I waked up only two hours before the plane taking off and the luggage were still not completely packed. I washed and ate something as soon as possible, took the camera set and luggage I can remembered and hurried downstairs to catch a cab. So, the trip is started. I am sure there is something missed (the chewing gum only, so lucky), but didn’t know what is it. Ok, I am sure I have already taken all the important thing—money, camera, plane tickets, ID card, mobile phone and a happy heart.

The plane sliding in the lane, I had a deep breath. At last, the trip is really started and I can have a short escape from the dirty, messy, gray sky Guangzhou and boring work.

Kunming’s weather is not what we expected; the temperature is about 20 degree. I have no idea about the trip line before the plane landed but as I assumed there are tour guides showing the information of their tour agencies and I can got one very conveniently. To be more safe, after I and Crystal deposited our large luggage we went to bookshop to buy one tour guide book and enquire more information about the trip. Because Kunming is the last important city in the plan, I want to go to the more wonderful city—Dali immediately and visit Kunming’s resorts when we back from Lijiang. Time in Kunming is limited because we have already bought the night bus tickets to Dali (I prefer self-service travelling, so under most condition I’d like to buy tickets myself but not give money to an agency to let them set all our schedule), so visiting Kunming Zoo and eating the famous local food—guoqiaomixian is the only task of the afternoon.

As reading on newspaper, all the taxis in Kunming have posters with an animal and a number stuck in and out for to be easily identified. That the Kunming Zoo and the best restaurant offering guoqiaomixian are at the same location made us save time and money.

The people from Guangdong never feel satisfied with the service in other provinces. The restaurant was closed when we went there, but it is 2pm, crazy. We have to try the local food at a small eating house near it. The zoo is relatively small than I imaged and there are not many tropical animals in it. Because the weather was cold, most animals were hiding in their rooms or in a very slow reacting condition.

After the courtesy visiting to the zoo, about 5pm, we had tried to visit another resort near but it was time for closing again. Then we had enough time to enjoy the dinner. The famous restaurant has a relatively luxury building for the price. They call the meal in sets. Different sets of guoqiaomixian have different price from RMB6 to RMB240. After checking the difference, we decided to have the cheapest two sets first and in fact the choice is very smart. The expensive sets are ready for stupid people who have enough money but do not know how to waste it; the shark fin and swallow nest is the reason. We had already had a basic sense of the food, so the service didn’t shocked us. A waiter brought a set of dishes with several kinds of raw foods on it including eggs, ham slices, fish slices, chopped green onion, etc. Then they gave you a big bowl with noodles and a big bowl with bowling soup, still bowling. According to the service method mentioned in the book, we added the assortment in the soup and then the noodle. The thin layer of oil on the soup keeps the soup having enough high temperature to make all the food in the soup cooked. The meal is spicy, but I prefer the service method more.

After we had rested enough, we walked in the street on the way back to the long distance bus station. The first day in Yunnan was not as wonderful as we expected, but we were happy and full of dream of the next several days’ exciting trip.

After a whole night’s bumping, we reached Dali in the early morning. It was still cloudy and lightly raining. We checked the trip line at the station and found out that buy a one-day-trip ticket is the most convenient way to have a look at all the famous resorts. The tourism of Dali is well developed and one can easily find out any agency afford almost the same service and the price is reasonable. We chose one and started the trip on one tourism yacht.

Erhai is called because the shape is like being’s ear and all the big lake here is named sea. It was so cold and cloudy that day; everybody stayed in the cabin. The speed of the yacht was too fast in that kind of weather because when I was out I feel the big wind almost blow me frozen. I can saw nothing in front of the way but the fog. Besides the way, I can see little hills. So, I believe Erhai’s shape is just like a banana.

We anchored the yacht along the shore several times in the morning, the resorts are normal and the vendors crowded everywhere. The only interesting thing was the song and dance show with the three cups of tea ceremony. Bai nationality is one have already assimilated by Han, but it still has its own tradition to welcome guests—three cups of tea. They named it very suitable, the bitter tea, sweet tea and aftertaste tea. The beautiful Bai girls—called golden flowers sent us the cup of tea at the intervals of the show. The show is well, too.

