From Jinsha River to Lancang River, looking for tranquility

Xingxing

Starting from Dali and heading north, draw an upright ellipse with the Dali-Mangkang section of the Yunnan-Tibet Line as the axis. In this circle, there are three steps, one scene and five Every step of the way is packed with world-class natural heritage and scenic spots. Putting aside these scenic spots, since the beginning of summer, I have followed National Highway 214 (Yunnan-Tibet Line) to the north of the Jinsha River, and then south along the Lancang River section, driving on a self-driving cruise to find some quiet corners.

Eryuan West Lake, Plateau Jiangnan

Follow National Highway 214 from the west bank of Erhai Lake to quietly leave the ancient city of Dali, leave Butterfly Spring, and drive towards Lijiang in the north, less than 15 kilometers from the northern edge of Erhai Lake In this place, there is a peaceful water source - Eryuan West Lake. It is the main water source of Erhai Lake, but it is not as commercially lively as Erhai Lake. It retains the life atmosphere of a plateau water town.

Yunnong Peak, the northernmost peak of Cangshan Mountain, is reflected on the lake. The lake is not just a lake. It is surrounded by villages. There are several islands in the lake. There are villages in the islands. Several island villages are connected by thin embankments. Connected by a pontoon, the Bai people rowed boats leisurely past the water plants, and faintly heard beautiful songs.

Eryuan West Lake The pictures in this article are all provided by the author unless otherwise noted

Eryuan West Lake has always been rarely disturbed. Although there are several B&Bs in the villages in the lake, at first glance they are still fishermen and farmers. of ordinary days. Xu Xiake once went boating here and praised the scenery of the plateau in the south of the Yangtze River as comparable to the West Lake in Hangzhou. "There are four green mountains outside, and the Xizi Lake looks out from underneath."

Xiaozhongdian Tianchi Community, a Layers of beautiful mountains and rivers

Continue north along Highway 214 to Shili Ruanhong in Dayan, Lijiang. But don’t go into the city. Instead, go west around Provincial Highway 226. It’s only 20 kilometers away from the Yangtze River in Shigu Town. The bridgehead of the first bay. The mountains on both sides here give way to a particularly wide and flat area, which is quite photogenic.

From Shigu Town, we walk back along the Jinsha River for a while, and still go north. This section of National Highway 214 runs through both sides of the Jinsha River, and the narrow river valley is very turbulent. Quickly skip the popular Lashihai Lake, Jade Dragon Snow Mountain, Tiger Leaping Gorge on the east side of the road... After passing the Tiger Leaping Jinsha River, it bends to the northeast, and 214 rushes along the tributary of the Jinsha River all the way to the north. This journey is a hundred kilometers, and there is enough to see. After passing the Jinsha River, we entered the Tianchi Group of Xiaozhongdian.

Qianhu Mountain is located in Tuanjie Village, Xiaozhongdian Township. Turn from 214 in the direction of Jisha Forest Farm in Tuanjie Township. You have to drive a quite bumpy tractor road to reach the lake area. It is a plateau of more than 100 square kilometers with an altitude of 4,000 meters. There are thousands of lakes on the meadow. When the weather is clear, the small lakes are like mirrors in the sky, reflecting the landscape even more beautifully.

Data map of Bigu Tianchi

Further north, to Lianhe Village, Xiaozhongdian Township, 20 kilometers west of a rural road with extremely bad road conditions can go deep into Bigu Tianchi. 16 years ago, a movie was filmed here. In addition to the "murder caused by a steamed bun" plot, it also left behind a pile of garbage and felled ancient trees, and nearly a thousand square meters of plateau meadows and rhododendron forests were destroyed. Since then, no outside development or tourist groups have been allowed here, roads have been blocked, and management fees have to be paid to enter, so Bugu Tianchi enjoys tranquility.

More than ten years have passed, and the forests and meadows are slowly repairing themselves, but the felled tree stumps will never survive. Tianchi is not big, but the scenery is extremely beautiful, and the road is difficult. Those who can get a glimpse of its beauty are amazed. Not help but sigh.

