In August 2025, we went to Yunnan again! The weather in Yunnan is literally cozy, the landscape here is pleasing to the eyes, and the cuisine is mouth-watering!

Since the weather in Sichuan was extremely terrible and the temperature was almost over 40°C. That made me feel like I’m melting. Plus, I promised Dr. He to go to Yunnan together earlier. I decided to have a road trip to Yunnan based on these issues.

I took 2 days to drive to Kunming (capital city of Yunnan) from Sichuan. There were only a few people outdoors along the way cause it was highly hot.

After entering Yunnan, the situation improved a lot. The air was no longer humid or hot. A cool breeze hit me, which made me feel relaxed.

I picked up Dr. He at Kunming South Rail Station and we had a small meal and embarked the trip to Chengjiang, the place where Fuxian Lake located.

The evening clouds there was not as amazing as I imagined but the vibe there was cozy as the breeze was mild and we walked along the lakeside and talked a lot.

I set out eastward on a windless morning, passing Suining and Tongnan, and arrived at my first stop, the municipality of Chongqing. It turned out that this route was not a good option. The high temperature in Chongqing made me feel that even my pores could not breathe, and even the wind was scorching.

After a short pause, I went on my trip to Zunyi. By the way, I took a passenger to Zunyi as a rideshare driver from a hospital in the Jiangjin District. I have to admit that this passenger is the most talkative passenger I have ever met. We have been chatting non-stop since I picked him up, and he was always the one finding topics. I understood that most local families burn coal for heating in winter, which was the most surprising thing.

When I arrived in Zunyi, the intoxicating evening breeze was already blowing. I parked my car on the side of the road and enjoyed this rare moment. Local residents were walking along the street, speaking a dialect that I could roughly understand. After I found a place to go in the evening on the hotel booking app, I ended the day’s trip.

The second morning looked like a normal start, I visited the Zunyi Conference Memorial Hall and a local snack street. The streets and roads there were very narrow, and driving there was challenging. Since I watched a few short videos about the monkeys of Qianling Mountain, I drove to Guiyang — the capital city of Kweichow in the afternoon. Unfortunately, the roads in Guiyang’s old city area are terrible, extremely narrow and full of potholes. I swear that I would never drive in Guiyang’s old city. But what most impressed me was the skyscrapers of Guiyang. They built a sea of super high resident apartments in Guiyang with high density, like the household renowned resident complex — Huaguoyuan, which has hundreds of high-rise resident blocks accommodate one-tenth of the residents of this metropolitan. When I drove through the Huaguoyuan area and passed the semi-underground viaduct, it felt like I was touring a giant underground palace. The viaduct pillars on both sides were as awe-inspiring as the Roman columns in the Greek palace, and the scene here seemed more sci-fi than the scene in Cyberpunk 2077.

It is worth mentioning that Guizhou’s food is really amazing. The seemingly ordinary pickled pepper, after being added to egg fried rice, seems to give this ordinary food a special soul. After being embellished with Guizhou’s pickled pepper, the fat, carbohydrates and protein give the taste buds a great enjoyment. Salty, fresh, fragrant and spicy are best integrated at this moment. I want to imitate Sa Beining’s tone and say: If you haven’t tried pickled pepper fried rice, you have lived in vain.

We had been to grasslands, colourful ponds, snowy mountains, isolated villages, sharp peaks and deep valleys. We understood how great the Yellow River was, what’s more, we witnessed a horse race in person, which impressed me a lot. Apart from this, we passed through an extremely cold night since there wasn’t sufficient quilt and blanket in that hotel.

Actually, I collected many videos and photos to make this vlog. I may have taken over 20 hours or more on image and video editing. When I found the photos and videos I took at that time, many experiences from that time came to my mind, which were very interesting and unforgettable. I believe that life is an adventure. I’m looking forward to my next trip and I hope life will always be on the journey.

Mt Yala

Haizi Mountain and Sister Lakes by the G318

The galaxy on the Katzilla Mountains

Mt Yala

Red lake in Kangting

A snowy mountain nearby Ranwu Lake and the sunset on it, taken by Bob.

A colorful hillside

A long road without a few cars on it, taken by Bob.

The well-known seventy-two turns on the G318

The well-known seventy-two turns, taken by Bob.

