Live Your Best Lives
graphic by Meng Xi
This journey starts from the Jade Dragon Snow Mountain. In fact, I have not been very cold to Lijiang over the years, the reason may be that I have always had the impression of Lijiang is the bustling bars of the ancient city, as a person who likes to be alone, I can't like the life of the lights and wine, so I have not taken Lijiang as my travel destination, until I came to Lijiang for a business trip in April this year, and hurriedly found that in addition to the ancient city, the surrounding natural scenery is also dazzling, at that time, due to the rush of time, so I planted a wish in my heart to come to Lijiang for a self-drive, Now this wish has finally come true.
Since I came to the Jade Dragon Snow Mountain this time, I even chose to stay on the tourist route to the Jade Dragon Snow Mountain instead of staying in the ancient city. As an acceptable price and relatively closest to Yulong, I found a hotel in the Dongba Valley Scenic Area. Dongba Valley is a scenic spot on the tourist loop, but I don't recommend this attraction, I feel that it is a place contracted by group tourists, and the scenery and facilities are almost interesting.
However, the hotel inside is decorated with the meaning of an ancient city, and you can face the Jade Dragon Snow Mountain in the hotel. It's just that the weather was very poor a few days before I arrived in Lijiang, and it was difficult to see the shadow of the snow-capped mountains, so I could only take photos in the hotel.
Because aerial photography is not allowed in the ancient city of Lijiang, these buildings here have fulfilled my desire for aerial photography.
Especially in the evening, when the lights are on, it looks like a scene from a TV series.
really bored in the hotel, I decided to drive out for a walk, and I chose Baisha Ancient Town, which is ten minutes away from the hotel, which is also the only ancient town I went to in Lijiang this time.
Baisha Ancient Town is located about 10 kilometers north of Lijiang City, north of Yulong Snow Mountain, south to Longquan, west of Zhi Mountain, is the ancient capital of the Naxi people, world-class "Ancient Naxi Kingdom", It was once the political, economic, commercial and cultural center of Naxi Lijiang.
As one of the important birthplaces of Naxi culture, the Naxi Mu clan chieftain has accumulated experience in planning towns in Baisha. Moreover, Baisha Ancient Town is the origin of the regime of the Lijiang Tusi "Mu Family". Baisha Ancient Town is the most ancient town with Naxi heritage and the most original Naxi village.
The three dog brothers in the ancient town.
Baisha Ancient Town should be my favorite among the three ancient towns in Lijiang, this ancient town has very few tourists, and it is convenient to park outside, parking is free. Although I didn't want to go to the ancient town during this trip to Lijiang, I was really bored on a rainy day when I couldn't see the Jade Dragon Snow Mountain, and it happened that Baisha Ancient Town was also nearby.
Vehicles are not allowed to enter and exit from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. in the ancient town, coupled with the small number of tourists, you will have a feeling of contracting here, there will be many local old women selling mountain goods on both sides of the main street, and the pine cones full of pine nuts that are bigger than my palm are only sold for ten yuan a piece, as well as all kinds of bait shreds, tofu chicken and other snacks you can taste, the price is definitely cheaper than other ancient towns.
After walking around the ancient town for a while, I found an open place to take aerial photos of the entire Baisha Ancient Town, and found that the ancient town was quite large. The buildings with strong local characteristics are staggered and look very sensational.
The music can see the shadow of the snow-capped mountains, which is enough to imagine how happy the people living here are to see the snow-capped mountains every day.
In the evening, the clouds began to disperse, but the shy Jade Dragon Snow Mountain still did not show up, and the thick clouds above were like a hat, and it was always unwilling to take off this hat in front of me, so I had to wash and sleep in the hotel, hoping that there would be a surprise the next day.
The next day, the Jade Dragon Snow Mountain was indeed revealed in front of me, and I went directly to the scenic spot, changed the shuttle bus, and took the cable car halfway up the mountain to admire the jade dragon up close. In fact, looking at the snow-capped mountains up close is really not as good as looking at the snow-capped mountains from a distance, and the mountains are still a little cold, watching a large number of tourists wearing rented red down jackets to store oxygen cylinders take a group photo at the stele of the Jade Dragon Snow Mountain, I think this is not my favorite way of traveling, so I decided to go down the mountain and take a look from a distance.
