Three days in Yulin, stealing a fleeting life beyond the Great Wall!

Yulin, this place, stunned me the first time I visited—just imagine standing on the Loess Plateau and suddenly encountering an oasis, a blue lake hidden in the desert, barbers still using clippers under the old city wall, and the aroma of stewed lamb wafting from deep in the alleys. This place feels like a treasure box forgotten by time. I dare say you won’t find another city in the country that combines desolation and abundance so magically. 【Three Days Two Nights Itinerary】(Total cost controlled within 5500-6000 RMB) DAY 1: Experience the lively atmosphere of old Yulin - Morning: “Leisurely walk in Yulin Ancient City” (recommended 2.5 hours) - Start from the Drum Tower and stroll towards the South Gate, focusing on the “Xingming Tower”—no ticket needed, just stand in the middle of the street and see how it supports three floors without a single nail. Turn into “Kaige Tower Alley” and find the old craftsman who has been making copper locks for 60 years. If he’s in a good mood, he’ll show you how to hammer copper sheets into a “General Lock.” - Noon: A local hidden lamb restaurant - Must order the “air-dried lamb with hand-pulled noodles.” The lamb is dried before stewing, and chewing it feels like tasting concentrated grassland. A little tip: look for tables with copper pots boiling milk tea, you can’t go wrong (about 60 RMB per person for a full meal). - Afternoon: Zhenbeitai + Red Stone Gorge (recommended 3.5 hours) - Arrive at “Zhenbeitai” at 2:30 PM. When standing on the “First Tower of the Great Wall,” don’t just take photos—face northwest and you can actually see the desert, oasis, and coal mining belt all at once (ticket 30 RMB, half price for children). - At 4:30 PM, head to “Red Stone Gorge” to see the cliff carvings in the slanting sunset. The Northern Wei Bodhisattva statues are gilded by the golden light, looking almost alive (remember to bring a bottle of water, prices double inside the scenic area). - Evening: Daydream by the Yuxi River - Stay at a “designer guesthouse” by the ancient city wall, where the rooftop terrace lets you brew tea under the stars. The owner will gift you a hand-drawn night tour map of Yulin. DAY 2: A magical day of desert and oasis - All day: “Red Alkali Lake secret exploration” (1.5-hour drive, recommended 6 hours) - Arrive at the lake before 10 AM and head straight to the “Southeast Sand Bay”—tour groups crowd the dock, but here the white fine sandy beach can shoot island-style photos. Rent a fishing boat for 120 RMB (fits 4 people) and have the old fisherman take you to “Lake Heart Island” to feed the rare gulls. - Have lunch at a lakeside “farmhouse restaurant” with freshly caught “boiled rainbow trout.” The fish scales are so crispy they can be eaten as snacks (whole fish about 180 RMB). - In the afternoon, ride camels along the wild paths of “Erlin Rabbit Grassland.” The camel handler will sing Mongolian long songs. On the way back, detour to “Colorful Beach” to watch the sunset dye the sand dunes pink and gold. - Evening: Immersive Shaanbei experience - Stay at the “Starry Sky Tent Camp” beside Red Alkali Lake. Kids can milk sheep and make milk tofu while you listen to locals around the campfire tell the unofficial history of “Zhaojun shedding tears here when leaving the frontier.” DAY 3: Into the folds of the Loess Plateau - Morning: Adventure in Gaojiapu Ancient City (1-hour drive, recommended 2 hours) - Avoid the main street and explore “Mawang Temple Alley.” A fine arts student who returned home two years ago makes “wool felt dolls” in an old courtyard and lets kids poke a Shaanbei little figure by hand (materials 30 RMB). - Behind the “Song Family Ancestral Hall,” find the “Half Water Margin” mural where a Ming dynasty painter secretly depicted Ximen Qing as a local tyrant. - Noon: Taste the flavor of the Loess Plateau - Must try “Three Fresh Combo” (wuchang fish, chicken, and lamb stewed together). Before eating, scoop a spoonful of chili-fried chives and pour it in—the aroma will make you stomp your feet (old brand hidden on the second floor of the supply and marketing cooperative). - Afternoon: “Mahuangliang Geological Park” (recommended 3 hours) - Arrive at 3 PM and head straight to the “Tiger Roar Valley Viewing Platform,” waiting for the 5 PM light to turn the eighteen mountain ridges into a symphony of light and shadow. Bring kids to look for paleontological fossils in the “Loess Sedimentary Layer” (you can really find shell fossils). 【Places to Stay with Character】 1. “Ancient City Wall Root Guesthouse”: Converted from a century-old Shanxi merchant courtyard, with lampshades made from the “Yulin Prefecture Gazetteer” on the kang table. At night, the housekeeper serves millet wine (budget 500 RMB/night). 2. “Red Alkali Lake Birdwatching House”: A wooden house built in the reed marshes, where swans tap on the window with their beaks at dawn (budget 700 RMB/night including breakfast). 【Must-Try Eats】 Hardcore breakfast: Learn “hand-held roujiamo” from the dough master. When stuffing the braised meat into the thousand-layer pancake, you have to twist and press (perfect with salty milk tea). Hidden menu: In Mahuangliang Town, find “millet cake rolled with donkey meat.” The donkey meat is smoked with Sichuan pepper leaves, and the cake is stretchy. For dessert lovers: “Fried soy milk” must be dipped in sea buckthorn jam—so sour it makes you squint but you can’t stop eating. 【Pitfall Avoidance Guide】 1. If you meet a monk offering “free rubbings” at Red Stone Gorge, just walk away—next, they’ll ask for a 300 RMB incense donation. 2. Don’t fall for the “horse riding photo” under Zhenbeitai. They say 20 RMB, but charge by the number of shutter clicks when you get off. 3. When buying millet, squeeze it: if it clumps and doesn’t fall apart, it’s “real Taohuashui millet.” If it falls apart when released, it’s old millet. 4. Taxi drivers push the “Mongolian yurt song and dance banquet,” which costs 80 RMB per person but charges 380 RMB. Go to Erlin Rabbit Village yourself to find herders for a real experience at only 150 RMB per family. 【Travel Bonus】 - Buy “mint candy cakes” at the ancient city grocery store. When broken open, you can see the embossed map of the Ming dynasty military grain transport route. - Go to “Puhui Spring” at 8 AM on Sunday and you might meet locals fetching “engagement water” for their daughters—this spring has flowed continuously for 600 years. I deliberately left “breathing space” in this itinerary, reserving two hours every afternoon for you to daydream between desert and lake. The most moving thing about Yulin has never been the sights, but standing in an oasis surrounded by sand and suddenly understanding the heartbeat behind the phrase “Jiangnan beyond the frontier.”