Searching for "Romance, Flowers, Snow, and Moon" in Dali: Finding Poetry and Distant Places

Number of days: 25 days
Time: July
Average cost: 6,000 yuan
With whom: and friends
Updated: 2023.09.21

&nb sp;&nb Dali, beautifully named "Wind, Flowers, Snow and Moon", which means the wind at Xiaguan, the flowers at Shangguan, the snow on Cangshan Mountain and the moon at Erhai Lake, and we take one character from each to make up the famous "Wind, Flowers, Snow and Moon".

In Dali, the sun is always so bright, the sky is so blue, and there are the evergreen Cangshan Mountains.

In Dali, the blue sky and white clouds reflect on the lake surface, making the Erhai Lake, which has been quietly nestled, accompanying and watching over the lake for a lifetime, look extraordinarily enchanting.

Dali, a city full of artistic atmosphere, an ancient and beautiful city, allows you to find the peace and tranquility in your heart.

Here, there are green mountains and clear waters everywhere, and you are surrounded by blue sky and white clouds every day. It is a place with stories, where you can feel the beauty of nature with your heart.

Here, gentleness is as brilliant as the wind and white clouds. It is a romantic place and also a place to relax and daydream. You can stop and daydream, or even talk about love until the end of time.

This is a place favored by the Creator, with ancient tribes and legends, as well as beautiful and moving tales. It is a place that countless people yearn for, and everywhere you look, there are scenery.

Beside the Cangshan Mountain and Erhai Lake, golden flowers and fresh flowers are in full bloom, and the love story beside the Butterfly Spring is long-standing. God has engraved poetry and distance on the road of Dali. This is the place I pursue and yearn for in my heart, and it is also the place I miss so much.

So, I started a 25-day trip to Yunnan, which covered eight major counties and cities including Dali, Lijiang, Kunming, Xishuangbanna, Pu'er, Mojiang, Honghe and Jianshui. I saw many beautiful scenery and got to know some local customs and practices. In particular, the tropical animals, plants and flowers in Banna really opened my eyes.

Now, I will write a travelogue based on what I saw, heard and thought along the way and share it with you. This is the first Dali chapter of my colorful Yunnan trip.

Li, governance, "Dali" means great governance. After Duan Siping, the founding monarch of Dali Kingdom, established his regime, he implemented new policies, reformed the old governance, promoted ritual governance, and named the country "Dali", which means to greatly adjust the relationships in all aspects to adapt to the development of productivity.

1. Dali Ancient City

Dali Ancient City is located in the western part of Yunnan Province. It is also known as Yeyu City and Purple City. Its history can be traced back to the Tianbao period of the Tang Dynasty. The Nanzhao King Geluofeng built Yangzhumie City as its new capital.

The ancient city was built in the 15th year of the Hongwu reign of the Ming Dynasty (1382). During the Tang and Song dynasties, which lasted for nearly 500 years, it was the political, economic, and cultural center of Yunnan. It was also the capital of the ancient Nanzhao Kingdom and the Dali Kingdom.

The ancient city covers an area of 12 li in radius and has four city gate towers and four corner towers, namely the East Gate Erhai Gate (also known as Tonghai Gate), the South Gate Shuanghe Gate (also known as Cheng'en Gate), the West Gate Cangshan Gate, and the North Gate Santa Gate (also known as Anyuan Gate). On February 8, 1982, the State Council announced it as one of the first 24 famous historical and cultural cities in China.

In the ancient city, during the day you can stroll along Fuxing Road, a pedestrian street in the ancient city with many shops on both sides selling local specialties such as marble carvings, ethnic costumes and local food.

At night, you can mingle with the locals and gather in the area around Yangren Street and Renmin Road, where there are numerous specialty bars and small cafes. Some shops even have resident singers or impromptu performances by tourists, which is very lively. You can find your share of romantic life among the wine glasses and music.

2. Cangshan Mountain

Cangshan Mountain is located on the west side of Erhai Lake in Dali. It has extremely beautiful scenery. The snow-capped scenery on its main peak is majestic and spectacular. It is one of the four scenic spots of Dali, namely "wind, flowers, snow and moon". The clouds and mist in Cangshan Mountain are ever-changing, with some taking on strange and beautiful shapes such as “Waiting for Husband Cloud” and “Jade Belt Cloud”. Climbing to the top of the mountain, you can also overlook the beautiful scenery of Erhai Lake and Dali.

To appreciate the beauty of Cangshan Mountain, you can view it from afar from the villages and towns along the Erhai Lake, or you can walk into the Cangshan Scenic Area and experience it up close. However, it is best to take the Ximatan Cableway, which can directly reach the scenic area at an altitude of 3,900 meters. This can save time and effort and allow you to see more scenery.

Across the mountainside of Cangshan Mountain, there is an approximately 18-kilometer-long hiking trail called the Jade Belt Cloud Tour Road. It starts from Xiaocen Peak in the north and ends at Shengying Peak in the south, passing many peaks along the way, as well as scenic spots such as Qingbi Creek, Seven Dragon Girl Pool, and Zhonghe Temple. When you walk on the Jade Belt Road at an altitude of more than 2,000 meters, you can overlook the Dali Basin and Erhai Lake at any time. The view here is broad, which makes people feel relaxed and happy and reluctant to leave. If you have time, you can also visit scenic spots such as Tianlongbabu Film and Television City, Gantong Temple, and Jizhao Temple at the foot of the mountain. There are also some performances and interactive activities in the scenic area to enrich the fun of tourists.

3. Erhai Lake

Erhai Lake is located to the east of Dali Ancient City. It is named Erhai Lake because of its shape like a human ear. It is also known as Yu'er. It is famous for its beautiful scenery and unique villages and towns. It is one of the four famous scenic spots in Dali. Although it is called a sea, it is actually a lake. It is said that because the Bai people have never seen the sea, they call it Erhai Lake to express their yearning for the sea.