Zada soil forest in Zhada county

Zhada soil forest and Himalayas in the distance

Zhada soil forest

Namunani Peak

Mt Gang Rinpoche in Tibet, taken by Bob.

A Tibetan fox at the G318

A Tibetan Fox by the G318

A salt lake in Ngari

A few Tibetan wild donkeys in a reserve

Two Tibetan wild donkeys by the G109

The National Road 109 to Golmud, taken by Bob.

Sunset glow in Selintsok, taken by Bob.

A dark mountain nearby National Road 317, taken by Bob.

A few wild horses galloping on the Qiangtang Grassland, taken by Bob.

A single soil forest in the sunset, taken by Bob.

The road to Zada County, taken by Bob.

A Tibetan wild donkey in Ngari Prefecture, taken by Bob.

A car parking at the lakeside of Peiku-tso, taken by Bob.

A relic in Dingri County, taken by Bob.

Midui glacier nearby G318, taken by Bob.

Ranwu Lake in autumn, taken by Bob.

Mount Everest and Cho Oyu, taken by Bob.

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然而大年初一，一出门就发生了一点小插曲，我的车被别人小小的剐蹭了一下，最后报交警处理事故耽误了不少时间。原以为初一出行的人不会太多，结果就是因为处理事故耽误的时间，导致被堵在了路上，从成都到元谋原计划10小时以内的车程，第一天只走了一半。这一次行程应该是我堵车最远的一次了，不过好在晚上顺利解决了吃饭和住宿问题。（荥经县的棒棒鸡真好吃，石棉县的招待所真的，呃，性价比低）

成雅高速-雅西高速这一段路，平时就是成雅高速堵一点，过了雅安就好多了，但是大型节假日时，那个状况真是一言难尽，从雅安到西昌，即使是山路的国道可能也比高速快，但是总的来说过了西昌就很畅通了。出发时的成都，气温最高一般就是10C°+，而越往南走，进入西昌的安宁河谷之后气温就明显的高了，而且天空也明显的蓝了，开车时几乎只用穿一件单薄的外套，进入德昌县之后，下午4点的气温可达28C°+，再往南，过了攀枝花之后，高速路上车更少了，有时甚至前后见不到一辆车。根据多次来云南的经验，每次在经过永仁县时大概率可以看到非常迷人的晚霞，现场的那个感觉，就像听许巍的《旅行》的那句“看那晚霞盛开在天边，有一群向西归鸟”。而且这次很幸运的看到了七彩的祥云，这里真不愧有彩云之南的称号。晚上达到元谋之后，空气非常的温暖，气温26°C，温暖且相对干燥的风，夹杂着元谋的泥土的气息，和四川春末夏初的感觉十分接近，那是我小时候最喜欢的季节(现在也是)。

原以为元谋的好天气能够继续，谁知道第二天就降温了。明明外面都是些春天甚至是夏天才能生长的植物，人类却要穿着冬天的衣服出门。来之前我跟家人吹嘘了无数次元谋的天气有暖和云云，结果也太不给面子了。就是那什么，头天还穿着短袖呢，第二天却要穿羽绒服，搞得我只能顾左右而言他。白天去到了元谋土林，准确来说应该叫物茂土林（元谋境内还有另外一个土林叫啥来着），总的来说值回票价了。虽然天气比较冷，但游客并不少，景区停车场几乎满了，观光车也排了一小会儿队。观光车会先把游客拉到一个比较高的地方，然后有几条小路进入土林内部，一般游客都直接从观景台直接走那条比较陡峭的阶梯下到土林内部。这个土林，怎么说，可能天气是阴天吧，没有那种蓝天下映衬出来的苍凉的感觉，那也可能是曾经沧海难为水，比起之前去过的札达土林，元谋土林无论是从规模还是气势上来说都逊色太多了。不过这里也有一些优点，比如它近啊，直接动车就能到，普通游客也不会有高反。景区内部还有一个小的，呃博物馆或者陈列馆之类的来着，进去之后我才知道，原来《千里走单骑》和《无极》等电影在这里取景，那其实角度选好了，分分钟就能拍出大片，那我为什么没能拍好呢，因为我的设备不行（比较好的借口）。另外一个比较好的点是，景区内部有一部分小巷道游客可以去看看，仅能容许一人侧身通过的小通道，挤进去之后别有洞天，就像著名的羚羊谷一样，抬头即为一线天，若是碰上蓝天，配上棕红色的土壤，妥妥儿的大片。大概是这样:

土林结束后我们去元谋县城参观了元谋人博物馆，是不是脑海里浮现了中学历史开头的内容了？参观元谋人博物馆的主要目的，目前看来应该是解决三大哲学问题之一。元谋人博物馆的内容还挺丰富，而且总的来说，元谋人的只占这个博物馆的一部分内容，馆内不仅陈列了当地出图的文物，也包括其他地区的同类型的文物，比如距今约3万年前的四川资阳人，除了人类活动的各种器具（陶器、石器，农作物种子），也包含更早时期的动物化石，例如1.8米的剑齿象化石，亲眼看到和图片还是很不一样的，最后出馆时看到一些文创产品，比如奇形怪状的冰淇淋，这点似乎比故宫文创差太多。

从博物馆出来天色已完，原本找到一家大众点评分数很高的当地餐厅去吃，结果人太多，排队太久，于是去一路边小店点餐之后前往下个目的地。顺便一提，云南的小餐馆大多不给你菜单，直接去展示馆看着有啥食材就点什么，云南的时蔬真的比四川多很多，包括一些我们不知道的菜。由于元谋酒店几乎已经订完，根据我们要去的下个目的地，我们选择了去中途的武定县住宿，冷门的地方酒店多很多，价格也低一些。这个县城的新城区，看起来有很多10层+的楼房应该都个人修建，并将其用于酒店经营。

1月25日我们从武定县驱车去昆明滇池，不知道是昆明的人民也喜欢玩耍还是全国的车都来昆明了，总之就是车多，一点也不像春节期间的大城市。记得很多年前，课本上讲滇池水污染，水体富营养化，但是第一次看到滇池，水质还比较好，至少在靠近岸边的部分看起来是比较清澈的，另外这天是蓝天加上微风，给人一种春天的感觉，因此我对滇池的映像很好。滇池的南边有一片人工沙滩（应该是人工的，没有认真求证过），沙滩上很多家庭带着小孩在这里玩耍，玩沙子，放风筝，大多数人一摘下了口罩，非常热闹和欢乐的样子，对比出发前四川的湿冷，以及大家对于戴口罩的担忧，几个月之后的我仍然能感觉到两者的对比，这才是大家喜欢的生活嘛。晚上去了晋宁一家评分较高的傣家菜吃饭，我的评价是辣+酸+咸，在酸这个方面，云南和东南亚似乎都喜欢用柠檬，有一道菜用了酸笋，我妈不知道这个，中途闻到厨房传来的酸笋味还一直怀疑是外面厕所门没有关好，看来以后是不能吃螺蛳粉了。

接下来仍然是晴朗的一天，我们去到了昆明隔壁的玉溪，准确来说是澄江，也就是抚仙湖边。原以为抚仙湖名气小多了，应该人不那么多，结果堵车更甚，有句话叫云南把大理献给了全世界把抚仙湖留给了自己，这里的云南人更多。根据网上资料，抚仙湖我国最大的深水型淡水湖泊，水质也达到可以饮用的级别。我们在湖边开车转了一阵，找到了一个可以直接走到湖边的地方，这里的沙滩更细软，水也真的更清澈了。最重要的是，在这里游客很少，而且有大片的海鸥，因为原先我们在网上看的攻略，感觉要追逐到海鸥是很难的事情，现在轻易看到而且还喂到了。这一天的晚些时候，我们看到了湖面上升起的祥云，或者说不是祥云，而是一种不规则形状的彩虹。傍晚的时候，在开车追逐晚霞的时候，经过了湖东岸的一小片区域， 从山脚可以看到，从半山坡到山顶，有一片白色的房子，几乎全是现代简约（只想到这个形容词）的造型，也就是一片民宿或者独家酒店，而且审美水平较高，没有五颜六色的招牌和霓虹灯，在那种干燥的环境的下，白房子+蓝天+碧蓝的湖水 = 圣托里尼。根据网络图片，长这个样子：

这天晚上同样因为酒店不好定+下个目的地，我们继续开夜车到了阳宗海，但目的地的小镇太落后了，以至于到的时候不算太晚竟然没有一家开着的饭店，在最后只能在烧烤店来了一些蛋炒饭充饥。