This is the location where the cable car arrives, and you can continue to hike up, but I really don't like climbing the mountain and give up.
The clouds under the mountain hit quickly again, and I also met the first rainbow I met in Yunnan, and the chance of meeting a rainbow in Yunnan is actually very high. But I am still excited to record it.
Park the car in the open space, sit on the grass and watch the cattle and sheep leisurely graze, feel the light and shadow changes produced by the wind blowing through the clouds, bask in the sun comfortably, and don't go to crowds, this is my favorite way of traveling, which is also one of the reasons why I like to travel by car, so that I can enjoy the trip conveniently and freely. Choose a favorite playlist from the central control of the vehicle, put down the back of the seat and lie down comfortably for a while.
From this central control screen, it can be found that the intelligent network connection system used by the 21 VV5 is more in line with the usage habits of young people, the interface is very designed, and the theme is young and dynamic, such as iqiyi, these mainstream Internet video applications also appear on this system, and the entertainment has been significantly enhanced.
After seeing the Jade Dragon Snow Mountain, I decided to move towards Shangri-La and see the "sun and moon in my heart".
These lakes of different sizes under the Jade Dragon Snow Mountain are quite interesting, and I have always wondered whether they were naturally formed or artificially. Later, under the answer of a local, I learned that these lakes of different sizes were artificially made, and in order to adjust the climate of Lijiang, it was a bit unclear.
In fact, the reflection of the lake here is really beautiful, but it can only be taken in the morning to have a reflection, and then the wind will blow all day and you can't see the reflection at all.
highway from Lijiang to Shangri-La will be opened to traffic at the end of the year, and there will be no need to drive carefully on the winding national highway. Departing from Lijiang, National Highway 355 to National Highway 214, it takes about 4 hours to Diqing city, because there is only this road at present, so there are still a lot of cars, especially the first half of National Highway 355 up the mountain and the second half down the mountain, be sure not to speed and change lanes, when you arrive at National Highway 214 will be much wider, but if you rush to rain, there will be low fog on several mountaintop sections, visibility is very poor, you must drive carefully.
On this part of the road I encountered foggy weather, and I saw with my own eyes that there was a car rushing down the roadbed in front of me, fortunately on the inside, if the consequences on the cliff side were really unimaginable, since it was driving with extremely low visibility, I simply parked the car in a safe position, flew up the drone to take aerial photos, the fog drifted in the mountains, the autumn Wuhua Mountain loomed in the clouds and mist, and a colorful landscape painting appeared in front of my eyes.
The fog was a little smaller I continued to drive forward, and the surprise struck again, a whole rainbow spanned in front of me, and I hurried down the road to shoot the rainbow.
At first I opened the car window and took pictures of the rainbow with my camera, but at this time it was still raining and the interior was wet, so I had to close the windows and put the drone out to shoot.
I also went to Shangri-La after taking pictures of the rainbow, and when it comes to Shangri-La, I must mention Songzanlin Monastery, which is the largest Tibetan Buddhist temple in Yunnan Province, and one of the famous monasteries in Kham District, and the center of the Yellow Sect in Sichuan and Yunnan, which has a pivotal position in the entire Tibetan area and is known as the "Little Potala Palace". The temple is built on the mountain, shaped like an ancient castle, which is the culmination of Tibetan plastic art and is also known as the "Museum of Tibetan Art". Songzanlin Temple is now in the no-fly zone of Diqing Airport, so it is no longer possible to fly drones, so I will show you a few photos of Songzanlin Temple that I took aerial photos many years ago.
