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The Butterfly Spring Scenic Area is over 20 kilometers from Shuanglang Ancient Town. The road is quite busy, and from time to time you can see brightly colored convertibles speeding by, which is also a beautiful sight on the way around Erhai Lake.
Cars are not allowed into the ancient town, and parking is limited to a parking lot outside the town. The guesthouse we booked sent someone on an electric bike to pick up our luggage, and we walked into the ancient town together. Walking along the main street by Erhai Lake, you'll find it the busiest, most prosperous, and bustling with tourists.
Because of its location by the sea and facing the Nanzhao Island, Shuanglang Town boasts a unique geographical location and breathtaking scenery. The sky is blue, the clouds are white, the lake is calm, a small black-sailed boat floats on the water, and red flowers dot the shore.
The shops along the shore are very good at doing business. They set up parasols and seats close to the lake for tourists to enjoy. Shuanglang Town, located northeast of Dali City and on the northeastern shore of Erhai Lake, is a provincial-level historical and cultural town in Yunnan Province and is considered one of the most scenic towns in the world. Surrounded by mountains on three sides and facing the sea on one side, the town overlooks the 19 precipitous peaks of Cangshan Mountain to the west, borders the vast expanse of Erhai Lake, and borders the Buddhist mecca of Jizu Mountain to the east and the Penglai Fairy Island of Xiaoputuo Temple to the south.
Sitting on a high stool, making a pot of tea, or a cup of coffee, or even a beer, quietly enjoying the scenery and killing time, is there anything more pleasant than this in the world?
I couldn't help but take a lot of photos with my mobile phone along the way to capture the beautiful scenery and the beautiful memories of Shuanglang in my heart.
Historical origins, ethnic cultural heritage, and the unique tourism resources of Cangshan Mountain and Erhai Lake have made Shuanglang a tourist destination today: "The best scenery of Dali is in Erhai Lake, and the scenery of Erhai Lake is in Shuanglang." Shuanglang is bordered by Luoshiqu (Lotus Curve) to the north and Lianhuaqu (Lotus Curve) to the south, with Jinsuo and Yuji Islands in front, hence the name Shuanglang.
To the north of Shuanglang is Luoshiqu (Lotus Curve) and to the south is Lianhuaqu (Lotus Curve). In front of it are Jinsuo and Yuji Islands, which surround the two curves.
After more than ten minutes of walking through the ancient town, I was deeply impressed by the beautiful scenery along the way. The saying "Dali's scenery lies in Erhai Lake, and Erhai Lake's scenery lies in Shuanglang" is truly well-deserved.
The history of Shuanglang Ancient Town can be traced back to the Nanzhao Kingdom of Dali during the Tang and Song Dynasties. Architectural features with Bai ethnic characteristics, such as eaves, screen walls, brick walls, and colorful paintings, can be found everywhere. The alleys are crisscrossed with stone paved streets, and various shops are scattered among them. Almost all of the coastal areas are homestays and inns.
There are so many B&Bs and guesthouses in Shuanglang that it's hard to tell which one to choose. I finally settled on this one because of its location and, of course, the reviews. It's a long name, calling it a resort hotel, but it's actually a B&B.
The hotel is located on Yuji Island in Shuanglang, adjacent to Yang Liping's Sun Palace and Nanzhao Fengqing Island, offering panoramic views of the sunrise and sunset. (From the hotel introduction)
The room is on the third floor, with windows facing the sea. You can enjoy the view from your bed. The location is perfect and impeccable.
The bedroom is small and a bit cramped, but a large area has been created on the terrace, where a sofa and daybed are placed, along with a small, exquisite coffee table. This is a place of privacy, solitude, and relaxation, a key attraction for Linshui B&B.
Before I could catch my breath, taking pictures became the first thing I had to do. Because the B&B had arranged a full-time photographer to take pictures, he was already waiting in the hotel lobby. It's said to be free, but it's actually a marketing strategy, you know. I took a lot of pictures upstairs and by the sea, and there were at least 20 or 30 pictures. You can choose any one of them, but only 5 are free. If you want the rest, you have to pay.
The terrace faces Nanzhao Island. To the left is part of Shuanglang Town. To the right, you can see the vast Erhai Lake and the towering Cangshan Mountain.
Shooting from the room down to the beach, embracing the flowers intimately, is a natural favorite for ladies.
The photographer was a young man who had just turned 20. He was enthusiastic and his skills were decent. I couldn't let him work in vain, so I selected a lot of extra photos and paid him the due fee.
After a busy day of sightseeing and taking photos, I headed out to find dinner and strolled around the ancient town. Yunying B&B faces Erhai Lake, offering breathtaking views. But behind it lies a completely different world, with narrow, winding alleys that can easily get lost without careful navigation.
