Hidden Gems of Northwest Yunnan

Author: Jin Xianming, Editor-in-Chief
Publisher:
Publishing Date: 1999-12-01
Features: Open the album, follow the mysterious crimson gate of the cover illustration, and behold a landscape of exquisite beauty at every glance, a step revealing intricate patterns. Overlapped into my memory, it vividly brings forth a realm of majestic mountains and waters. Northwest Yunnan, where my dream of exploration lingers. Northwest Yunnan, where my deep affection dwells. It is indeed a hidden realm. Accompanied by blooming blossoms, it has gained fame worldwide, welcoming all. Yet, too many heroes and legends are embedded in its splendid landscapes, nourished by its cultural soil, and shining in the new rhythm of the century. Endless exploration, endless appreciation, yet always secrets waiting to be discovered, wonders waiting to be unveiled. Hidden realms are ancient realms. Linked by antiquity, that kind of tranquil stream— a series of paintings forming a transverse belt, for billions of years supporting the giants of Cangshan, Yulongshan, and Taizishan, with a corner of phoenix-like beauty. A leisurely tea-horse road, for thousands of yearsing the pearls of Dali, Lijiang, and Diqing, shining with radiant light. A thousand years of Naxi history, depicting the harmonious prosperity of Tibetan, Bai, and Naxi brothers. In a golden and brilliant corridor, the cultures of Nanzhou-Dali, Dai, Tibetan, and Bai rose together, shining in mutual brilliance.
Hidden realms are intoxicating realms. The blue sky, white clouds, brilliant snow, and abundant flowers— how can one not be intoxicated! Ancient mountains, ancient seas, ancient temples, ancient pagodas, ancient grottoes, ancient scriptures, ancient days, and ancient music, intertwined with the "worldly unique" ancient cultural essence, a once-in-a-thousand-years encounter— how can one not be intoxicated! Strolling around Erhai Lake, tasting the three teas of Jinhuangjie, rowing a single-log boat on Lugu Lake, listening to a Mosuo love song, admiring the rhododendrons of Bitahai, drinking fragrant Tibetan butter tea from rainwood bowls— how can one not be intoxicated with emotion!
The deeper the hidden realm, the more intoxicating it becomes. Hence the saying: "To go to Kunming without Dali is foolish, to go to Dali without Lijiang is a lifetime of regret, to go to Lijiang without Diqing is a great miscalculation."
Dali, the land of literature, the former capital of Nanzhou-Dali, where the brilliance of the past lingers, leaving one intoxicated. The Taoist mountain Wibao Mountain, the Buddhist mountain Jizushan, the grotto mountain Shibao Mountain— these are the artistic mountains I have engraved in my memory. Xinggong Tower, where the fragrance reaches a thousand li, intoxicating spring flowers. Diequan, Shégǔ Pagoda, Guanyintang, Dehua Stele, Duan Gong Tomb, General Cave, the Three Pagodas of Chongsheng Temple, and the Wangfu Cliff— all exude a history of legends, joys, and sorrows, leaving one to savor repeatedly. Climbing the steps, singing and intoxicating; if not for the refreshing breeze awakening the Tang, the March Street flowers flowing and urging, the bustling streets adorned with red-dyed and tie-dyed Dali stone crafts, who wouldn’t worry about drowning in the glow of ancient civilization?
The magical river, with its outstanding scenery and cities, dazzlingly beautiful. The world’s most renowned ancient city ruins, Dayan Town, with its three courtyards and one courtyard, flower gardens and residential houses arranged neatly, willows swaying in green, clear springs flowing around the houses, fragrant flowers filling the streets, and the lingering sound of Naxi ancient music. What a intoxicating small realm! And then there are the jade-like Yulong Snow Mountain, the naturally formed Wejiang Bay, the Elephant Mountain Heavy Spring Black Dragon Pool, the red clouds covering ten thousand tea blossoms, the Jin Valley Cloud Pine Plateau, Foshan Wenfu Peak, Baoshan Stone City, Bai Sha Ancient Murals, the peerless Jamba Scriptures, the Dongba paintings and dances, and the matrilineal marriage culture of Anzu on the shores of Lugu Lake— all forming a mysterious and magical tourism world, allowing you to gaze freely and indulge in the west and east.
Golden ears and jadely adorned Diqing, where snow peaks compete in height and grandeur, grasslands like endless embroidered felt invite rolling, white waterfalls like a hundred-meter silver ladder, Tiger Leaping Gorge adorned with artistic wonders, dense forests lush and green, rhododendrons forming mountains and seas, several lakes with crystal-clear eyes, the Golden Buddha Temple and Jambaling Temple with fluttering prayer flags and the sound of Buddha’s blessings— the Dragon Boat Festival horse races with a hundred sour winds and flying arrows piercing the clouds, a truly unique secret hue!
When the Tibetan daytime watchtower blows a welcoming horn, the ears ring with the sound of yaks, and the mouth sips the clear and refreshing caterpillar fungus and highland barley wine— truly, if one is not intoxicated now, when else?
Hidden realms intoxicate, ancient realms intoxicate, and the scenery intoxicates! The contemporary vibrancy of Northwest Yunnan, soaring and flourishing, is even more intoxicating! Step out of the album, into the real hidden realm, picking poems, picking days, picking emotions, picking dreams, picking the past and the present, picking spiritual abundance— one will pick a joyful and contented intoxication.
As the poem goes:
"West Yunnan journey amidst colorful clouds,
With the eye of heaven alone, admiring the grandeur.
Boundless scenery is as mellow as wine,
Fragrance reaches a thousand li, intoxicating spring breeze."