Erhai Lake is 41.5 kilometers long from north to south, 3 to 9 kilometers wide from east to west, with a circumference of 116 kilometers and an area of 251 square kilometers. There are three islands in Erhai Lake, namely Jinsuo, Chiwen and Yuji. Jinsuo Island is the largest of the three, with beautiful scenery and rich cultural relics. A boat trip on it is like entering a poem or painting, where you can enjoy the beautiful scenery of Erhai Lake.

The most famous scenery of Erhai Lake is Shuanglang on the east bank, where you can enjoy the beautiful lake view. Sometimes the sunlight shines through the clouds and refracts on the lake, forming the "Erhai Divine Light". With the rolling green mountains as the background, it is a favorite place for photography enthusiasts to take pictures.

4. Chongsheng Temple

Chongsheng Temple is located 1.5 kilometers north of Dali Ancient City. It was built in the Nanzhao Period. In history, 9 Dali emperors became monks in Chongsheng Temple. It was the royal temple during the Dali Kingdom period. It is also the "Tianlong Temple" mentioned in Jin Yong's martial arts novel "Demi-Gods and Semi-Devils".

It faces Erhai Lake in the east and Yingle Peak of Cangshan Mountain in the west. The scenery is very beautiful. The Three Pagodas were originally part of Chongsheng Temple. The temple you see today is a reconstruction, and the Three Pagodas are relics with a history of thousands of years, which is also the biggest attraction here.

Upon entering the scenic area, you can see the three towers located on the steps of the central axis of the scenic area. The big tower in the middle is called Qianxun Tower, which stands in a tripod with the two small towers in the north and south, which is quite majestic.

Go around the three towers and walk along the central axis. Along the way, you can see the cultural relics of Nanzhao and Dali Kingdom unearthed during the maintenance of the three towers in the Cultural Relics Exhibition Hall, see the huge bell weighing 16 tons built by Nanzhao Kingdom in the Bell Tower, and see the Yutong Guanyin in the Yutong Guanyin Hall.

Special tip: If you want to take pictures of the famous Dali Three Pagodas’ reflections, you must leave the park and go to the Three Pagodas Reflection Park diagonally behind it to take pictures. These two parks have a combined ticket. When you enter the park, you will see the Three Pagodas Reflection Pool, where you can take pictures of the Three Pagodas’ reflections in the pool.

5. Butterfly Spring

The Butterfly Spring is located at the foot of Cangshan Mountain. It is well-known because of the movie "Five Golden Flowers". The Butterfly Spring is famous for its "three wonders" of springs, butterflies and trees. Every year at the turn of spring and summer, especially on the 15th day of the fourth lunar month when the butterfly meeting takes place, thousands of butterflies gather around the spring and fly all over the sky, which is a spectacular sight.

The Butterfly Spring is over 50 square meters in radius and 6 meters deep. It is a square spring pool with clear water. The color of the spring water is also very beautiful. The pool is surrounded by stone guardrails carved with butterfly patterns. On the marble on the west wall of the Butterfly Spring are engraved three large characters "Butterfly Spring" written by Guo Moruo.

The butterfly tree beside the pool looks like a green dragon lying on the spring pool. There is a small hill behind it. It is not very difficult to climb up. On the top of the hill you can still see Erhai Lake in the distance. There is also a butterfly museum at the foot of the hill, which contains some stories about butterflies and displays some butterfly specimens for tourists to visit.

Beside the Butterfly Spring, five clear springs gush out from the dragon heads, forming a scene of five dragons spitting water and splashing waves. The five small pools below are splashing water, and the spring water is transparent and clear, forming the Five Dragon Pool scenery of "clear springs flowing over rocks".

It is regrettable that in recent years, due to the influence of many factors such as climate and environment, it has become difficult for people to see the beautiful butterfly gathering. Although there are butterflies gathering sometimes, the number is small. In order to make up for this regret, I will share some butterfly photos taken in Xishuangbanna for everyone to enjoy and feast their eyes.

6. Xizhou Ancient Town

Xizhou Ancient Town is located 18 kilometers north of Dali, with Cangshan Mountain on its back and Erhai Lake on the east. It is an ancient town with a history of over a thousand years, and it preserves many ancient houses from Ming and Qing Dynasties, pristine nature and simple local Bai ethnic minority houses.

Walking in the ancient town, you will see old people in Bai costumes, small shops selling baba, etc., which are full of strong Bai ethnic style. Most tourists prefer to visit the houses of Yan and Yang families. Its architecture is a typical Bai courtyard layout of "three courtyards and one screen wall" and "four sides and five courtyards". At the same time, the Yan family was the first of the four major families in Xizhou in the old days. Here you can feel the Yan family's wealth and style in the past.

Zhengyi Gate is the west gate of Xizhou Ancient Town. Entering from here is the old street of the ancient town. A few hundred meters inside the west gate, there is a 500-year-old banyan tree. It is so thick that it requires several adults to hug it. It is regarded as the symbol of Xizhou Ancient Town. Further inland is Sifang Street, a small square surrounded by many shops. It is also the center of the town. There is also a popular check-in spot nearby, the Corner Building, which should be the landmark building of Xizhou. Many people come here to take photos.

Xizhou, truly joyful and beautiful beyond words, Xizhou, this is a place that attracts people just by hearing its name, and makes people want to visit it and share in its joy.

In short, it is not my fault to like Dali, it is just because she is too beautiful, with too many romance and stories. However, life cannot always be "love and romance", but more about "food, clothing, housing and transportation". "Poetry and distance" is an in-depth journey after busy work, and it is also our motivation to pursue beauty and explore beautiful scenery.