Ji Dali Xing

        "Ladies and gentlemen, the train is arriving at Dali Station. Passengers who disembark are requested to prepare in advance." The high-speed train announcement sounded, and I was listening to music - Cai Zhizhan's "Light Clouds". My mood fluctuated accordingly. This is the background music of Dali City in the game I played many years ago. The Dali City in the game, the marriage tree next to the city, and the daily tasks under the tree... still leave a deep impression to this day. Now, in reality, after years of social life's vicissitudes, I am about to arrive in Dali, where the wind, flowers, snow, and moon are blowing, and the Erhai moon shines on the snow of Cangshan.

                In April, in Dali, with clear clouds and clear skies, we took a dedicated bus to the ancient city. Passing through Xiaguan, I saw the Xingsheng Bridge across from me - a web celebrity bridge with a Western style; Moving forward, the Cangshan Mountains stand tall and towering, and the snow on the mountaintop has completely melted, but the blue ridges of the mountain rise and fall. As a newcomer here, I am extremely interested in everything around me. From time to time, I use my phone to take videos through the window of the bus.

        The road to the ancient city is rugged, with an electric scooter passing by. The girl in the car is wearing a ethnic style shawl, and her long hair and shawl dance in the wind. In no time, I passed by a garden where roses were blooming. The large red and pink flowers had perfect shapes, which impressed me as a rookie in the balcony. It is estimated that we are approaching the ancient city, and there are large vegetable gardens on both sides of the road. There is a smell in the air, which suggests that the farmers have applied manure. On the right side is Erhai Lake, where the sky seems even bluer. A blue Beetle convertible was driving on the small road, with a round and cute design. At this moment, the mood was very good, and all you could see was joy.

        Arriving at the east gate of the ancient city, the bus stop was on the roadside, standing alone with a small sign without even a sunshade pavilion, like a small rural station, far from what was imagined. Let's first move into a typical Bai ethnic architectural style inn, with a layout of three rings and one screen wall.

        After placing my luggage, I first tasted Yunnan rice noodles, which had a softer taste and were different from what I had imagined; Rent another battery car. At the east gate of memorial archway, a couple are renting a battery car. Without a store, they stand in the sun, suntanned, and the price is much cheaper than what the netizens said. I can't help worrying about whether there is any routine behind it.

        First, ride around Dali Old City, climb along the Stone Street, pass through March Street, and reach the foot of Cangshan Mountain. According to the forest ranger, we cannot go up the mountain in the afternoon, so we have to go back the same way. The watermelon on March Street costs 5 yuan per box, which is relatively cheap for the ancient city scenic area, but the taste is average and not very sweet; There are not many tourists in Dali Old City, and the battery car can pass smoothly. On both sides of the flagstone road in the city, there are cherry trees blooming. The pink flowers are more beautiful against the blue sky, which is exactly what I have seen on the Internet.

        After checking in at the south gate, continue to the Longkan Pier. The dock is located on the shore of Erhai Lake, passing through several villages from the ancient city. The village road is just a narrow and hardened road, but now it is filled with vehicles of all sizes, including tourist buses, private cars, special three wheeled taxis, as well as rented convertible cars and electric cars drilling around like mud loaches on the roadside.

        Upon arriving at the Longkan Wharf, the first thing I felt was the gentle breeze, carrying the scent of cedar trees; The Erhai Lake is clear and azure, with ripples rippling in the wind on the water surface. The bars on the shore play soothing music; There are quite a few tourists, either cycling around or taking photos on the shore. This scene has swept away the previous troubles of traffic congestion and detours. We took a slow walk along the water's edge, relaxing both physically and mentally. Several cedar trees grow by the water's edge, and tourists take photos and take photos under the trees until the sun gradually sets and the sky begins to turn from blue to blue purple. Soon, large clouds in the sky are illuminated with fiery red, and the bustling sound of tourists gradually decreases. The shore presents a peaceful atmosphere, with only the music of the bar lingering.

