Live Your Best Lives
"Facing the vast unknown world outside the window, imagining when I can start my adventurous thoughts, painting alone in the house may be the prelude to the boundless journey of my inner world" - Yoshitomo Nara
I like to inspire and create new paintings on the road of travel, and the process of painting is more like an infinite continuation of travel, allowing thoughts and emotions to float farther away. Before the Spring Festival, I decided to leave the north with my friends and go to the south of Yunnan in search of new inspiration.
While shooting and painting, the south of Yunnan
said south ofYunnan, thinking that it was bounded by Kunming, and drove south.
Route: Kunming - Chengjiang Fuxian Lake, Modoushan - Jianshui Ant Workshop - Yuanyang Terraces - Pu'er Tea Mountain. Friends with plenty of travel time can continue to go to Xishuangbanna, the airport in Xishuangbanna is larger than Pu'er~ We returned from Pu'er Airport. On the
first day of arriving in Yunnan, the locals told me that this season was a good choice to drive this southern route, the temperature was right and the seagulls were still there.
▴ Feel the "storm" of seagulls from Siberia next to Dianchi Lake in Kunming, and watch their flocks of white figures scratch their marks under the blue sky, we are all from cold places" Seasonal Selective Creatures"~
▴ Drive around Fuxian Lake, under the panoramic sunroof, feel the wind of vacation on all sides. Looking at the blue-green lake, enjoying the warmth of winter and the light, it is so comfortable that you get carried away.
▴ The starry sky town stands on the cliff, watching the lake into the sea, and the breeze is accompanied by the lake and mountains.
▴ In Jianshui "Ant Workshop" into the world of art, the pink architectural style lit up my girlish heart, as an art student, into the deconstructed world of "points, lines, and surfaces", Creative inspiration is overflowing
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▴ Yuanyang Terraces At the moment of sunrise, the terraces are looming, and there is a feeling of "walking on the clouds".
met the "palette of God" in the Yuanyang terraces, but the scenery taken on the road was beautiful enough. Because of the changeable weather, we didn't wait for the most beautiful time of sunrise and sunset, and I understood the simplest truth in a little regret, often the most beautiful moment we can get is the present.
>▴ In the tea mountains of Pu'er, you can feel the thrill of stepping out of the room and the scenery. The cool air of the tea garden washes away the fatigue of this journey, and a sunrise in the tea mountains is also the end of a journey.
However, in addition to the scenery, this trip recalls and has to feel the luck of rebirth in this dangerous situation. On the first day of the trip, I forgot my backpack with all my belongings on the Haigeng Dam, which was full of tourists, got stuck on the beach on the second day of the trip, and almost got stuck in the uninhabited mountains late at night on the third day of the trip...... As a pig teammate, I have to be glad that I was safe in the end...... How to let my peers spend every day in anxiety, I will talk about ...... later
All illustrations, graphics and texts are original.
Shooting equipment: Camera Sony A7R3 , Drone Mavic 2 pro
Drawing equipment: computer pen tablet, ipad pro
Huan'erhuan-Queenio, illustrator and writer who likes to travel and create. Selfies and self-paintings on the road have published the book "Borrow a Year, Go to New Zealand".
Kunming - White greetings
from Siberia
Our first stop: Dianchi Lake It is the largest freshwater lake in Yunnan, and it is better known for the red-billed seagulls that migrate from distant Siberia every winter.
Watching thousands of seagulls flying all over the sky at Haigeng Dam, crossing the white traces in the blue sky, this seems to be a unique scenery of the "Spring City". These seagulls seem to be used to being fed by tourists, and as long as you raise your hand, there will never be a shortage of diners who eat overlord meals
After searching for relevant literature, the earliest record is in 1985, on November 12 of that year, thousands of seagulls suddenly landed on Dianchi Lake, and the number of red-billed seagulls flying in November every year increased year by year, spending the winter in the warm climate of Kunming. Until mid-March after the beginning of spring every year, tens of thousands of seagulls will depart from Dianchi Lake and return to Lake Baikal through the turning point of Yinchuan, Ningxia, and other places.
From the world's deepest freshwater lake in Siberia, Lake Baikal, to Kunming, Spring City, China, "More than 3,000 kilometers of this road, more than 30 days of flight, Think about it, it's also a guest from afar.