After we had lunch, we reached the first resort that is famous to everybody—the butterfly spring. Of course, there was no butterfly now and the water in the spring is not real spring water I think. What interesting is the architect style. What stand on the ridge of the roof are not the sons of dragon as normal but a monster with a fish tail like head and frog legs.

Then the traffic tool changed to bus and we reached the famous three towers. The resort is the symbol of Yunnan’s tourism. Though I don’t think it is anything excellent because we Chinese made too many miracles, took a picture to prove we had been there is necessary.

The bus kept going back to the start point and met the last view—Ancient City in the middle way. From friend’s advice, we said bye-bye to the tour guide and tried to find a hotel first. There will be a world gardening exhibition hold in Yunnan next year, so the government ordered Dali to rebuild the main street in the Ancient City. When we reached City, the main street was all turned to mud and dug out a huge groove. Perhaps because we dressed not like normal Chinese, a local boy showed a piece of paper with English words. Great, it was a hotel’s introduction. 24 hours hot water, it is enough! Also, the price RMB50 for double is even lower than I excepted. What’s more attracted me is that it is located in the famous foreigners’ street; the bars along the street have already be a miracle in the travelers.

We passed the streets by the boy’s guide and saw one or two buildings were being dismantled. The buildings were all in the local style and no one is higher than two floors. I am happy about it because too many resorts’ government wants to flatter the tourists by constructing higher hotels but destroy the original view. When we reached the foreigners’ street there was another kind of scene. English painted all around and almost all the stores afford the long distance phone and fax service, some of them afford email service even. The sharp contrast of modern and ancient is so harmony, yes, harmony is the only word I want to use.

The hotel is at one end of the street, several small department buildings and bamboo kiosks. The environment is exact what I expected. There was about two hours before the sky going to dark, so we decided to have a rest after shower. Because we were so tired after two whole days journey, we fell in sleep soon.

The sky was dark when we awoke and sprinkling. Because we had nothing to do but enjoy the leisure life of local people, we went shopping hungry. A friend had told me before there is a small gift store hold by a Hong Kong people and his local wife and when she went there it had been closed. The store is very famous because it sells only handicrafts made by the owners and the opening time is irregular and the owners accept no bargaining. So, when I reached the store named KOZMIK and found it was still opened I thought the trip should be a lucky one. The handicrafts are really unique; I picked up some for friends and of course for myself, too. What made me feel sad was that after that when we shopping in other stores we forgot bargaining, too.

Time passed by when we shopping until our stomachs started yelling. We chose the SUN SHINE CAFE randomly because we knew we can try another the next morning. In the cafes of foreigners’ street you can find out Gordon’s gin and Jack Daniel’s whisky easily, so it is not surprise that almost all the owners can speak a little English and all the menu is bilingual. We just wanted to choose some special food so, we were definitely right, we chose the delicious barley gruel and fried Rushan—local made cheese. I can not remember all the food but these two are enough for a romance memory. One foreigner was playing guitar lightly, the light was soft, the food was delicious, the partner was beautiful and I was totally fled from the routine work. At that moment, I think all the hard work is worth for exchanging such a moment.

We had a very good sleep till the sky was completely bright. It was still raining. After we brought the bus ticket to Lijiang, we had a hurry visit to the ancient city wall and went to another cafe named Tibetan blah blah. The food was normal but we can enjoy another style of decoration. We didn’t want to leave the city soon but the whole vacation is no more than 8 days, so we’d like to enjoy what we love later, perhaps several years later. Furthermore, COZMIK was closed till we left the city, what a relaxed business way.

The tour from Dali to Lijiang was extended from 4 hours to more than 6 hours because of the slippery road. The sky was dark when we reached Lijiang. Because we were hungry and it was raining, we found a hotel near the station carelessly. The price is relatively high and the environment is not good enough. It was the only wrong decision but it saved our time and money later.

