1st January: Dali, China
The midnight fireworks last night were amazing! We did not expect this at all but after building up all evening, it went crazy at 12. From the hotel roof, there were rockets in all directions near and far. We could see people on balconies and roofs lighting more and down in the streets people were celebrating with giant sparklers. It went on through the night, with bangs until at least 3am. So, China (or at least Dali) does celebrate Gregorian New Year!
We were up early on our final full day in Dali for two reasons. Firstly, to see the sun rise from this amazing vantage point and, secondly, as 8 am here was midnight back in the UK. With hot teas in hand, we wandered up as the eastern sky began to glow. I called Mum and she took a break from losing to Granny at Trionimos! I heard the bells chiming from Big Ben over the phone and wished them all a happy new year. For a long while Changshan was glowing purple and, eventually, the sun popped up over the hills on the far side of Lake Erhai. 2025 had begun.
Today was also the morning market on the streets surrounding the hotel. It was enormous, with stalls along both sides and the middle of a kilometre or more of two parallel streets, all of the side streets, and filling an area of spare ground in between. It was incredibly vibrant in the morning sun, with very type of fruit and veg imaginable for sale from a range of sellers throughout. The giant mushrooms, half a metre across looked incredible! Huge barrels of chillies were being ground into chilli powder. Meats, including whole cow heads were available too, if that’s your vibe.
Otherwise, there were huge sections of plants, home goods, Bai fabrics, various art supplies and anything else you could wish for. We found lots of snacks, of course. I had an amazingly fragrant local V60 coffee from beans which had been soaked in jasmine, green tea, and lemon. The corn pancakes were so good that we went back for seconds. For a sweet hit we took a chocolate filled glutinous treat, which was kind of like a giant mochi rolled and cut into slices. Finally, we took a small piece of ‘rock honey’ – I was fairly sure it was fake, and a bit of research seems to confirm.
After some more trip planning and research on the roof, snacking on the market treats and some fresh kumquats, we caught a local bus to Lake Erhai. The sun felt strong, and I finally got around to trying the funky pomelo coffee – literally just pomelo juice with a double espresso on top and some ice – which was surprisingly refreshing! 12km of the lakeshore on this side have been turned into a nature reserve with a walking and cycling trail, which was being well used today. Ducks dived under the blue waters, resurfacing with bits of underwater plants. Huge fish occasionally leapt and audibly splashed back into the alpine lake. People, of course, posed for endless photos in questionable ‘traditional dress’. We walked a few kilometres south, stopping to take in the tranquillity. Our time in Dali has been fantastic. I’d thoroughly recommend Yunnan to anyone for a two-to-three-week trip.
Heading back into the old town, we got ourselves a few different dishes from the same restaurant as yesterday. We took the concertinaed deep fried aubergine and a fascinating dish of ‘steamed pork’ – thinly sliced yam, with tofu inside and stuck together with a rice gluten ‘fatty rind’ – on a bed of pickled beans. It was lovely with rice, although not quite as good as what I had yesterday.
After a final wander back through the ancient city, our time in Dali and indeed high-altitude Yunnan was coming to a close.
