Yunnan (云南)
10:48 PM
China is famous with its
long and fascinating history, but very few people aware of its magnificent
beauty of nature. I have had the opportunity to live in China for 4 years, and
as a graduation gift back in 2015 I could pick one place to travel around China. I originally
planned to go to Yili (伊犁) but somehow I changed my mind and picked Yunnan (云南) instead. And
it was also a great decision!
Yunnan
(云南) is
probably the most diverse province in all China, located in the southwest
region in China, bounded by the Tibet Autonomous Region, bordering with Myanmar
(Burma), Laos and Vietnam. It has both extraordinary mix of cultures, peoples
and breathtaking landscapes. There are three major cities to visit Dali, Lijiang and Shangri-La that offers its unique atmosphere and culture.
- Dali (大理)
One of the most peaceful place I've ever been to. Recommended by my lecturer to stay at the hotel near Erhai Lake (洱海胡)
Erhai Lake's view from my hotel's balcony 
- Lijiang (丽江)
There are 2 Old Towns located in Lijiang, one is the famous Lijiang Old Town (丽江古城) always packed with visitors from all around the country and globes. Because it's always full of people and tourist, I didn't really feel like an old town at all. It has McDonalds, Pizza Hut, Starbucks etc that's why I prefer the other one, Shuhe Ancient Town (束河古城). Shuhe Ancient Town is a smaller compared to Lijiang Old Town but offers more "traditional" atmosphere. If you're seeking a quite afternoon leisure, Shuhe is definitely a place to visit.
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| Shuhe Ancient Town |
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| Jade Dragon Snow Mountain |
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| Blue Moon Valley |
- Shangri-La (香格里拉)
The highlight of this trip, the border to Tibet. In Tibetan, Shangri-La means "the sun and the moon in heart", an ideal home only found in Heaven. As a Chinese saying goes, "The earliest sunrise is seen in Shangri-La; and the most unique place is also there". Shangri-La is suitable for those who seek a beautiful landscape.
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| Songzanlin Monastery |
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| Potatso National Park |
Travelling in China can be
tough for some people, and I've been getting a lot of stories about bad
experiences my relatives had. I am very aware that China is probably not on
everyone's top destination lists, mainly due to the language barrier and all
the hygiene issues. But as someone who had been living in China for quite some
time, I think I could bear it all since I have adapted to the culture (quite)
well and I also speak the language (a little tho).
Here are the few things you
might want to know before travelling to China:
1. Toilets without doors
I’ve heard that you could
still find stalls without doors in China, but never experienced it myself until
I went to Yunnan. It was during our journey to Shangri-La, we had to take 15
mins stop. When I went inside the toilet, I saw one stall had no door, thought
that the door was broken so I went to another stall and found there was no door
either. When I started looking around and tadaaaaaaa! Every stall has no door
and I saw one middle aged women was in the “deep” you know …. I couldn’t bear
it and went outside.
2. Standing train ticket does exist!
In China it is possible to purchase
a standing-only train ticket. When I took an overnight train from Kunming to
Dali, instead of taking the sleeping one, we took the hard-seat one. And it was
the longest 7 hours in my life I swear. Me and my friend couldn’t go
anywhere since we were afraid that somebody’s gonna take our seat while we were
away. Getting it back? No way, once they had the seat, they won’t give it away
even though they had standing only ticket (well that’s how it works in China). Sitting
straight for 7 hours while hugging our luggage, afraid of thieves or
pickpockets, thinking about how we protect our belongings. I even witnessed
somebody climbing up to the place where we put our luggage up (idk what to call) to sleep there. AMAZING!
3. Spitting everywhere
It’s just like a nation’s
habit. I’m used to it, BUT that doesn’t mean that I also do the same thing, but what can
you do? With people spitting in front of your eyes every single damn day, are
you gonna tell them one by one? Hell no. One of my friends used to live in
Harbin, the northern part of China where the summer’s average temperature will be
around 15 degrees and -40 degrees in winter. He told me that when people spit
on the floor, it will directly turn to ice during winter. Owkay and bye.
Regardless of many
"unbelievable" things, I’m glad I could experience this all. Despite
so many “habits” we couldn’t bear to see, it’s hard not to fall in love with
China.
"When you travel, remember that a foreign country is not designed to make you comfortable. It is designed to make its own people comfortable."
– Clifton Fadiman
The one who is trapped in the
office for quite some time,
Shirley Wijaya
1 comments
Aaaa love this post! ❤
ReplyDeleteNyesel banget deh 4 tahun di China nggak sempet traveling, at least pernah ke Beijing sih, katanya nggak ke China kalo nggak ke Great Wall ��
香格里拉 definitely a beautiful place. The Potatso scenery was just breathtaking!