Seeing this, it was probably because he was oblivious to feeding the seagulls, and when he left, he forgot the bucket bag with all his belongings on the bench of the Haigeng Dam, which is the center of many people and birds. After leaving for half an hour, I suddenly remembered that I seemed to have a bag...
The backpack contains our ID, wallet, driver's license, and much more...... I raced all the way back to Haigeng Dam with my friends, and saw a security guard blocking my bag with his motorcycle, sitting alone on the bench next door waiting for the owner, and seeing me sweating profusely, the first thing he said was, look at the things in the bag. Grateful and moved to send a pennant, the eldest brother is definitely the cutest person! If it weren't for him, this photo would have become the last memorial of me and my backpack......
Haigeng Dam opens south, about 20 minutes by car, you will pass by Wangguan Wetland Park next to Dianchi Lake, the park area is not large, but it is very suitable for watching the sunset, it is really beautiful!!
There are many wetlands along the coast of Kunming Dianchi Lake, and the Wangguan Wetland is along the East Huanhu Road, which is relatively far away from the main city of Kunming, so there are not many tourists in the wetland. At sunset, it is like being in a fairy tale, and the road after entering the wetland park is fresh and idyllic, and a wetland on the shore of Dianchi Lake comes into view after walking for seven or eight minutes. Watching the lake into the sea, Japanese, fairy tales, old masters... As long as you like photography, it is easy to make a film no matter what style~
Practical tips:
👉 Take pictures: The park is young, there are many places where you can take pictures and check in, beaches, reeds, lavender, flower fields, when I went, it was early spring, and the flowers were not fully bloomed.
👉 Address: Located in the north section of the east bank of Dianchi Lake in Kunming, enter "Wangguan Wetland Park" on the map to navigate there.
👉 Transportation: It is recommended to take a taxi or drive, there is a parking lot in the park. It can also be reached by bus K31 from Haigeng Dam. It is worth noting that it is slightly inconvenient to call a taxi around after sunset, and those who take a taxi are advised not to stay too late.
👉 Admission: Wangguan Wetland is an open park and free.
Chengjiang - The fresh time of the blue sky and blue sea is
a 1-hour drive from Kunming to Chengjiang Fuxian Lake, where the lake water is much clearer than Dianchi Lake, and the crystal clear is called "glazed thousands of acres" by the ancients. As early as the end of the Ming Dynasty, the traveler Xu Xiake had in his "Xu Xiake's Travels" that "Dianshan has a lot of soil, so it is mostly blocked into the sea, and the flow is muddy, but Fuxian Lake is the clearest".
The little brother I met along the way was very enthusiastic and told us that it takes about 100 kilometers to go around the lake, because his girlfriend had lived here for two years, and it took four days to hike around the lake. Now that his ex-girlfriend is married to someone else, he has also decided to return to Guangdong.
The weather here is more changeable in winter, with continuous rain in the morning and bright sunshine in the afternoon. Driving around the lake is really a good choice, the road is very close to the lake, there are many wetland scenic spots along the way, see the good scenery and stop as you go~
/>Speaking of which, I would like to remind everyone that some of the beaches here can be driven directly to the lake, but don't go!! Do not drive to the beach!! Don't ask me why, people who have been stuck in the car and digging sand for half an hour are not qualified to speak, just blame them for not listening to their friends' advice and insisting on going their own way...
After staying at the Fuxian Lake Hotel for one night, we decided to go to Starry Sky Town and Modou Mountain the next day.
Fuxian Lake Starry Sky Town is located on the south bank of Fuxian Lake, which is actually a model house from the real estate center. Ordinary tourists are not allowed to enter, only those who come to see the house and take wedding dresses are allowed. The hotel we stayed in: Longhu Suqing Hotel, guests can also come in and out, there will be a special shuttle bus, five minutes from the hotel to <
come here to take pictures, There are camera positions everywhere and gentle verses along the way, "Birds in the sky, fish at the bottom of the lake, thank you for your company" is my favorite sentence.
