Summer Road Trip (July - August 2025)
Overview
It is the first time I have taken such a long roadtrip: 4 glorious weeks. And with my partner and kid. We decided to explore China more in the next few years, and for the trip this time we wanted to know more about our home province, Yunnan. Our daily driver, a 15-year old Suzuki Landy mini-van reliably & comfortably completed the ~2200km journey with minimal fuss. We packed everything we needed: tents, cutlery, kitchenware, food, portable power station, and even an ukulele.
Our main itinerary was rather simple: Ailao mountain (哀牢山), Dinosaur Valley (恐龙谷), Lijiang (丽江), Shangri-la (香格里拉), and other random places that pique our interests.
Ailao Mountain
We decided to come here because of a friend who runs a hotel here. We invited a friend and their children to join us, and eventually 6 families came together for a trip that was organized organically. I had zero expectations, and also I did no research on what we are going to do for 5 days. We heard a lot about the forests here from the friend who runs the hotel, saying how raw and untouched it is, but only when we entered the forest did we realize how beautiful and mystical this place it. I was immediately enamored. We were surrounded by trees that has been there for hundreds of years, ancient tea trees that are taller than all of us. Although there is precipitation 200+ days out of the year, the rain only added to the mystique, and made us want to explore even more.
Dinosaur Valley
We learned about the Lufengsaurus through The Magic School Bus series of books. The Lufeng Dinosaur Valley Scenic Spot has a pretty good dinosaur museum where you can see quite a few complete dinosaur skeletons there, obviously the Lufengsaurus and the 25 meter long Chuanjiesaurus.
Lijiang
We met up with some friends and stayed in Nanyao Cun (南尧村) which is situated north of Lashihai (拉市海) that is about 25mins drive from Lijiang. I have visited Lijiang, YuLong Snow Mountain (玉龙雪山) and Tiger Leaping Gorge (虎跳峡) a long time ago. Coming back to this area, randomly exploring and driving around to different villages and places, allowed us to discover some real gems, and different places that we would not normally go. I never understood why Tiger Leaping Gorge was impressive and I only understood it when we drove along the road that follows the Jinsha Jiang (金沙江) as it cuts across through the Yulong Snow Mountain and Haba Snow Mountain (哈巴雪山). I suppose the mountains there really made an impression on me. Based on Naxi culture, mountains are sacred pillars supporting the sky. I have always dreamed about climbing a snow mountain. We also visited some small villages, and alpine lakes around the area, and I would like to go back to again to do some serious hiking.
Shangri-la
I have not read James Hilton’s book yet. But you can sense and feel that the skies are bluer and hearts purer here. As we drove towards Pudacuo National Park (普达措), we were stopping at the various rest stops as they also doubled as viewing platforms for the numerous peaks that is scattered across Deqen (迪庆) prefecture. Apparently there are 118 peaks above 5000 meters in Yunnan, and at least 13 peaks above 6000 meters. Snow mountains galore! As per Tibetian culture, mountains are spiritual places that are holy and sacred, and I guess for me, that is really drawing me towards this place.
We spent around a week here, but the first couple of days the kid was unwell, so we just took time to rest. The old town was really packed with people, I suppose also due to it being the school summer holidays. You see many folks that are wearing traditional clothes but are actually tourists, and also apparently the clothes have been adapted for modern aesthetics.
We had some interactions with some locals, and you can feel and sense that religion is a big foundation of their lives, in the way they think and behave. When they have time, they will plan time to do Kora, a Tibetian pilgrimage.
Camping and other highlights
One of the main highlights of the trip was the camping. We packed all the things we need to be self-sufficient, so that we can stop anywhere and rest for the night. We spent about 4 nights camping, always choosing the more scenic places, although sometimes not the best places to sleep. Unfortunately, it rained every time we camped.
The other highlight were the delightful little towns or villages that we passed by:
- Chenghai (程海) is like a mini Dali, but without any tourists or touristy things. An interesting feature is that the lake is a closed system, but since it is not getting replenished sufficiently, it might dry out eventually. And also it is one of the few lakes where spirulina is found naturally.
- Tacheng Town (塔城镇) is a small Tibetian town in Weixi (维西) that many folks will visit when they go to see the snub-nosed monkey. Besides that Tacheng is actually known for growing grapes that produce really good ice wine, a Bodhidharma cave, and just an overall nice small town. If you want to get some peace and quiet from the more touristic parts of Yunnan, come here.
- Boduoluo Village (波多罗村), if you can’t find it in the map, it is about 9-10km from Nanyao Village, quite close to Yangyuchang (洋芋厂). It is a tiny village above 3000 meters elevation, where you can find Yi people. There are numerous hiking trails where you reach to Wenhai (文海) and eventually climb one of the Yulong peaks.
- Liming - Laojunshan (黎明-老君山), this place is like China’s Yosemite. A great place to see Danxia landforms on red sandstone, and a great place for rock climbing. Unfortunately, the national park is closed (as of late 2024), and the entrances are closed, so you need to be a bit creative to explore the paths that are partially blocked.
Final thoughts
All in all, a great road trip. I came away feeling there is so much to do and explore in Yunnan, and I personally want to spend more time in certain places, and also many places that we did not even get to.
