👍 taste 👍

🍄Tickets: Lashi Lake 30 yuan; Yuhu (free)

At 9am, we took a bus to Lashi Lake Wetland Park, 1 hour. Use Baidu Maps to navigate. After getting off, it's a 1km walk to the scenic area.

Outside the scenic area, you can also choose to ride a horse around the lake, but that's a different price. On the way back, since the bus was so hard to come by, we hailed a ride via the app, costing about 40 yuan.

⏰In the afternoon, with time to spare, we wanted to visit Black Dragon Mountain Park. But entering requires a Lijiang maintenance fee of 50 yuan per person, so we gave up.

⏰Then we took a taxi to nearby Yuhu, fare about 60. The houses are distinctively built with stone blocks and timber. Yuhu Village has the former residence of Joseph Rock, who lived in China for 27 years, studying Yunnan culture. The hiking route for Jade Dragon Snow Mountain was also discovered by him.

Hint: The hiking trailhead for Jade Dragon Snow Mountain is right there at Yuhu 😄

On the way back, we saw a coffee shop at the village bus stop. So we ditched the taxi, took the bus instead. Ordered a pot of tea, ate some local red bean cake. Played a few rounds of Honor of Kings, all losing streaks~ 😔

After showering at night, we continued exploring Lijiang Ancient Town. Headed to the observation deck at the top of the town—my buddy brought a camera, I brought five Budweisers.

🍄Tickets: Jade Dragon Snow Mountain + Blue Moon Valley 100 yuan

⏰Jade Dragon Snow Mountain is 30km from the city; taxi 120 yuan. A solo traveler can take a bus for 70 yuan.

The Jade Dragon Snow Mountain ticket includes Blue Moon Valley, but if you take the sightseeing bus to Blue Moon Valley, you need to buy a separate bus ticket.

⏰Tip: Check the weather for Jade Dragon Snow Mountain a day ahead. If rain or heavy fog, change your plans. Otherwise, like me, you'll see nothing but loneliness: strong winds, swirling snow, all white, stuck on the observation deck...😔

At Jade Dragon Snow Mountain, it was all white, so I didn't take photos. Blue Moon Valley is made up of several connected lakes at different elevations, each with its own charm.

⏰From Lijiang to Shangri-La, there are only buses; ticket 76 yuan, 2.5 hours.

🍄Accommodation: Wanglai Homestay, double bed + single bed 124 yuan 👍

🍄Food: Yak hot pot (forgot the name, ask the homestay owner); barley noodles; yogurt candy; butter tea

🍄Tickets: Napa Lake 30 yuan; Songzanlin Monastery 90 yuan; Dukezong Ancient City free

We departed at 9am, arrived in Shangri-La at noon. Dropped our luggage and headed straight to Napa Lake. You could choose not to pay, but considering...

⏰Also, an aunty kept urging us to ride horses around the lake. Let me clarify, it's not that we didn't ride due to lack of money 😄. She went from 200 yuan per person, down to 180~120~90, and still the sales pitch failed...

⏰If you choose to walk like me, remember to bring plastic bags to cover your shoes. It's like a wetland here; the paths are soft, muddy earth.

🐟Napa Lake is vast, so while walking through the village, I suddenly wanted to experience the local hospitality.

🐟Because the UV is strong here, and girls' skin tends to be worse, I accidentally hit on an older sister (actually a young lady)... Even though she was busy, she still called her friend to take us to her home for butter tea, barley noodles, and yogurt candy. Honestly, the moment she agreed so readily, my first thought was dirty-minded: 'Hope they don't rip us off later...'

🐟Well, the butter tea and yogurt candy were good. The barley noodles... were also pretty good. Thanks to the sister who sat across from me the whole time without leaving, making me finish the noodles. They didn't charge us when we left, but we still secretly left 100 yuan 😀

🐟Later, thanks to the big bro who gave us a ride; I wonder if he found the money we secretly left on the back seat~ 😀

The ride dropped us here, next to a gas station. Navigation showed 1.5km to Songzanlin, so we walked. Songzanlin Monastery is known as the Little Potala Palace.

At night, we explored Dukezong Ancient City. Very few people, about 70% of shops closed. Actually, Dali and Lijiang are similar.

Dinner was hot pot. Also, happy to have met a pretty young lady.

Side note: Locals here don't take their parents' surnames. After being born, they go to a monastery to request a name, which always has four characters. So a son not sharing his father's surname—don't misunderstand. 😊

🍄Tickets: Pudacuo National Park 138 yuan

⏰Pudacuo is 25km from the city; taxi costs 120 yuan.

When leaving after your visit, you can buy special commemorative stamps at the lobby, 80 yuan per set. The young lady there is very pretty~

Lijiang to Guangzhou flight: 300 yuan

Total expenses: 3,586 yuan.

At this point, the journey comes to an end. Arrived home on the 29th of the lunar year. Perfect~ 😊

Preview: Rough plan for a trip to the northwest region around the end of 2022, budget also 3,000-4,000 yuan, 10-day trip ヾ(•ω•`)o

Travelogue Contents

1. Day 1; Chongqing; Hongya Cave

2. Day 2; Eighteen Steps + Liziba + Three Gorges Museum + Zoo

3. Day 3; Chongqing; Fairy Mountain Forest Park

4. Day 4~5; Dali; Cangshan; Erhai Lake

5. Day 6: Lijiang Ancient Town

6. Day 7; Lashi Lake; Yuhu

7. Day 8; Jade Dragon Snow Mountain; Blue Moon Valley

8. Day 9; Shangri-La; Napa Lake; Songzanlin Monastery; Dukezong Ancient City

9. Day 10; Pudacuo National Park

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