Shangri-La, the fragrant matsutake

Just past Xiaozhongdian is Shangri-La. While it’s summer, you can’t miss the local matsutake.

Matsutake grows all over the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, from Danba and Litang in Sichuan to Linzhi in Tibet. However, only Shangri-La’s matsutake is the best in aroma and taste. Locals will proudly tell you that there are two varieties of matsutake: Shangri-La matsutake and others.

A wild mushroom trading market has been built very grandly on the main road in the east of the city. Every day, tons of mushrooms are transported here from the Diqing Mountains, Litang, Sichuan and even further places, and then packaged. It's better to send it directly to the airport. Shangri-La is also rich in porcini mushrooms and tiger palm mushrooms, both of which can be touched, bought, and eaten here.

Shangri-La Wild Mushroom Trading Market

If you stay in Shangri-La for a few days, you can buy matsutake mushrooms at very low prices when the market closes in the evening, and you can eat them as sashimi, grilled or boiled in chicken soup. Fresh.

Leave Shangri-La to the north, pass the Napa Sea Observation Deck, and go 30 kilometers to Nixi Township. Nixi Township is famous for its earthenware and local chicken. Many restaurants sell local chicken soup as a sign. The local handmade earthenware pot is shiny black, has a metallic texture, and has good heat conduction and heat preservation effects. It is especially suitable for making matsutake chicken soup.

Matsutake chicken soup, grilled matsutake, and matsutake sashimi

In midsummer, here you can have the experience of "one mushroom and eat more". Matsutake chicken soup is cooked in an earthenware pot, and there is a stove Surround with grilled matsutake mushrooms and choose the freshest ones to eat as sashimi, completely converting the freshness of the matsutake mushrooms into burning dopamine.

Deqin's foggy top and Gongka, ascending to the fairyland

Continue north from Shangri-La, pass Benzilan, and go northwest. After arriving in Deqin, you enter the Lancang River Basin.

Data map of Fogding Observation Deck

The most charming part of Meili Snow Mountain is often between sunny and rainy days. In order to catch a glimpse of the golden mountain under the sun, people often gather in Deqin, a scenic spot. Feilai Temple and the road leading from the temple to Route 214 were also besieged and blocked. Since the 214 new road was built, the Fogding Observation Deck is no longer a must-pass on the Yunnan-Tibet Road, and the flow of people and vehicles has also been reduced. The angle and altitude here are particularly suitable for mountain viewing. It is worth traveling a few kilometers to come to this large platform. If the night is clear, the stars in the snow-capped mountains on the east side and the Feilai Temple scenic area on the west side echo each other, and the stars on earth and sky are dotted.

Scenery with dense fog

Another rarely visited place in Deqin is Gongka Tianchi. On the mountain behind the ancient city of Adunzi, the county town, and passing through the ancient city of Adunzi, there is about 5 kilometers of steep uphill road. It is very narrow and difficult to drive, and it is almost impossible to drive. At the end of the road is Gongka Tianchi. On a sunny and windless day, the continuous Meili snow peaks are reflected on the lake, and the only sounds of birds singing and mountain breezes are heard everywhere, making it feel like you are in a fairyland.

Yanjing and Quzika, the years of wind and frost write tenderness

Leaving Deqin, the 214 National Highway runs along the Lancang River Valley for more than 100 kilometers to reach the thousand-year-old salt field in Mangkang, Tibet. This section of the Lancang River Valley is steep and amazing, and you can enjoy it along the way. The red-red river water is said to be caused by the erosion of iron-containing red rock and soil on both sides of the river for thousands of years. It lives up to its reputation as "Lancang". The Mangkang Salt Field is mined at a very low level near the river. The brine pumped up is directly dried in artificially fenced salt fields. There is mostly white salt in the east of the river and red salt in the west bank. The color saturation of this valley is extremely high.