                We waited until the sky turned completely dark before reluctantly setting off to return to the ancient city. Walking on the small path of the village, the surroundings are quiet, the sky is deep blue, and the stars are particularly bright. After returning to the ancient city, take a stroll through the night market and buy some pounded chicken feet, grilled milk fans, and grilled bait from a roadside stall. Try some flower cakes. Upstairs in the ancient city, several girls are taking photos, their young faces painted with beautiful makeup and dressed in gorgeous ethnic costumes, which are very beautiful; When eating a mushroom pot, the waiter introduces the types of mushrooms one by one, and after cooking, they also need to pay attention to the timer. Only when the time is up can they start eating.

        After dinner, take a turn at Renmin Road in the ancient city, where literary and artistic youths sit on both sides of the road, setting up stalls for sale; There are people playing tarot cards, singing music, selling travel photos, and drinking and chatting with friends, but the alcohol here is not cheap. A bottle of bottled beer costs RMB 20. There are also quite a few street bars here, but the atmosphere is not particularly lively. After turning around until 12 o'clock, I turned back and saw someone lying straight on the roadside crying, looking very sad. My companions kept comforting me, thinking I had drunk too much.

        The next morning, I woke up and headed to the Longkan Dock to watch the sunrise. I rode my electric bike at lightning speed, facing the cool breeze and rushing towards my body. My legs were shivering from the cold, and by the end of the ride, my whole body was trembling. I had to work hard to grip the handlebars to avoid overturning. After arriving at the seaside of Erhai, it was dawn and the sun was still hiding behind the mountains on the other side. We chose a location and waited for the sunrise; The sky brightened rapidly, watching as it turned from deep blue to light blue, until a golden hue appeared. The crescent moon hung high in the sky, and the people around slowly grew larger; The sun gradually climbed out from behind the mountain. At first, it shyly showed its face bit by bit, and then it seemed to adapt to everyone's attention and quickly jumped out from behind the mountain. As the sun rises, the atmosphere of Erhai Lake also heats up, with groups of tourists standing by the shore in groups of three or five taking photos; At this time, the Longkan Wharf is very different from dusk. Under the sunlight, the water surface shimmers, and the trees are lush, emitting vitality and energy everywhere.

        At noon, after eating in the northern vegetable market of Dali Old City, he began to ride an electric donkey cart to patrol around Erhai Lake in a counterclockwise direction. He visited Xingsheng Bridge, Idealia, Luoquan Peninsula, Wenbi Village, Little Putuo, Digse, etc. The scenery on the road around Erhai Lake was very beautiful. He stopped several times along the way to take videos and photos. At the Xingsheng Bridge, European style bridges span across the river, the water is deep blue, and the gentle breeze gently brushes against the face, making it very comfortable; The minimalist architecture of Utopia is pure and harmonious in color, pleasing to the eye. The blooming roses in the flower bed are almost as big as my palm; After turning around the Luoquan Peninsula, the bright red soil on the roadside, along with the branches and leaves on the trees, set off the azure Erhai Lake ahead, creating a highly visual tension; Standing on the slope of Wenbi Village, gazing out, the village road extends downhill, and from afar, it feels like it has reached into the Erhai Lake. The water surface is illuminated by sunlight, with ripples flowing; There are very few seagulls left in Little Putuo, most of which have flown back to Siberia. A group of tourists are teasing the few remaining seagulls, and the clouds in the sky cover the sun. Several rays of sunlight shine through the gaps in the clouds onto Little Putuo Island, as if a holy light is shining; I was wandering around in the town of Dig Color. This original ecological town by the Erhai Lake is famous for producing colored minerals, and the residents come and go, creating a strong atmosphere of life; When we arrived at the finish line - Shuanglang, it was already around 6 pm. We planned to stay overnight in Shuanglang Ancient Town. The roof of the inn is a terrace, and the boss has placed a swing on it, with two pairs of tables and chairs facing the Erhai Lake. On the left is Yuji Island, where the Moon Palace is faintly visible. The ancient town across the sea is too far away, looking like clusters of small white dots.