We woke up a little early than normal because we had to find a tourism agency to arrange the day’s tour. We found and joined a nearby agency as individuals and practically the price was the LOWEST in the town, unbelievable. 6 travelers, one driver and one tour guide comprised the team. It was not the normal kind tourism team; the fact was 6 individuals rent a van with driver and tour guide from the agency.

The first resort is Yunshan grassland with an elevation about 3300 meters. The van stopped at the halfway of the mountain and the tour guide asked us choose the way we want to climb the mountain—the horseback or the cable cargo. We chose the former though it was sprinkling. The local minorities Yi people own the horses and the price is the same with the cable cargo. The horses are not beautiful but hard work, especially in the raining day they have to carry people up and down the mountain on the muddy mountain road. The roads are which mentioned by Lu Xun, the roads are walked out—wriggle, narrow and undulate. What impressed us is that the owners of the horses accompanied us on foot, in a raining day, on this kind of road.

The primeval forest covers the whole mountain. The trunks are blue and covered with liver mosses. Because it was raining, we can not see the Snow Mountain from the Yunshan grassland through the fog. So, I used most of the time to enjoy the natural creature—the trees, the grass, the flowers are all beautiful in my eyes; I wondered why I can not discover them before, the modern society make people have no sense of the natural beauty. Sometimes, travelers hurried taking pictures to make a proof that they have been there, but if having been somewhere becomes the purpose of a trip, where is the enjoyment? At that moment, I started to know I had missed too much in my life besides the work.

After we had lunch in a Dongba (the culture of the local people) restaurant, we reached the White Water River. It is a very normal river and the water was very shallow even. There was sporadic rain and we can see the Snow Mountain’s top sometimes.

After we all back to the van, one traveler proposed to visit the top of the Snow Mountain. Of course we all agreed but the driver. After a long bargaining about the extra traffic fee and we all promised we would take the responsibility of missing one or two resorts, we were on the way.

The van stopped at the halfway of another mountain. The cable cargo was still under construction, so we could buy the tickets in discount. But, we had to take the risk that the cargo would be stopped anytime if the workers want to load some materials. Anyway, all of us, including me, the only people from North China, were very exciting.

The cargo climbed the cable very slowly, the vapor inside the small room and the rain outside made the view in the other side of the plastic window obscure, and the only noise was the cargo sliding through the cable. Through the windows, we could see what on the mountain changed from tens of meters high pine to shorter ones to nothing but the stone, at last, the snow. It took us almost 10 minutes to reach the top end, what a great construction.

We went down the cargo at the upper end of the cable, nobody was there welcoming us. All the workers were working in the heavy snow, there was even no obvious way directing us out the cargo lobby. I took a deep breath; the air was dry and cold, just like that in my hometown in the winter. The snow was like a thick cushion covering the ground, and the white dominated all. Crystal saw snow the first time, she was so exciting that the first thing she wanted to do was trying one bite. I knew snow well but still the first time on the top of a snow mountain, I could feel the power of the nature and the insignificant of the human being, I was touched. I knew the trip would be in my memory life long.

Then, we were on our way back. We visited the famous tens of thousands camellia but missed the Baisha fresco (too late). The partners invited us to join them to visit the Lugu Lake; we politely refused because of the time limit. Then, the one-day team dismissed.

We didn’t want to waste the nighttime then we went to the Lijiang Ancient City on foot. The city is one of the few points of China selected by UN as the human beings’ cultural legacy. It is just the East China’s style—river in front of the buildings’ front door. With the water, there is always energy in the city. The Ancient City was protected well, all the new buildings are out of the boundary and the public service bureaus use the original local house as their office. The city offers more entertainment than Dali—not only bilingual cafe and email, but also ancient music show and video. After we checked the hotels’ price and service, we had another dinner at a cafe.

I woke up early to go to the tourism agency to check if there was still somebody want to share a van with us, the answer was no. So we brought all of our luggage to the agency and asked them to help us to rent a car with an experienced driver. The fee was still under my budget, and the driver is a former employee of the agency; furthermore, rent a privacy car meant we can choose the route and stop at where I like and control the time.

