Dali 大理 is a beautiful rural city with the magnificent Cangshan mountain 仓山 as the backdrop and the peaceful Erhai lake 洱海 at its center. It is perfect picture like the Chinese saying 有山有水好景色. But insert humans and the place became polluted with dust and smoke from the new buildings that mushroomed out at incredible speed and increasing diesel cars exhausting dark smoke. Too industrialised and commercialized. I would like to scream slowdown please so that we can let nature breathe. But I guess its unstoppable; the whole China have awoken and pollution will increase as the nation continue to grow.
March is suppose to be a good month to visit Yunnan. But if you asked my opinion, I would recommended mid April onwards instead. Yes, the spring flowers had started to bloom in March but earth had just woken from a long winter sleep so everything else was sadly either grey, brown or dry.
Dali Gucheng 大理古城 is a squarish old city fortress surrounded by tall walls and huge gates built during China’s Ming Dynasty. It was a pleasure to stroll among this peaceful town with cobbled streets and rows of unique houses and shops. Walking past the tourist crowds and you will find the place bustling with life as the locals worked and mingled to get their daily necessities.
I took a mini cruise down Erhai lake 洱海 the next day. The lake was blue, calm and serene, perfect match with the blue sky and light breeze. The lake is so huge that the minorities in dali had mistaken it for a sea in olden days and thus the name Erhai (ear-shaped sea). Furthered research on the net later that night stated that the lake was currently getting more polluted by the day. I wished the best for this lovely lake that the locals hold so dear.
The cruise came to an end in another port after 3 hours. I took a private car (mian bao che) to the the Butterfly Spring Park for 10rmb. The park was disappointingly different from what I read on net. It was said that the spring was drying up and the phenomenon where million of butterflies would gathered and mated was no longer seen for decades. So I arrived in a mini water spot where the water was still blue and clear and reflecting the image of the tree growing beside. Beautiful yes but definitely butterfly-less. Just when I was wondering, I heard a guide saying that if we wanted to see butterflies, they have 人工养殖 man-bred butterflies in a greenhouse. Like wow. I had just spent 60rmb to see a place where the phenomenon was long gone and everything were artificially implanted. I felt a little scammed if you asked me.
Still not learning from my lesson, I proceeded to Xizhou old town 喜州 which belonged to the Bai people 白族, the main ethnic group in Dali. Now the entrance fee was more astounding. 120rmb for a 10mins guided tour and that whole place only consisted of maybe 6 buildings? Sighed. I learned that the Bai lady wore a red embroidered headband with white furry trimming. My guide rattled on and I vaguely learned that her red headband was decorated to represent the wind, flower, snow and moon 风花雪月. When she asked if I want to 品茶, I agreed. 4 teas were introduced which stood for 风花雪月 too. Really neat marketing technique. The teas tasted ok but I am not an expert and my scam alarm was ringing so I did not buy any. Luckily there was a show at the end which was the saving grace. Here they showcased various costumes of the Bai tribe and we were treated to the welcoming tea ceremony 迎宾三杯茶. It consisted of three cup of tea, the bitter tea, sweet tea and the reminiscing tea. Much like life where we get a little bit of bitterness and sweetness and after that these moments would become our memories. I could also use the 3 teas to describe my dali trip; nice scenery and people, occasionally scammed but all will be remembered with fond memories.
Large fields of farms along Xizhou to Dali Gucheng
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