Travel with Lily: 6 Days Lijiang & Dali Tour

I longed for a visit to Yunan, which is famous for its beauty. Last winter, my dream came true. My friend and I had a relaxing tour in Lijiang and Dali for 6 days. The beautiful scenes and kind people there urged me to write down this itinerary.

Fascinating Scenery in My Journey

Fascinating Scenery in My Journey

Day 1

My friend and I arrived at Shuhe Ancient Town in the evening. There were two ancient towns in Lijiang – one is Lijiang Ancient town, the other is Shuhe Ancient town. We chose to stay overnight in Shuhe first.

Day 2 

Good morning Shuhe! It was a sunny day but with strong wind. So I got up early and walked out of the hotel.

Shuhe Ancient Town

Peaceful Shuhe Ancient Town in Morning

It was so quiet and it seemed that no one got up. I basked in the morning sunshine and later with my friend took a stroll in the town. It was off season and tourists were few. Frankly hanging around there was just like in a park. But I enjoyed such a relaxing atmosphere.

Shuhe Ancient Town

I explored the secret hidden in the town

In the late afternoon My friend and I finished our visit in Shuhe and headed to our next destination – Lijiang Ancient Town.

We walked up to the Lion Hill and found an inn to rest. The inn was just a small and ordinary one. Like other inns in this town, there are drinks for sale and music played. We ordered one drink and sat there to enjoy the sunset. It was so cool.

In the evening we walked down from the hill to start explore beautiful town. Tourists were more and this town was noisier than Shuhe. Night came and the town showed us her another kind charm – smell from delicious local snacks and songs from the bar. It said romantic stories never ended in this town.

Lijiang Ancient Town

Busy Lijiang Ancient Town

Day 3

Today we set off for Lugu Lake. We joined a group for safety. It was very smart for some frozen roads on the way to Lugu Lake caused the private cars behind us turn back.

Lugu Lake

Lugu Lake, simply beautiful

Without nice temperature and beautiful flower, it was not the best season to visit this place. But the water was so clear that I forgot the imperfect.

Lugu Lake

I was immersed in the beauty of Lugu Lake

Day 4

Frankly it was a little hard for me to get up early in two days running. We got up late this morning so cancelled the trip to Baisha Mural Paintings. We ate local cuisine at about 11:00 am and hang around the Lijiang Ancient Town again.

Food in Lijiang

Delicious Food in Lijiang – Salty Spareribs & Sweet Flower Cake

In the afternoon we caught our train to Dali. Dali was the most interesting place in the tour. Upon our arrival the place showed us her beautiful sunset with Cangshan Mountain and Erhai Lake.

Lijiang Dali Train

Picturesque Landscape from the Train

Among the three ancient towns, Dali Ancient Town was my favorite. It was lively and friendlier. Hawkers got out to sell their handwork in the evening and they said hello to their friends.

Some of hawkers just laid down their stalls and put a box, then left to enjoy their nights. The rest depened on customers- picked what they like and put the money in boxes.

It was not a city just for selling, but a real place people lived in.

Dali

Great Night View of Dali

Day 5

Riding around Erhai Lake.

Today My friend and I rented a motor-pedal in the town. Cycling around Erhai started! We started from Dali Ancient Town, passed Caicun Village and Xizhou Ancient town, finally ended at Haishe Park. After the final stop we returned to Dali.

On the way to Haishe,it was sunny and the landscape was beautiful. Sometimes we stopped to feed some birds, or take a picture of trees or even a lonely boat. When we rode along the village, smell of bean flowers reminded me of my childhood in village.

Beautiful Scenery along the Erhai Lake

Beautiful Scenery along the Erhai Lake

Zhulian Pavilion

Zhulian Pavilion – Ancient Building in Dali

A poem says: “Spring tide with rain at dusk swift and hell-bent, Backland ferry, unmanned, has drifted of itself aslant.” There I found an unmanned drifting boat in Erhai too.

Erhai Lake

A boating is floating on the Erhai Lake

Day 6

Good morning Erhai! After spending one night in the hotel near Erhai. We got up early to enjoy a sunrise.We missed the beautiful sunrise because of the thick clouds, but the journey was still full of delights. The most charming thing in a tour was that you never knew what would happen next.

Good bye Yunan!

Erhai Lake

I enjoyed the amazing clouds in the sky

If you are interested in more natural sightseeing tours , you can head to our Yunnan Tours with different experiences. Feel free to select yours to explore the beauty of Yunnan!

>> 4 Days Kunming & Dali Highlights Tour

>> 6 Days Best of Yunnan Tour

>> 8 Days Classic Yunnan Tour

Want to know more about the experienced travel expert Lily’s trip? You could just contact her directly or continue to read more about her travelogues.

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