The clifftop park in Star Town is so beautiful that it feels like you are in New Zealand. The blue sky and blue lake, the great beauty stands on the cliff, the lake becomes the sea, and the breeze accompanies the lake and mountains. I heard from the hotel staff that 7,000 people have been stargazing here, and the meteors visible to the naked eye are super beautiful
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Starry Sky Town is suitable for coming around ninety o'clock in the morning, the sun has just come out, and it is very comfortable to bask in the sun on the grass After bathing and charging, we drove to Modou Mountain, It is about an hour away from Star Town.
There are two roads to Modou Mountain, one is a high-speed detour, and the other is a relatively close country road, and the hotel staff recommended us to take the country road, and the scenery along the way is better. However, the road in Panshan Township will be more difficult to walk, the lane is very narrow, and some roads can only accommodate one body, and the wrong car needs to slow down or give way.
Arriving at the top of the mountain, catching up with a sunset Modou Mountain is a relatively niche place, so there are few tourists, and the nearby is the Modou Mountain Wind Power Plant, and the big windmills can be seen in the middle of the mountain. It should be mentioned that friends who come by car must remember to check the fuel gauge of the car in advance, because the nearest gas station is also dozens of kilometers away from the mountain... After we drove up the mountain, we found that the car was about to run out of fuel, and it was quite embarrassing to find someone to borrow fuel all over the mountain...... Don't ask me if I borrowed it, who will bring a tubing tool when they go out?
Although the car is about to run out of gas and the pressure is quite high, in the face of the sunset, it is better to temporarily put aside the anxiety and enjoy the moment, hahaha
Drive up Modou Mountain and quietly wait for a long-lost sunset. I have heard that the light of sunrise and sunset is the most real color that the human eye can capture.
After sunset, it got dark quickly, we blocked our luck and went down the mountain, but fortunately, the mountain road went downhill and the car was more fuel-efficient, and the danger was reborn, and after the oil light was on, we drove almost 20 kilometers, probably using up the last drop of fuel to arrive at the gas station. Because I forgot to refuel and almost caused my teammates to be trapped in the mountains together, such a lesson is enough for one time...
Practical Tips:
👉 Fuxian Lake self-driving route: A friend once hiked around the lake here for 4 days, and it was about 100 kilometers if he drove around. But the scenery in the east is better than in the west.
👉 Fuxian Lake Starry Sky Town: Located on the south bank of Fuxian Lake, it is actually a model house from the real estate center. Ordinary tourists are not allowed to enter, only those who come to see the house and take wedding dresses are allowed. The hotel we stayed in: Longhu Suqing Hotel, guests can also enter and exit, there will be a special shuttle bus, five minutes from the hotel to arrive~
👉 Modou Mountain: There are two roads from the starry sky town to Modou Mountain, one is a high-speed detour, the other is a relatively close country road, the locals recommend us to take the country road, the scenery along the way is better. However, the road in Panshan Township will be more difficult to walk, the lane is very narrow, and some roads can only accommodate one body, and the wrong car needs to slow down or give way.
Jianshui - Pink, blue, ginger
"Ant Workshop" is located in Xizhuang Town, Jianshui County, Honghe Prefecture, Yunnan Province, is a complex built of hollow bricks, and the design concept of the ant nest is interesting. Walking inside, there is a feeling of time and space travel, which is very attractive, and the photos taken casually are full of bold and avant-garde artistic sense.
The design of the building comes from the famous Yunnan artist Luo Xu, who designed this "ant workshop" in Jianshui after the "indigenous nest" in Kunming and the "kaleidoscope" of Maitreya Dongfengyun, as if in an art world constructed by dots and lines, reminiscent of the famous European architect Gaudí, and his works are full of imagination.
All the buildings of "Ant Workshop" are developed according to the context of pottery culture, and the style is free and bold. In addition to Mr. Luo Xu's pottery works, there is also a special exhibition hall displaying the artist's oil paintings and sculptures.
The aerial perspective is also beautiful~
I also like the yellow-themed building, at the end of the tunnel is the kiln prison café, as you can see in the photo, the entire coffee bar is in a cage, the atmosphere is interesting and artistic.
The restaurant here is not crowded in the off-season, and it is recommended by the locals Jianshui The famous grass sprout rice noodles crossing the bridge, the grass sprouts at this time are called ivory dishes, sometimes floating in the soup of the rice noodles crossing the bridge, sometimes stir-fried with meat slices, The texture is crispy and the taste is fresh.