It was the first day in Yunnan that we could see the sunshine, so it should be a happy day. The first resort of the day was the first turn of Changjiang River. The new road between Lijiang and the Turn was under construction, but we still chose it to save time. On both sides of the road, we could see small villages and farmers working in the field.

The Turn is normal, V-shape and shallow, only the First makes it becoming a resort. Then, we went to Stone Drum Village. The name is from the famous stone drum. It is said that the drum surface was blank first when Zhuge Liang, prime minister of Shu set it, the words carved on it is by a later governor. We took some pictures in front of the drum and roamed around the village. It is a peaceful small village with another wonderful thing—the steel chain bridge. Wood plates arranged on steel chains and swinging in the air, what more wonderful was the bridge was under using. People live in a relaxed life; we could even see old people playing Majiang under the sunshine.

On the way to the Tiger Jump Gorge, the driver started talking about the Shangri-La. He said the Shangri-La was from an English veteran’s novel named The Disappeared Skyline. The Englishman is a pilot in the World War II, his plane was fired in China and local people rescued him. When he backed to England, he wrote the novel to tell the world the beautiful scenery in China. He couldn’t describe the accurate place he had ever been but only remembered one word the local people said—“Shangri-La”. The novel is nice and got popular around globe, in the same time Shangri-La became the substitute word of unknown beautiful scenery. The driver said many Chinese experts had researched the novel and one gave the conclusion: Shangri-La is at Zhongdian, Lijiang’s neighbor county. Shangri-La is a Tibet word and its real meaning is old friend. The driver also told us that the reality is the real Shangri-La is in Lijiang but not Zhongdian. I thought the research perhaps is meaningless, Shangri-La is all around the world, we had already met and would meet it in the future.

After we had lunch at Zhongdian, the car kept on going along the riverside to the Gorge. On the other side of the river there was marks of some construction. It is said that somebody want to construct a road for the travelers who want to finish the trip on foot, but perhaps because of the rigid environment, the construction was never finished. There was still light fog on the mountain’s top or we can saw the whole range of the Yulong Snow Mountain, but I am sure the scenery is much better than the famous Three Gorges.

The car stopped and we downed the mountainside to the Gorge. Before, the river flows slowly and smoothly, but at here, another kind of scenery. The water turns to white because its speed is up to 8 meters per second. A big stone is in the middle of the river, it is named Tiger Jump Stone because the gorge is short and it believed that a tiger could easily jump to the other side of the river. Everything is stable but the water—it changes shape every second, roars, leaps, splits, combines. Sometimes, the water beads splash on your face and you can feel the power of the nature. We stared at the water for a quite long time to feel its mysterious character, sometimes it is so soft but now it is so powerful and has the power to swallow all.

On the way back to Lijiang, we changed the route to the old but flatter one. The fog has dispersed, so we could see the whole Snow Mountain.

The driver sent us to the Ancient City after I bought the next day’s bus ticket to Kunming. We found a hotel in the center of the city. The center of the city is named Square Street and of course the hotel is named Square Inn. The inn is much smaller than Yu’anyuan at Dali, our room was on the second floor and the view was roofs sea.

It was not an exhausted day, so we decided to have a look in the city. The city was protected very well; people can enjoy everything in the city, even couple of photography studios. Some people work in the modern town but still keep the old tradition of washing clothes and vegetable in the river. Almost all the families in the Ancient City did some business, so we enjoyed shopping quite a while. BUT, at last, we found almost all the things sold here were in an incredible high price, no matter how much we had bargained off we still wasting our money—too sad, the expression of Lijiang is much worse than that of Dali. I don’t know why they can not keep unsophisticated as a good host, money always damage people’s heart.

We had dinner at a cafe; food was ok but nothing special. Perhaps it was too cold, I vomited in the night.

It was a hard day for me though Crystal took care about me. Fortunately the schedule was not hurry.

We climbed the mountain to the Wangu Building on the top. From it we can take a bird view of the whole city. The boundary of the ancient part and modern part is very clear. The layout of the ancient part is somewhat confused.

