A Travelogue of Dali: Time Wrinkles in a Land of Wind, Flowers, Snow, and Moon

When the snow line of the nineteen peaks of Cangshan Mountain is reflected on the mirror-like surface of Erhai Lake, Dali becomes a living annotation to Xu Xiake's description of "green mountains as timeless paintings without ink." This ancient city, popularized by the film "Breakup Buddies," still maintains its millennial character beyond the filters of social media trends. Cherry blossom rain in March falls on the upturned noses of Nanzhao roof tiles, the rice harvest in autumn sweeps over the ruins of the Tang Dynasty's Taihe City, and red-billed gulls in winter skim over Longshou Pass, where Emperor Shizu of Yuan once stayed. History has never left here; it has simply changed its attire. A Round-the-Lake Journal: 137 Kilometers of Spacetime Folding Rent a mint green Beetle convertible and start your clockwise journey around the lake. Departing from Longkan Pier at dawn, the dawn light is cut into golden foil fragments by the dawn redwood forest of the Haixi Ecological Corridor. Cyclists ring their bells as they pass over the water, startling the Bai elders who are swimming in the morning. The water droplets roll off their bronze-colored backs, coinciding with the trajectory of the seagulls swirling behind them. Haixi Secrets ▪️ Zhoucheng Tie-dye Workshop: Bai grandmothers hold carved scrapers and conjure up the patterns of Butterfly Spring in indigo dye vats. Customize a square scarf for CNY 300 and personally knead out the cloud patterns of Cangshan Mountain. When drying, it dances with the tie-dye cloth of the century-old house. ▪️ Xizhou Jia Se Ji: In the agricultural museum next to the Corner Building, rice forks and VR glasses are placed side by side. Scan the QR code of the "Dengchuan Zhou Zhi" from the Ming Dynasty to hear the sound of the Yuanyang rice terraces mixed into the Bai tune. ▪️ Haishe Couple Tree: Two century-old chinquapin trees are entwined into a heart-shaped tree hole. Copper locks of couples from the 1980s are buried at the roots of the tree. Newlyweds tie wish cloths here, and when the wind rises, it is like thousands of cranes flapping their wings. Haidong Illusions Shuanglang is not the end. Continue south to Wase Pier. On the abandoned dock, Bai teenagers dip acrylic paint with cormorant feathers and paint broken wooden boats into mythical creatures from the "Classic of Mountains and Seas." On the Wenbi Village Road at dusk, the setting sun nails the rays of light diagonally on the sea, as if driving towards the exit of "The Truman Show." The Texture of the Ancient City: Between Foreigner Street and Benzhu Temple The night on Renmin Road is as noisy as ever, but the real soul is hidden in the folds of Yincang Road. Stepping into the Bed Sheet Factory Art District at noon, the ink fragrance of pine smoke wafts from the Bai Jiama woodblock print studio. The post-90s manager uses cyberpunk elements to reconstruct the "Mahakala" totem. A hundred meters away, the North Gate Farmers Market is staging a culinary "Along the River During the Qingming Festival": the milk fan is rolled into an amber color on the charcoal fire, the diao mei wine is mixed with the salty aroma of Nuodeng ham, and the old man in a sheepskin jacket peddles wild mushrooms. When he sees someone taking pictures, he raises a matsutake mushroom: "Buy one after you take the picture, you can see little people dancing when you stir-fry it!" If you want to touch the meridians of the ancient city, you have to sneak into Yuer Road at seven in the morning. The bluestone slabs are still soaked in night dew. Under the Wenmiao Lingxing Gate, the Bai grandpa uses the tip of his Tai Chi sword to pick up falling cherry blossoms. The waterwheel of Honglong Well has just awakened, crushing the old dreams of the caravan on the Ancient Tea Horse Road. Go to "Tang Ka" on Guangwu Road, order a cup of Yunnan small-grain hand-brewed coffee, and the terrace on the second floor faces the reflection of the Three Pagodas. The barista points to the clouds: "Look, the bells of Chong Sheng Temple are rippling the clouds." Mountain Field Summoning: The Symphony of Cangshan Mountain ▪️ Jizhao Nunnery Zen Walk: Take the Gantong cableway to Qingbi Creek and walk for 20 minutes to reach "China's Most Beautiful Nunnery." Succulent plants occupy the eaves and arches. Line up for vegetarian meals at lunch. The potatoes are stewed with rose tofu. The bhikkhuni will gently remind you if the rice grains fall on the table: "The grain has a soul." ▪️ Fengyangyi Tea Horse Relic Dream: Liu Yifei's old mud-walled courtyard where she filmed "Meet Yourself" is now a Jiama experience hall. It costs CNY 88 to rub a "Wind, Flower, Snow, and Moon" roof tile. In the light leaking from the broken wall, the aftersound of the horse gang's copper bell is still vibrating. ▪️ Niaodiaoshan Hiking: A secret place that locals understand. In June, alpine azaleas bloom into a sea of fire. Shepherds cook copper pot rice in rock caves and sprinkle a handful of wild leeks. The aroma startles the blood pheasants in the bushes. Survival Rules: Avoiding Pitfalls and Indulgence Guide 🚗 Traffic Password The airport bus goes directly to the ancient city for CNY 25. Don't trust the black cars in the parking lot. Choose new energy vehicles for renting a car around Erhai Lake (CNY 150/day). There is no dedicated cycling lane in the Haidong section. On the San Yue Jie market day (the second, ninth, sixteenth, and twenty-third days of the lunar month), the bus is so crowded that you will doubt your life. 🏡 Accommodation Barrier Seaview Premium Area: Shuanglang Mingyue Songjian (the terrace has suspended glass to capture the "Sea Moon Reflection") Humanities School: Xizhou Jiyisixiangju (a century-old house converted into a study, listening to the croaking of frogs in the rice fields at night) Backpacker: Ancient City Elephant Cafe (bed for CNY 60, drinking with Cangshan on the rooftop) 🍜 Taste Code Avoid the "stone pot barbecue" trap. The authentic Bai flavor is in Shaba Fish Village (spicy crucian carp soup with rice) The rare bean noodles with fried dough sticks before 9 am in the North Gate vegetable market are the local way to open it with chili peppers. The soul at night is in "Jianshui Barbecue" on Pingdeng Road. Be careful not to burn your tongue when the tofu bursts. Wind Object Revelation On the seventh day of Dali, at dusk, I met a fisherman returning from fishing at Caicun Pier. He took out a wine pot and poured me half a glass of homemade plum wine, pointed to the Erhai Moon and said: "In our Bai language, the sea is called 'ear', the ear of the ear." Suddenly I understood the magic of this city—it is both the ear of the long river of history, listening to the double sonata of the Ancient Tea Horse Road and Generation Z, and the ear of every passerby, collecting all the unspoken poems and distant places. When the moon in Haidong climbed onto the eaves of Yang Liping's Sun Palace, I decided to change my return ticket, after all, Dali's timeline is spiral, and there is always a circle of reincarnation worth indulging in again.