Lost in the fairyland "go where the wind is" Yunnan

In early November, Bui Huu Duc (24 years old, living and working in Hanoi) had a 6-day, 5-night road trip to explore Yunnan province, China. Sharing about the inspiration for his travel experience, Huu Duc said: "I am passionate about exploring China. I have watched many movies filmed in Yunnan such as Going to the Windy Place, Demi-Gods and Semi-Devils... In particular, I want to conquer the Jade Dragon Snow Mountain with an altitude of 4,680 m."

Located in Southwest China, Yunnan Province is one of the important birthplaces of human civilization. It has a long history and culture, beautiful natural scenery such as ancient streets, rivers, stone forests, terraced fields, etc.

According to Huu Duc, the ideal time to travel to Yunnan is autumn. When autumn comes, Yunnan fascinates people with its strange beauty in every corner of the ancient town, in the cold winds by the rippling lake… “This trip of mine was very lucky because the weather was favorable, every day was sunny and beautiful. The time spent at the locations was quite comfortable so I was able to take many beautiful photos,” the 9x guy confided.

The magical beauty of Dali ancient city

Dali Ancient City - the once glorious capital of Dali country has an extremely favorable location. Today, there are still many buildings, ancient temples, ancient shrines, valuable historical architectures along with romantic landscapes, full of "wind - flower - snow - moon". This place is quite peaceful, there are no vehicles so visitors can comfortably walk around. Along the simple and ancient street corners, mossy stone walls, time seems to slow down.

"Four great beauties" of Erhai Lake

Erhai Lake is located in the east of Dali City, about 265 km northwest of Kunming. This is the next prominent place with influence and a large number of visitors. The name Erhai is meaningful because when viewed from above, the curved lake shore looks like an ear. According to Huu Duc, at the coordinates of the S-shaped road, you can see a very beautiful sunrise.

"Hidden gem" Sa Khe ancient town

Sa Khe Ancient Town is located in Jianchuan County, Yunnan, China. It is praised by UNESCO as “the only remaining market on the ancient Tea Horse Road”. However, along with the decline of this legendary road, this place has gradually been forgotten. Therefore, it still preserves its style and characteristics.

This place still retains its peaceful scenery, slow pace of life and simple folk culture. “After watching the movie 'Going Where the Wind Blows', I decided to go to Sa Khe ancient town, where Hua Hong Dou and Ta Chi Dao met. Coming to Sa Khe on an autumn day, the peaceful ancient town under the yellowing trees created a beautiful picture,” Huu Duc expressed.

Jade Dragon Snow Mountain - A majestic landscape in the sky of Lijiang

“Yu Long Snow Mountain was the place I was most looking forward to during the trip. I took the cable car to near the top, then walked up the stairs for about an hour to reach an altitude of 4,680 m,” the 9x guy confided.

A majestic mountain range towering over Lijiang, Jade Dragon Snow Mountain is located in Yunnan Province, southwest of mainland China. Jade Dragon Snow Mountain is considered one of the highest mountains and a special symbol for the people of Naxi. It has a record height of over 5,000 m with the highest peak being Phien Tu Dau at 5,596 m, where it is covered with white snow all year round.

The land of eternal love Lijiang ancient town

With an age of about 800 years, Lijiang is the only ancient town built without walls and has a unique spatial layout with a water system arranged throughout the ancient town. Coming here, visitors feel like they are lost in another world with beautiful scenery like in a painting. Along the streets, everywhere is decorated with flowers of different colors, extremely romantic.

All the experience of traveling to Yunnan

Giving advice to travel enthusiasts who also want to conquer Yunnan province (China), Huu Duc shares a few tips as follows:

First is time. According to Huu Duc, you should choose 6 days and 5 nights to be able to enjoy Yunnan to your heart's content because if you go for less days, you will not have much time to visit the entertainment spots.

Second, you should carefully check the weather forecast before going to choose the right clothes. Lijiang and Shangrila are in Yunnan, the plateau is cold all year round, covered in clouds, so you may encounter a plateau reaction that causes dizziness and nausea. Therefore, remember to prepare yourself with good health, warm clothes, can bring extra heat pads and buy oxygen tanks in case of need.

Third is language. If you travel on your own, you need someone who speaks fluent Chinese, and if they can read it, the better, because China does not use English. Huu Duc shared that you can use translation apps to communicate, but there are many limitations.

Fourth, Chinese food is quite spicy, salty and greasy. If possible, ask the restaurant to reduce the amount of food when ordering. “On my trip, I was lucky to go to restaurants that had their food adjusted to suit Vietnamese tastes, so it was quite suitable,” said the 9x guy.

Fifth is clothing. There are many ancient towns here, in addition to warm enough clothing, you should choose red, yellow, white or brocade tones to freely take photos to check-in and save memories.

Phuong Mai is a reporter for Travellive Magazine in Hanoi.

Phuong Mai