Walking to the streets with shops, it is a little wider. Shops are lined up one after another, with different signs. The storefronts are not big, but they are very exquisite and attractive.
The two-story building with a flagpole is the Zhao Clan Ancestral Hall. The front is like a small market, with several open-air stalls, bustling with people, and diners dining at tables.
In the middle of the narrow alley, there is a large tree. Judging from the thickness of the trunk, it is quite old.
Yubo Pavilion was built in the late Ming Dynasty. In ancient times, it served as a military stronghold. Du Wenxiu's righteous army camped on the island, and Yubo Pavilion was the throat of the island.
I found a restaurant that had diners but wasn't too crowded. This restaurant also had water lily in its dishes, but it wasn't as good as the one I had at Butterfly Spring at noon, and the service wasn't as enthusiastic.
After lunch, I took a stroll in the ancient town to digest my food and enjoy the scenery. It was getting dark, the street lights came on, and a hint of sunset glow still lingered in the western sky. Shuanglang Town, located in the east of the Haidong region, is supposed to be an excellent place to watch the sunset and the sunset glow. However, today the clouds were too many and too thick, leaving almost no clear sky, and the expected sunset glow was dashed.
The lights on Nanzhao Island are also lit up.
Wandering along the main street of the town by the sea, each shop lights up in various colors, carefully dressed up, and appeared in full dress to welcome guests from all directions.
“Go where the wind is” is interpreted, generated, and expanded in Shuanglang and Dali. “Wind” seems to be everywhere, waving in all directions, making people smile knowingly.
The Erhai Lake cruise ship also has a sign that reads: "Take you to a place with wind."
Someone set off fireworks by the lake, making the night scene of the ancient waterfront town even more beautiful.
At 6:10, the sky was slightly bright and the sky was slightly red.
The clouds in the early morning are graceful and beautiful in shape, and some parts are gradually beginning to color.
Looking up at the room we stayed in, high up on the left side of the third floor.
Using a telephoto lens to zoom in, the Bai villages at the foot of Cangshan Mountain and on the shores of Erhai Lake are almost connected in a straight line.
The Nanzhao Palace is the tallest and largest building on Nanzhao Island. Because the Nanzhao Dynasty at that time was deeply influenced by Tibetan and Tang cultures, the palace adopts "Tang Dynasty roofs, Tibetan walls and windows, and Dali residential building foundations and exterior colors."
Most of the waterfront buildings on the west bank of Shuanglang Town are inns and B&Bs.
The hotel lobby is also a multi-functional space, serving as a platform for sitting, drinking tea and enjoying the view. The huge floor-to-ceiling windows frame a natural landscape painting.
Breakfast is served in the hotel lobby. It looks fancy, but it's actually very simple. The main dish is a bowl of rice noodles (or rice vermicelli), accompanied by bread, flower cakes, small snacks, etc. Just eat until you are full and satisfied.
It's a shame I didn't take the time to sit on the unique terrace and coffee table in my room, sip tea, enjoy the view, and while away the hours, enjoying the romance and comfort. The wind was so strong yesterday afternoon that it was impossible to stay still. I have to go shopping this morning and will check out at 10:30 to continue my journey around Erhai Lake.
It seems that the schedule is still a bit tight. I can only take a few more photos to preserve the beautiful memories of Shuanglang.
The sky was increasingly cloud-covered, and Cangshan Mountain on the west shore of Erhai Lake was even more shrouded in mist. However, these clouds were all white, and against the backdrop of the blue sky, they presented a magnificent beauty. During our two-day trip around Erhai Lake—no, it should be three days in Dali—the weather was always kind, with blue skies and white clouds, a clear and sunny sky, fully showcasing the beauty of Cangshan Mountain and Erhai Lake.
One travelogue wrote: "We were unlucky. The pictures of Cangshan Mountain and Erhai Lake that I saw and saw on my phone were missing two colors: the blue sky and the white clouds." I feel the same way. When traveling, weather is important, but luck is even more important.
This magnificent scenery is simply too beautiful to love, see, and photograph.
We went down to the front of the hotel again and continued to enjoy the beautiful scenery and take beautiful photos.
The homestay next door has a very distinctive appearance, with a white arched facade and lovely flowers and plants in front of the house.
There are several large characters hanging on the branches of the big tree: No Thought, Watching the Sea, Seeing the Mountain, Cloud Shadow. The words are concise and expressive, full of poetic and picturesque beauty.
Although Shuanglang Town is not very big, there are still some places I haven't visited yet. I still have a little time in the morning, so I will go out for a walk and catch up.
Yang Liping's Sun Palace is very famous. There are a lot of people crowded in front of the door. You need to make an appointment in advance to visit. This is behind the Sun Palace, located in a small narrow alley. It doesn't look very high-end.
I found a standard front view of the Sun Palace on the Internet. It is built by the water and has a total of 4 floors.
