Lijiang's Natural Environment is Truly Beautiful - Blue Moon Valley is Really Wonderful
My itinerary was a self-drive from Lijiang to Daqing. Lijiang was one of the stops, overall it had good and bad experiences. The good part was the initial foundation was solid, having visited too many ancient towns, many were newly constructed replicas, Lijiang was genuinely well-established, and the natural environment was truly stunning, Blue Moon Valley was genuinely beautiful. The bad part was mainly caused by humans; I had an itinerary pre-booked, including snow mountain cable car tickets, but a few days before my departure, I received a text message saying it was being maintained and wouldn't be open that day, resulting in me not being able to go to the snow mountain, so I just wandered around Blue Moon Valley.
Then there was one day when I went to eat in the old town and discovered that the police were checking license plates, but they were only checking license plates for foreigners! As the comments mentioned 'local protection,' it's clear to see. Though it was bad, it was still worth going. Here are a few experiences: Travel during the off-season, avoid going to Xiexi Village during Chinese New Year, or during National Day, choose sightseeing like the Flag Raising Field, which is crowded and prices are high. During the off-season, there are discounts on flights, hotels, and even tickets. More often, you can't choose the time of your trip because you only have a few vacation days, so you have to rely on high-degree freedom travel.
This included transportation, accommodation, and tickets, and don't expect local day tours. This time in Yunnan had no contact with travel agencies, traveling across cities by high-speed rail, and taking trains when there was no high-speed rail. Whenever I arrived in a city, I would first rent a car. It took four and a half hours to drive to Lugu Lake on a mountain road, and I still didn't hesitate to rent a car. This gave us more time and space to travel, we could go wherever we wanted, whenever we wanted, and we could eat whatever we wanted. Of course, we needed to pay attention to driving safety. It's important to do thorough research, not just to know what places to go and for how long, but to research the route and plan the time in advance.
Especially for scenic area tickets, book them in advance if possible, you'll get discounts and avoid the risk of queuing or being scammed. Planning in detail where to rent a car, where to exchange currency, where to park the hotel, and which areas in the scenic area you can drive to. Although it's complicated, it will definitely make the trip smoother. Don't chase cheap deals, because travel is ultimately about spending money. Determine your budget and go to as many places as possible. Many people say 'budget travel' how, I also sometimes do budget travel, but to do budget travel, you need to be prepared for the hard work and hardship during the trip, and don't have too high expectations based on false guides.
Because of the above preparations, this Yunnan trip did not encounter any bad experiences or grievances (it may also be because five guys were traveling together, scammers would also be a little wary). Yunnan is actually beautiful, delicious, and most people are good, but the previous negative news has eroded people's trust in traveling to Yunnan, and has prompted local people to make some changes, all of which are developing in a standardized direction.