We went down the mountain and caught a local bus to the Yuquan Park. I had already read about that park from a magazine and the view was definitely the same of what I know. A clear lake affords the water of the river through the Ancient City. A bridge with five arches on the lake and a typical Chinese pavilion near it form a beautiful picture with their reflected image. Furthermore, the Snow Mountain is in the picture, too. Our bus to Kunming would leave at afternoon, so having a rest to recover my energy and enjoying the beautiful scenery was the only thing we wanted to do. We chatted a lot; the feeling was missed for years.

I knew that all these days we were hurried to the next destination. I also knew this trip we had few opportunity to really enjoy the scenery—it was only a trip we can take a brief look. So, unless I got sick, perhaps we would try our best to see more resorts. The sick changed my mind, I just want to take a fully enjoyment of what we had.

I’m a person who seldom gets sick but hard to resume, so when the bus reached Kunming in the early morning I was surprised that I was strong as a horse again. Thank Crystal.

The bus station is at another end of the city with the former one and I knew the buses to resorts was not near, furthermore, I started to worried about if we could afforded the expensive hotel in the capital of Yunnan. But, by the instinct of male, I wanted to try our fate to solve all the problems.

We walked aimlessly and the gate of a university caught my eyes. After inquired the janitor I knew my decision was right—we could live in the campus hotel. By the way, I could feel the campus life again in Yunnan, huh. The price of the hotel was reasonable; we checked in, put down our luggage and started that day’s trip.

It is convenient to take one bus to reach the railway station and easy to find the short distant bus station. We knew it would take us a whole day to visit the Stone Forest, so we felt lucky when the bus moved short after we got on.

The Kunming people are not as kind as others are in Yunnan. The bus stopped at one shop selling fake jade, one restaurant selling expensive junk food and four underground Stone Forest. We only took some food at the restaurant; nobody could cheat our money more.

One thing surprised me was the narrow railway train. The railway system is built by French, it has its own automotive and cargo. It is connected with that in Vietnam and still in use. The speed of the train is slower than normal trucks, so it becomes the convenient traffic tool for the drug dealers.

At last the Stone Forest was in front of us. The entrance fee was higher than I expected and the scenery was normal. Perhaps because we had already seen it on TV so many times before, there was nothing fresh for me, just as the famous Three Gorges. So, it was a disappointed day, especially after we had trip in Dali and Lijiang.

When the bus reached Kunming railway station the sky was dark. We inquired the tour guide where can we enjoy the guoqiaomixian again, she directed us to another restaurant near the station. The food was ok but I was sure it was worse than that offered at where we first eat it.

We took bus back to the university. In the campus there is a pavilion, it is the memorial building for the United Southwest University. USU is the temporal university comprised by Tsinghua, Peking and Yunnan Normal University when Japanese assaulted China, so it is my mother school, too. So surprised me.

It was the last day in Yunnan.

First we took all our luggage to the railway station and deposited it, and then we took a bus to the famous Dianchi Lake. As the bus passed though the city, I can saw several big buildings were under constructing. It is a messy, busy and developing city.

Only when the bus stopped I knew the Dianchi Lake is just near the famous training camp of Chinese National Football Team—Haigeng. The scenery around is so beautiful and made me angry—how can tens of high salary paid players trained here but never show us a nice play! I was sure they were wasting my money.

Mountains surround the lake and there were cable cargo could take us to the top, but follow the experience of Yuquan Park we decided to just sit down on the shore and rest. There were lots of seagulls flying around; they were used to feed by people. Several people bought food and throw it to the air and seagulls kept flying and caught food skillfully. It is a pity that all people from cities are so exciting when they can play with animals; we are isolated from the nature. I was sad that I met people and cement everyday but missing the happy but poor life in the country—when I was 9 years old in Hebei I can see vegetable in the field and many animals everyday. And, it is the LAST day in Yunnan.

…

The plane reached Guangzhou Airport. Outside the windows there was the gray sky…