It seems that people go in and out of the house by boat, and there is a private dock leading directly to the villa.
From this sign, we know that this is the Qinglu Manor Hotel (the room rate is marked on the sign), which should be next to the Sun Palace. The owner is Zhao Qing (a painter), who designed Yang Liping's Sun Palace and Moon Palace.
There is also a Golden Dragon Cave nearby, which is considered a tourist attraction.
If you are not interested in these, you should go to Erhai Lake and Cangshan Mountain. The generous gift of nature has created the green mountains and clear waters here, which are the most attractive places for tourists.
On the way back to the hotel, there were some old photos on the wall by the roadside, showing what Yuji Island looked like in the 1980s. That was what you call its original ecology.
At 10:30 am, we left Shuanglang Ancient Town and continued our self-driving tour in a clockwise direction.
The roads in Haidong basically run along the coastline, close to the mountains and facing the water. The vegetation on the mountains here is much worse than that of Cangshan Mountain in Haixi. Even where there is vegetation, the color is almost dry.
A densely built-up area with many cars parked on the side of the road. This is Wase Town, the location of Xiao Putuo.
Xiao Putuo is located in Haiyin Village, Wase Town, on the east side of Erhai Lake in Dali. Less than 100 meters from the shore is a small island with a Guanyin Pavilion built on it. Visitors can take a boat to visit the island.
A long scenic trail with stone railings is built along the seashore, from which you can admire Little Putuo Temple across the sea.
There is a boat to the island, the boat ticket is 15 yuan.
Guan Yin Pavilion on the island
Looking at the land from the island, it is backed by mountains and faces the sea. Haiyin Village is built along the coast.
The island is very small, just an inch away. After more than ten minutes, the boat returned.
While the two ladies were on the island, I took a look at the restaurants around and chose a fish restaurant.
You can sit on the second floor and enjoy the view.
Order a big, lively fish and some stir-fried vegetables. It tastes good and is not expensive.
There are quite a few cars parked on the roadside, with almost no empty parking spaces. I guess they are tourists like us who are touring Erhai Lake.
There are many colorful convertibles and many beautiful Beetles.
After eating and drinking, continue your journey. Continue along Haidong Road and stop at a suitable place. This is the AirHome Photography Base.
AirHome Photography Base is located on Huanhai East Road in Wenbi Village, Haidong Town, Dali City. It is marked as Love Bay on the map.
There are several stone dams in the water. I wonder if they are used for photography?
The sky was covered with clouds, and there were quite a few dark clouds. The light was poor, and the sea water was dark, which greatly reduced the beauty of the lake and mountains.
The roadside should be Wenbi Village.
The license plate has the character "川" (Chuan), maybe someone from Sichuan runs a business here, just like the car we rented had a license plate with the character "沙" (Shaan).
The bright Beetle is eye-catching and will turn heads. Driving it around Erhai Lake is definitely a pleasure.
The road passes Utopia, also known as Santorini. Looking up, I see many houses on the cliffs beside the road, built on the mountainside, rising layer by layer. For some reason, I don't find these copied foreign place names interesting, and even feel a little awkward. Not far ahead, I find that there are also clusters of buildings on this side of the mountain. One side of the road is close to Erhai Lake, and there is also parking on the side of the road.
A few large characters are written on the cliff: Haidongfang. According to online research, Haidongfang is located on the eastern shore of Erhai Lake, facing 260 square kilometers of water. Its slopes face the lake at a 25-degree angle, stretching out expansively, offering panoramic views of Erhai Lake from all directions. It is a large-scale, high-end tourist resort project that matches global resort quality.
There are protective railings on the beach, and a sign reads: Water Source Protection Area.
Dark clouds are gathering, the sky is gloomy, and it seems like it's going to rain. Fortunately, we have already completed our tour of Erhai Lake, so even if it rains, it doesn't matter.
Stop for a moment and take another look at the vast Erhai Lake.
This road is Huanhai East Road, which is also the G348 National Highway.
After successfully completing our Erhai Lake self-driving tour, we returned to the Linjianyin Hotel, staying in the same room as the previous night. The nearby restaurant street was a bit far, so I was too lazy to walk, so I ordered takeout. After a satisfying meal and rest, I went downstairs for a walk.
It's a shame that I don't have time to enjoy the clear water surrounded by flowers and trees.
Walking to the archway at the entrance to the mountain and water, the sky is now clear, and the blue sky and white clouds have returned.
At 19:54, a sunset glow appeared in the sky. Although it was not spectacular or ideal, it was still beautiful. 
Traveling in Dali with the wind, flowers, snow and moon, places with wind are truly beautiful. Cangshan Mountain is a painting without ink that will last for thousands of years, and Erhai Lake is a zither without strings that will last for eternity.
Tomorrow we will say goodbye to Dali and charter a car to Lugu Lake.
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