Live Your Best Lives
2020 is destined to be memorable, and at the beginning of the year, I saw news reports that the Nujiang section of National Highway 219 in Yunnan (also known as the beautiful highway) and the Degong Highway (connecting Gongshan and Deqin) have been repaired and opened to traffic.
I remember that two years ago, I began to expect to walk the Nu River, and the plan at that time was to take the Bingchacha line, but due to the poor road conditions, the driving had already arrived in Mangkang and could only turn to Daocheng Aden.
Now you can get your wish, but you are trapped by the new crown epidemic, and you can travel in China until June, and Yunnan has entered the rainy season, which lasts until early November, and it will not end until mid-November.
Our itinerary is as follows:
the first day, Shanghai to Kunming-Dali
on the second day, Dali-Tengchong
on the third day, Tengchong
on thefourth day, Tengchong-Lushui
on the fifth day, Lushui-Bingzhongluo
on the sixth day, Bingzhongluo-Shangri-La
on the seventh day, Shangri-La-Lijiang
on the eighth day, Lijiang-Kunming
on the ninth day, Kunming-Shanghai
In the parking lot of Kunming Changshui Airport, the car rental company area self-service picks up the car, and then marches to Dali.
Dali has been to Dali many times, so this time it is used as a halfway point.
The next morning, we set off in the direction of Tengchong.
When I was preparing to travel in Shanghai, I paid attention to the weather in Yunnan and found that the temperature was similar to Shanghai, so I was dressed quite thickly, but when I came to the field, I found that the sun on the plateau was so hot, and short sleeves were enough.
Coming to Tengchong at noon, I booked a single-family villa converted homestay, surrounded by a variety of villas, built halfway up the mountain, overlooking the city of Tengchong, the whole area is very quiet, really a suitable place to live.
a short break (mainly to avoid the sun, too hot), I went to the hot sea view area in the southwest of Tengchong city, which is a geothermal scenic spot in the canyon.
Along the road of the scenic spot, you will pass through more than a dozen hot springs of all kinds, and finally to the "Atami Big Boiling Pot", which has a water temperature of 98°C, for this reason, there is a tourist project to buy a string of eggs or duck eggs in the hands of the locals, and then put them into a large boiling pot to cook (that is, the so-called Eight Monsters of Yunnan: eggs are skewered and sold); There are also many people sitting in the shade of trees and soaking their feet in hot spring water, which is estimated to cure athlete's foot, haha.
There is a hot spring pool and a hotel in the scenic area, and if you stay in it, it should be quite comfortable to soak in the hot springs, but we are not envious, because the homestay we stayed in (Equal Wind Hot Spring Inn) also has hot spring water provided at a fixed time at night, so that you can also take a hot spring bath at the accommodation.
Leaving Atami for Heshun Ancient Town, an important town on the ancient tea horse road, has prospered for hundreds of years, and now it has become a place where tourists flock to it. The main streets and alleys of the town are lined with homestays and restaurants.
morning of the third day, I got up and ate the breakfast prepared by the homestay owner and drove to Ginkgo Village, which is not very big, and it took about an hour to walk around.
It is a pity that the ginkgo trees are basically in a state of half yellow and not yellow, and the village has not been well planned and built, which looks dirty and messy, and the ornamental value is not very strong. If it weren't for the half-price ticket policy implemented in Yunnan in the second half of the year, this attraction would really be cost-effective.
So we returned to the B&B early to rest to avoid the cold afternoon, and when dusk we went to Heshun Ancient Town to hang out (the ticket to the ancient town can be used for 3 days).
plan for the fourth day is to travel from Tengchong to Lushui, which only takes four hours, so it is relatively leisurely to have breakfast and set off after everything is ready.
After walking for a long time to the provincial highway, the climate in Yunnan is really very suitable for the growth of flowers and trees, and flowers are often blooming on both sides of the provincial highway, and it is also a pleasure to drive on such a road.
a section of the provincial road, the Nu River accompanied us, because the rainy season had passed, the water volume of the Nu River did not look large, a little dark gray-green, we joked that this was a non-angry Nu River.
From entering the provincial highway all the way through three border checkpoints, although it should be understood to prevent illegal acts such as drug trafficking and smuggling, it is also quite annoying for us tourists to experience it repeatedly.
After a short rest in Lushui, I was surprised that the development of the small town on the southwest border was also quite good.
The itinerary on the fifth day was quite hard, from Lushui to Bingzhongluo, which took nearly seven hours, so I set off early in the morning.
National Highway 219 is quite well repaired, but parking service areas, leisure trails and bicycle paths are being built on the side of the road, so building materials often occupy half of the road surface.
This trail is estimated to be built for a long time, and we joked that it was necessary to build it along the Nu River to Bingzhongluo, and now it seems that this is still possible.
scenery along the way was not bad, plus the weather was as good as ever, so I was in a good mood to drive. I passed by several interesting attractions: Shiyue, Nujiang First Bay, and Peach Blossom Island.
to Peach Blossom Island is actually on the edge of Bingzhongluo Town, there is an observation deck where you can not only watch Peach Blossom Island but also overlook Bingzhongluo Town.