🌟🌟🌟🌟 Recommended things to do:
👉 pink, yellow, white theme buildings, I also like yellow theme buildings, the end of the tunnel is the kiln prison café.
👉 Luo Xu's works art exhibition hall
👉 ceramic works sales center can buy souvenirs
👉, pottery handmade experience, make your own works
👉, restaurants and homestays have
addresses 🔍: Yunnan Province Honghe Hani Yi Autonomous Prefecture Jianshui County Lin'an Town Wangchengpo (map search Jianshui ant workshop)
🔍 Tickets: 10 yuan/person in the off-season. There are homestay hotels in the scenic area, and admission tickets are free for guests.
Yuanyang - Colorful under the clouds
Yuanyang Terraces are located in the southern part of Ailao Mountain in Yuanyang County, Yunnan Province, and are masterpieces left by the Hani people for generations. "A mountain is divided into four seasons, ten miles of different days", the locals adapt to local conditions according to the changeable geographical climate, the terraces change with the terrain of the mountains, the gentle slope is large to reclaim the field, the steep slope is small to reclaim the small field, the large one occupies several acres, the small one is only the size of a dustpan, often there are thousands of acres on a slope. So there is this irregular terraced line, big and small like God's palette.
From November to April of the following year, it is the irrigation season of the Yuanyang Terraces, and it is also the peak travel season for the Yuanyang Terraces. The irrigated terraces are like countless mirrors, broken on the earth, reflecting the light of the sky, truly recording every sunrise and moonset, every cloud and rolling.
It is a pity that on the day of the Yuanyang terraces, the sunset and sunrise were met with clouds and fog, and the cumulus clouds did not dissipate for a long time, resulting in the trip not seeing the colors under the afterglow of the terraces, and the photos were taken along the way during the day, and the blue water surface reflecting the sky and the red rice fields echoed each other.
The homestay we stayed in was called "Huawowo Inn", which was run by a couple from Kunming with three cats. The location is very close to the sunrise location "Duoyi Tree" observation deck, and what you see is actually the same terraced field. The B&B is very suitable for taking pictures on the infinity terrace, and there is a feeling of looking down at the clouds in the early morning.
Waiting for the sunrise here early in the morning and teasing the cat is a great experience.
When we left, we stopped by a local market guided by the owner. According to the traditional habits of local ethnic minorities, the zodiac signs are used to mark the days, and it is very interesting to look at the animals drawn on the blackboard of the shopkeeper.
Sheng Village Collection, which is only available every Thursday, is a street in the village, mainly cloth, food and other daily necessities.
The baked glutinous rice baba is very fragrant, Q elastic sticks to the teeth, 2 yuan a large sheet~
It should be noted that it is not easy to park when driving to the market, and it is not easy to drive out, it is recommended to park on the side of the road at the entrance of the village and walk in.
Pu'er - A morning in the green tea mountain
To end the trip in Yuanyang, prepare to drive to Pu'er is the longest part of this trip, the whole 450 kilometers need to be driven in 6.5 hours. After breakfast, we set off. The last night of our stay in Pu'er was a hotel located on a tea hill, Pu'er Yixiangshan Camp & Mid-Levels Hotel. One of the major selling points of the hotel is that it has thousands of acres of tea mountains, the top of the clouds, and all rooms can see the sunrise outside the balcony when lying on the bed.
The hotel has two types of rooms, wooden cabins and tents, which are not very expensive per capita in the off-season, although it is about 20-30 minutes by car from the city center, but if you like a relaxing vacation in nature, this is very suitable.
We live in a tent house, which is cheaper than a wooden house~ The view is the same as looking at the sunrise, and a fairy stick is placed on the oversized balcony~
Because of the rush of time, I couldn't stay longer in Pu'er, so I chose to spend the last moment of the trip in the hotel to take pictures by the way, and friends who like to drink tea can go to the hotel's own tea room to experience.
The time spent in Pu'er was too short, which was probably the biggest regret of the trip. The old village of Wengding Village, which I originally planned to visit, caught fire shortly after returning, and the last primitive village in China had no chance to see its original appearance again. Some things always want to wait and then miss them forever.
In the blink of an eye, the trip is over for three months, and I am writing this travelogue to record my memories, hoping to help you who want to go to Yunnan niche routes
and look forward to seeing you again.
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