This is the Sonzanlin Hotel behind Songzanlin Temple.
the golden dome of Songtsan Lin Monastery
The temple of Songzanlin Temple is surrounded by oval walls, the main hall is majestic and gorgeous, the murals in the hall are brightly colored, the brushwork is delicate, mainly to describe historical allusions and promote Buddhist teachings. The two main temples of Zhacang and Jikang were built at the highest point and were in the center of the temple. The temple is located in the north and facing south, and is a five-story Tibetan-style carved building. The upper layer of the main hall is gilded with copper tiles, the palace is a horned beast kiss, and it has a Chinese temple architectural style, and the lower hall has 108 columns, representing the auspicious number of Buddhism, and the hall can accommodate 1,600 people. The left and right walls are the "Ten Thousand Scroll Cabinets" of the scriptures, and the front seat of the main hall is enshrined with bronze statues of the Fifth Emperor, followed by the remains of famous monks. The main building on the top floor is specially set up with a Buddhist hall, which enshrines the Buddha statues of the fifth and seventh generations, as well as Bayeux scriptures, thangkas, and handed down artifacts.
Take a photo of Songzanlin Temple from the direction of Songzanlin Hotel
Although aerial photography is not possible now, I have one of the best viewpoints of Songzanlin Temple to tell you that there is a vacant lot under construction in the direction of Diqing to Napa Sea, which is the best location to take pictures of Songzanlin Temple from a high place.
Although this location is very good, the taste here is not very good, I don't know if it is cow dung or what, there is a strange smell, but I have been hiding in the car, the 21 VV5 is equipped with CN95 level air conditioning filter, which can filter out 99% of germs and create a clean environment in the car for people to breathe safely. After I stopped the car to shoot, I also used the remote control of WEY's APP in advance to ensure that I turned on the cockpit cleaning function before getting into the car, so that I could have fresh air after enduring the strange smell outside.
If the weather is good enough, I really want to take a sunset time lapse here
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The steering wheel of the 21 VV5s is just the right size, and I feel very comfortable holding and directioning while driving.
Continue to drive forward from this shooting point for more than ten minutes to the Napa Sea.
Coastal highways in the Napa Sea
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The Napa Sea is the largest grassland in Diqing County. Due to the humid climate of the reserve, the grass grows faster than similar areas, and every May, the grassland spits out young shoots, while the Napa grassland is already green grass. At the beginning of June, all kinds of wildflowers compete to bloom, and the vast grasslands are full of flowers and jade grasses. Herds of cattle and sheep undulated with the sea of grass, as if sinking and floating in the sea. The vast wilderness is surrounded by the beautiful scenery of the grassland where "the wind blows the grass and sees the cattle and sheep". The three snow-capped mountains of Shika, Shika and Xinyala in the west stand beautifully. Snow-capped mountains, grasslands, cattle and sheep constitute the scenery of the north of the Great Southwest. And now this season, the mountains are colorful, although the grassland has turned yellow, but it is still a brilliant color, and there are very few people in Napa this season, driving on the coastal highway, opening the windows, and letting the cool autumn breeze hit my face, this feeling is very comfortable.
The scattered autumn leaves on the mountain complement the Tibetan-style houses
Here and Dali's Erhai Lake are two completely different scenery, the cattle and horses on the grassland are leisurely eating grass, you can also accept the invitation of local herders to ride horses on the grassland and gallop in the sea, of course, this is paid, but this is a good experience for people who have never ridden a horse, and you can bargain in the off-season, and the herdsmen at a similar price will let you experience.
There is also a road to the Botanical Garden above Napa Sea, which is also very beautiful, and there is an observation deck overlooking the Napa Sea.
I really like the grille of the 21 VV5s, which imitates electroplating paint, which looks shinier and more youthful.
I want to complain a little about the design of the 21 VV5 gear handle, although the gear handle is very comfortable, but I am very unaccustomed to the design of the P gear is a separate button, I have parked many times to hang the R gear as the P gear, fortunately, the reversing screen that appeared in time on the central control screen allowed me to quickly find out that the wrong gear was hung.
This road leads to a village on the top of the mountain, winding for several kilometers, completely close to the mountain.
Halfway through the self-driving trip in northwest Yunnan, in the next chapter I will tell you a story full of legends and take you to see a beautiful secret attraction, so stay tuned.
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