Bingzhongluo people call it a place where "man and god live together", and this observation deck really matches this title, but I am afraid that you will be disappointed when you arrive in the town. On a main street in the town, cars are parked haphazardly, and dust and garbage can be seen everywhere on the road, which feels messy.
Taking advantage of the early days, I drove to Qiu Na Tong again, passing through Wuli Village on the way. Wuli Village is known as Little Switzerland, looking into the fog across the Nu River, it is really not similar to the Switzerland we have walked through, and there is still a long way to go on the road of rural construction in remote areas of China.
I went through the bucket car in Qiu, and I really couldn't understand where the words of praise on the strategy came from, and I returned to Bingzhongluo in anger, maybe the time we came was not right, Autumn colors may be better.
In the first two days of the trip, you will see poverty alleviation and relocation housing along both sides of the Nu River. These houses are multi-storey houses, and the exterior walls are painted with bright colors, and I don't know if these immigrants can adapt to life outside the mountains.
sixth day of the trip was relatively hard, from Bingzhongluo to Shangri-La.
But what was unexpected was that the Degong Highway, which had just been opened to traffic for more than half a year, continued to collapse and flood damage since the beginning of the pengdang, that is, in the process of climbing over Ligong Mountain and Nu Mountain.
After crossing the Nushan Mountain, the road conditions gradually improved, and it was good to wait until you entered the Dewei Line. Although the road conditions are hard to drive, the scenery along the way is quite good.
Fortunately, at an observation deck shortly after passing through Deqin County on National Highway 214, the Meili Snow Mountain, which had not been seen four times before (two of which were specially stopped at Feilai Temple to see the true face of Meili Snow Mountain), was unreservedly displayed in front of us this time. Against the blue sky, it is particularly majestic and beautiful, although it cannot shine on the beautiful scenery of Jinshan, but this moment also feels infinitely beautiful.
When I was about to reach Shangri-La City, I saw the Napa Sea again at a high point on National Highway 214.
Enter the Shangri-La city to feel its development, there are more vehicles, and there are many accommodation options, this time I chose the newly opened Ramada Hotel, In the evening, I also had a fairly authentic Cantonese meal in its restaurant, which can be regarded as a reward for my stomach in the past few days.
The seventh day is leisurely, Shangri-La to Lijiang.
In the morning, I went to Pudacuo National Park, which I haven't seen for more than ten years, but the temperature on the plateau in Shangri-La was quite low in the morning and evening of mid-November, and it was only -5°C in the morning after sunrise, resulting in multiple alarm signals in the vehicle, which is estimated to be caused by low temperature, so I drove carefully on the way to Pudacuo, for fear that any accidents would affect the subsequent itinerary. The road to Pudacuo was under road construction and dusty.
After swimming, Pudatso came out and started the vehicle again, and found that all the alarm signals had disappeared, thinking that the vehicle had returned to normal after the warm sun just now.
It is precisely because of the low temperature of Shangri-La that the scenery in the park is slightly bleak, and the garden is cloudy, and the sun only occasionally shows its face, and the ornamentation is not high.
After leaving Pudacuo and driving onto National Highway 214, the sun was shining, and I could only think like this: maybe Pudacuo wants us to come back in spring and summer.
I originally thought that today's journey should be ordinary, but the section of National Highway 214 into Lijiang was somehow closed, so I could only follow the navigation and take another national highway and then take a short high-speed into the city This national highway goes around in the mountains, and it is a small surprise to see the Lashihai from a distance on the top of the mountain.
The development of Lijiang seems incredible, the first time I came to Lijiang was to attend a meeting, from the official hotel where I was staying to the road to the ancient city of Lijiang, all I saw was farmland or grassland, the second time I saw Lijiang, I found that it was already a lively small city, and then the second time I came to Lijiang and this time I already felt that Lijiang was a very large-scale city.
On the eighth day, we took the highway from Lijiang back to Kunming.
I thought it was a boring journey, but I didn't expect that after leaving Lijiang, I first saw an unknown small lake in a parking and rest area, with red soil and blue lake water in the morning light, and the scenery was so beautiful.
In the Shuanglang service area, I was only ready to refuel, but I could enjoy the scenery of Erhai Lake from the observation deck of the service area.
Two chance encounters made us sigh: Please do more for this free scenery!
Driving on the highway is still thinking by chance, maybe next time I come to this route, I can take the highway all the way to Shangri-La, the country's road construction has been really powerful in recent years, and Tengchong has also been fast to the high-speed rail.
All the way back to Kunming safely to check in to the hotel, tomorrow I will go back to Shanghai, sleep beautifully today, and let the sunshine and beauty of these days be relived in my dreams.
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