Mangkang Millennium Ancient Salt Field

The ancient salt field scenic spot is in Jiangdong and is often crowded with people. It is 4 kilometers south of the village along the intersection of National Highway 214. A small road crosses the river to reach Jiada Village on the other side. , this place has not yet been developed into a scenic spot. It overlaps with the same salt wells on the other side and is more full of life.

Thousand-year-old Salt Fields

After looking at the salt wells, walk 5 kilometers north to Quzika Town. This is the most fatigue-relieving place on the Yunnan-Tibet Line - because there are hot springs. More than a dozen hotels, large and small, have introduced hot springs. You can soak your feet in the hot springs and look up at the snow-capped mountains and starry sky. In your ears you can hear the waves and the surging water of the Lancang River echoing in the valleys.

Data map of hot spring scenery in Daquzika Town

From the Lancang River south to Weixi Granary, see the canyons and fields overlapping

From Quzika and Yanjing South Return to Deqin and turn west at the Deqin fork to enter Provincial Highway 233. This provincial highway extends downward along the Lancang River to the core area of ​​the Three Parallel Rivers, where you can see the crimson river water and green clouds in one day. Among the three parallel rivers, the Jinsha River is bustling with Lijiang as the core, the Nujiang River is famous for the Bingzhongluo and Bingchacha Tibet lines, and the Lancang River is quiet in the middle. Two hundred kilometers from Deqin to Weixi, the canyon scenery and pastoral scenery on both sides of the Lancang River overlap, and scenery such as the big bend of the Jinsha River is everywhere.

Lancang River Valley

Cizhong is the first famous village, with a centuries-old Catholic church and a grape trellis on the cliff. If you explore further, you can also cross the Biluo Snow Mountain behind it. Nujiang... And those villages that are not as famous as Cizhong, such as Jieyi, Badi, Zili, Yezhi, and Tongle, all have secret paths leading to the depths of Biluo in the back mountains, and there are one or two places called Fairy Lake. Plateau Haizi.

Data map of Cizhong Church

Data map of Weixi Yezhi Village

The dry and hot valley of the Lancang River is particularly suitable for crops. It is known as the granary of western Yunnan. It is the highest altitude in the world. The highest rice-producing area, the unique language, religion and folk songs of the Lisu people are preserved in the terraced fields on the plateau.

If you are willing to take a detour of 30 kilometers to Pantian Pavilion - it is a rich and prosperous Bazi surrounded by clouds and mist, a city in the sky full of high-altitude black rice varieties.

Tongtian Pavilion Bazi gwduan map

From Lanping, go down to Yunlong, look at the mountains and water and look for ancient bridges

There are two remote mountain roads from Weixi back to Dali. There are almost no tourist crowds. The first is to go down from Weinan and then east, detouring from the southern edge of Laojun Mountain back to Jianchuan. This road is being built intermittently, with a section of mountain terraces followed by a section of flat farmland, and a picture of a quiet life in the past. It takes about 4 hours to return. Take the expressway to Dali under Jianchuan.

The other road is much more difficult, from Weinan to Lanping, along the Xianjiang River, a tributary of the Lancang River, into Yunlong County, and then back south to Dali. Yunlong County is the most remote county in Dali Prefecture, and Nuodeng became famous overnight.

People who go north from Dali Yangbi see the ancient villages, taste ham and observe Tai Chi Feng Shui, but they often miss the Yunlong Ancient Bridge north of Nuodeng. The Yunlong Ancient Bridge ranks first in Yunnan, and the ancient bridge community on the Xiangjiang River has been selected as a national key protected cultural relic.

There is an iron chain suspension bridge "Qingyun Bridge" on the Xiangjiang River in Shimen Pass in the southwest of Yunlong County. Data map

Data map of the outrigger-type single-hole tile-clad wooden beam bridge "Tongjing Bridge"

In the Xiangjiang River Basin in Yunlong County, which is less than 100 kilometers away, there are nearly a hundred ancient bridges with different building materials and techniques, including ancient zip lines, rattan bridges, pontoon bridges, iron chain suspension bridges... …can be called an ancient bridge museum.

Proofreading: Zhang Yan