The light rain, the deep alleys, and the dark brown stone road are the Dali we are familiar with, but the deep blue sky, the rolling mountains surround the dam, and the daily life of the Bai family on a lake in the dam will make you feel that this is not really Dali, because everything here brings a little bit of the softness of Jiangnan Water Town.
Here is Dali Eryuan West Lake, a "plateau Jiangnan Water Town" not far from the ancient city of Dali.
"Eryuan West Lake" hides infinite secrets and familiarity from the name.
"Eryuan" is a county under the jurisdiction of Dali Prefecture, because this place is the head of the water source of the Erhai Sea, so it is named Eryuan.
At this point, people can't help but ask: Why is there a connection between a county town on a plateau and the West Lake in the Jiangnan region?
The answer to this question is all in the text, if you want to know, please read on!
Erhai West Lake is a scenic spot, but it is not like a scenic spot, because it is not crowded with people, no one is surging and the Bai families here still maintain the original calm and simple way of life.
As a tourist, we need to be curious to enjoy a journey at all times, because every trip is a re-departure, and only by remaining curious at all times can we discover the highlights of the journey.
At this time, it is autumn, the characteristics of the rainy season in Yunnan are no longer obvious, there is no summer heat, the autumn wind is slightly cool, we go to the Erhai West Lake with questions, and swim in this remote landscape.
If Dali only relies on natural scenery, we seem to be unable to distinguish the four seasons, because the four seasons here are not much different, and the snow covered on the top of Cangshan Mountain is not only winter, but also may be spring, and continuous rain may be summer or autumn.
This phenomenon is true throughout Yunnan, as is the Eryuan West Lake, which belongs to Dali, regardless of the four seasons, but only between the dry water period and the abundant water period.
Through the narrow door, through the not very wide path, suddenly open, the distant mountains are far away, the peaks are green, the blue sky and white clouds are very close, clear and long, the lake under this sky is quiet and soft, shining with warm light.
Eryuan West Lake in autumn still belongs to the abundant water period, drink enough water Eryuan West Lake round rolling, slowly approaching, small boats parked on the shore, the lotus flowers of the lotus pond on the shore have long been lost, leaving only leaves, ospreys lazily basking in the sun on the side of the wooden boat.
The scenery of Eryuan West Lake and the Erhai Sea are similar, the water surface is calm, the breeze is gentle, and the low local houses where the water banks meet are connected one after another, converging into pieces, and the peaks of the great shores in the distance are like a generous embrace that embraces everything here.
Leisurely, quiet, emerald green, color, scenery, life is not lacking, everything is charming!
Choose a wooden boat with local characteristics, follow the rowers dressed in Bai costumes, and sail slowly in the lake path to watch the water and grass sway, watch the lake ducks fight, watch the water birds fly low and circle, watch the green grass, and a breeze set off ripples in a circle.
Boats and people quietly skimmed past the houses of the people in the West Lake, startled the "hermits" in the reeds, listened to a symphony of natural music, and then followed the boat to the deeper part of the West Lake...
Tall reeds obscure the wide waterway, the houses that appear from time to time are close at hand, and the taste of Jiangnan Water Town is like the old wine of Kaifeng.
The boat was a little closer, and suddenly I saw the thin boy salvaging the water and grass, and a house on the shore not far away was also connected by a laneway.
The houses in Eryuan West Lake are not high-rise buildings, all are red-walled Daiwa or white-walled Daiwa two-story courtyards, which is a unique architectural method in Yunnan and the unique architectural color of Dali, which looks from a distance and the surrounding environment is unified as the same whole, which can be called "water people's homes".
The half-dead branches on the side of the house are soaked in the water, and the vitality and depression coexist, becoming a unique landscape.
Two hours, wandering around on eryuan West Lake, no need for you to discern the direction, just slowly put all the scenery into the eyes, the journey at this time is slow and quiet, such a journey atmosphere is everyone who likes Dali people like.
It is essential to come to Eryuan West Lake to swim in the lake, but it is also essential to eat local specialties, where the food has local characteristics of Eryuan or Dali, which is very authentic, and both the method and taste are different from other places.
In the whole Eryuan and even Dali is the most famous, the most popular local specialties are three courses, raw skin, sea vegetables (water-based poplar flowers), sour and spicy fish, these three dishes are also Dali's signature cuisine.
Almost every household in Dali will make these three dishes, of which sour and spicy fish is the most common dish, which is a hundred flavors, but almost all of them are mainly sour and spicy.
The most unique of the three dishes is also "sea vegetables" and "raw skins", which are unique in that they are scarce in raw materials, cannot be grown purely wild, and the seasonality is very obvious.
The biggest feature of this dish is the difficulty of production and the selection of materials, although it is also a representative dish but not a home-cooked dish, but in most restaurants in Dali can taste this dish, but the authenticity of the dipping water determines the deliciousness of this dish, so be sure to choose the local authentic Bai restaurant.
The water of Eryuan West Lake, the unique wooden boat of Eryuan West Lake, the quiet environment of Eryuan West Lake, the authentic local food of Eryuan West Lake, the whole West Lake with the comfortable atmosphere of Jiangnan, it is also a veritable plateau on the "West Lake", which has also become another leisure lake in Dali after the Erhai Sea!
Text & Typography: Read Yunnan Yijing
Image: Some of the images are provided by Dali Tourism Group, if there is infringement, please contact to delete.
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