Go to Kunming and experience the beauty of the Flower City

Number of days：7 days
Time: November
Average cost: 5,400 yuan
With whom: and friends
Updated: 2023.12.01

In addition to spending the winter in Sanya, you can also choose to spend the winter in Kunming. After all, even the red-billed gulls will go to Kunming to spend the winter.

It is really much cheaper to fly when traveling on non-holidays. The round-trip ticket for four people is just over 4,000 yuan. During the winter and summer vacations, it will basically double.

On this trip, in addition to Kunming, we also checked in Dali. Kunming is about 200 kilometers away from Dali. We rented a car from a certain Hi store at Kunming Changshui Airport. We first drove around Kunming for 4 days, and then drove directly to Dali and played in Dali for 3 days. In fact, there is no handling fee for returning the car to a different location from a certain Hi, but Kunming Changshui Airport has more flights than Dali Airport. So, we finally drove back to Kunming.

Day 1: Journey to Stone Forest

After landing in Kunming and picking up our car, we drove to the Donghua Farmers' Market. It's huge, with lots of snacks and fruits, all at affordable prices, and it's a market frequented by locals.

We arrived around 6:00 AM. I didn't get to try the roasted milk fan I'd been dreaming of; it was closed. So many other good places were closed. But I did get to try the tofu pudding rice noodles. The owner, a local, was super welcoming. Two large meat patties for 6 yuan each—cheaper than what we'd get here—and delicious. We went back to rest and prepare for our day trip to the Stone Forest and Nine Townships the next day. The weather in Stone Forest is great, but it's crowded. It's quite far from downtown Kunming. I recommend renting a car. While buses do reach the Stone Forest, the arduous journey of bus transfers felt unnecessary. Besides, the scenery along the way to Kunming was truly stunning. It's a perfect place for a road trip. Then we headed to Jiuxiang, a region filled with caves. The final stretch of the road is a bit steep. That concluded our first day with a smooth journey. Day 2 Dianchi Lake Scenic Area & Yunnan Ethnic Village The next day, we headed to the Dianchi Lake Scenic Area. The guidebook I'd read online said seagulls only start appearing in mid-November, so I thought I'd be disappointed if I didn't see any. But upon arrival, we saw tons of them. Our tour guide explained that they'd already started returning this year. Feeding them was fantastic; the little creatures were so friendly, they'd even brake mid-air to eat your bread. I highly recommend it. Before we even reached Dianchi Lake, we saw flocks of red-billed gulls. It was a lively scene. You can buy some food to feed them. Perhaps because they come every year, they're completely unafraid of people.

The scenery is amazing when the weather is good! We spent about an hour at Dianchi Lake, then went to the ethnic village. There was also my favorite part, the Baba dance. Yunnan Ethnic Village is very close to Dianchi Lake. You'll see an east-west intersection, which leads directly across Dianchi Lake to the main entrance of Yunnan Ethnic Village. If you're unsure of the route, simply follow the crowds.

In the afternoon, we visited Xishan Mountain, which offers a magnificent view of Dianchi Lake. We took the cable car directly to the top and then walked down. The descent was quite steep.

Day 3 from Kunbo to Dounan

I had breakfast at a snack bar near the museum this morning, preparing to catch the 10:00 am audio guide. Before the visit, I'd expected the Yunnan Museum to focus on ethnic customs and the autonomous chieftain systems of Yunnan and Guizhou during the Ming and Qing dynasties. I had no idea it would begin with the Big Bang. The museum not only explored human origins through ancient apes, but also began its exploration of biological origins in the ocean, using amphibians to explain how humans gradually moved onto land. The first floor exhibit halls were filled with so many fossils, some without even a caption; they were simply displayed. This gave me a deep sense of Yunnan's location during the period of drastic crustal shifts and tectonic plate collisions, resulting in a vast variety of species and rapid biological evolution.

Surprisingly, due to Yunnan's rich mineral resources, the museum boasts a wealth of bronze artifacts, including a bronze coffin worthy of a wealthy individual, uncarved bronze bracelets, and a crystal pestle crafted from rock crystal. It feels like I'm rich, but I don't care.

It's just like the way the Yunnan Museum displays its exhibits: despite the rich collection, the lighting is so dim that sometimes you can't even see the exhibits themselves, as if to say, "I have so many good things, I'm just showing them to you."

After touring the museum around 1:00 AM, we went to the nearby Jinhao Simao Wild Vegetable Restaurant for lunch. The lemongrass spareribs were particularly delicious, and of course the other dishes were tasty too! After lunch, I went to the flower market. There were so many fresh and cheap flowers. Flower lovers rejoice! After visiting the flower market, we took a break and took a taxi to Dounan Wetland Park to watch the sunset over Dianchi Lake (around 7:30 PM). The sunset over Dianchi Lake was also beautiful, though it was a little cloudy that day. Note: I personally still think the view of Dianchi Lake from Dounan Wetland Park is much more beautiful than going directly to the Dianchi Lake Scenic Area. We then drove to Dali. Our hotel in Dali was a guesthouse by Erhai Lake, where we could watch the sunrise from the balcony. Erhai Lake was truly beautiful. We had dinner at a local restaurant in the village (Fei Fei Private Kitchen), which was quite delicious, but the barbecue for supper was really salty!

Day 5: Watching the sunrise over Erhai Lake

The sunrise over Erhai Lake is so beautiful! Watching the sky gradually brighten, we originally planned to go downstairs to watch the sunrise, but it was too cold so we didn't get to see it, so we went back to sleep. Nothing is difficult in this world if you're willing to give up.

The sky gradually brightening was also beautiful. When waiting for something wonderful to happen, you don't necessarily have to wait for the result. The process of waiting and the anticipation itself are beautiful enough. After a nap, we got up for breakfast. We had salty and sweet tofu pudding, pea flour, and fried dough sticks. Xizhou Ancient Town has a lot of delicious snacks, but my energy was limited, and I failed before I even started. We set off for Dali Ancient Town that afternoon. Since we woke up so early, we were exhausted and took a nap in the car, leaving the driving to a friend. Dali Ancient Town is an ancient street with many businesses. It was drizzling that day, so we wandered around and found a Yunnan restaurant for lunch.

When we got back in the evening, the sun hadn’t set yet. My friend was not feeling well and was lying in bed at the B&B, so I went out for a stroll, walked around the edge of Erhai Lake, and took a lot of photos, hehe!

The fulfilling day of walking ended just like that. The next day, we still waited for the sunrise before continuing our journey.

Day 6 Erhai Lake Tour

Determined to reach the Yellow River, we got up at 6:00 the next day to watch the sunrise. This time, we watched from our room as the sun crept up from behind the mountain. If the sunrise in elementary school essays is described as the sun shyly peeking out, then the sunrise over Erhai Lake was like that, suddenly and decisively revealing its head. After watching the sunrise, I took a nap and prepared to have breakfast! Today's breakfast is clay pot rice noodles and rice vermicelli noodles! In fact, our trip to Dali, apart from the Dali Ancient Town, was almost all spent around Erhai Lake. Erhai Lake is really huge and beautiful.