        In the evening at the night market in the ancient town, I was pleasantly surprised to witness the highly ethnic tie dyeing art, and tasted famous dishes such as "Water like Yanghua" and "Papaya Sour and Spicy Fish" that I longed for. Sitting on the swing at the top of the inn late at night, gazing at the stars with my partner, the ancient town in Haixi is brightly lit, while Cangshan behind the town has a gloomy face; On the left side, the lights on Yuji Island are dim. Looking up, the stars in the sky are shining brightly, but the moon is nowhere to be seen. People say that Dali has four scenic spots: "wind, flowers, snow, and moon". For some reason, during three days and two nights in Dali, only "wind and flowers" were seen, and the moon was not seen at all. Swinging on the swing, my mind also rippled with it, constantly imagining scenes of cycling during the day. Thinking about riding back to the ancient city tomorrow morning and leaving Dali at noon, my heart felt even more reluctant.

        The next morning, when it was still dawn, I climbed onto the rooftop to enjoy the morning scenery of Cangshan and Erhai. The water surface of Erhai Lake is shrouded in mist, with a cool breeze blowing in; Across from Cangshan, one can only vaguely see the undulating contours of the mountain range. In no time, a beam of sunlight emerged from behind the mountain, illuminating the clouds in the Erhai Sea with a golden hue. Slowly, the sunlight shifted, first shining on the water surface, then scattering on the Nanzhao Fengqing Island, and then transferring to Yuji Island. It seemed that due to the sunlight, the atmosphere on the island also became lively. I stared at the water surface for a while, glanced at it for a moment, and decided not to linger anymore, to continue today's journey around the Erhai Lake.

                Guided by the innkeeper, we went out and headed north. At this moment, there was no sunlight on the road, and riding a bike felt chilly. After countless twists and turns, we successively passed through Shangguan, Xizhou, Langqiao, Panxi Village, and finally returned to Dali Old City. Xizhou Ancient Town, a place that has been heard of many times before, may have arrived too early, and the snack stalls on both sides have not yet opened, so they were unable to eat the long-awaited "Xizhou Baba". However, there have been many people queuing up to check in and take photos downstairs at the corner. The vast expanses of rice in the Xizhou rice fields undulate with the wind, resembling golden waves.

        After passing through the winding village alleys, we arrived at the Langqiao, an abandoned irrigation building that has become a web celebrity attraction due to its unique appearance. I saw groups of people taking photos under the bridge, in the bridge cave, and by the water. A few even climbed onto the bridge. I still remember when the sun was high and the water was shining brightly, and the wind from Erhai Lake blew in, making it very cool. Panxi Village's Web Celebrity S-bend has a lot of foot traffic, with cars and people congested from the main road to the small path into the village. There are live broadcasts, photo shoots, and merchants selling balloons and snacks, and the scenery is quite similar to that of Longkan Wharf. Due to time constraints, we did not stay for too long and rushed on.

        It was nearly noon when I returned to Dali Old City, and I found the owner of the battery car to return the car. He still stood next to the memorial archway at the east gate to introduce to the tenant. Although I met him the night before yesterday, I felt a sense of farewell and reunion at the moment. I think it's because I've walked hundreds of miles these past few days, enjoyed many scenery, met countless people, and brought back countless memories. Fortunately, the return of the car went smoothly and the previously worried thing did not happen.

        Dragging heavy luggage, we arrived at the bus stop at the east gate of Dali. There were already many people waiting for the bus, and the weather was excellent. The blue sky and white clouds seemed to bring a smile, just like when we arrived the day before yesterday. On the road, many girls with beautiful shawls and electric bicycles come and go, and I think they are also full of expectations for this journey; And we are also about to embark on the next journey - Lijiang.

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