Day 1#
From Lijiang to Dali, I took the double-decker green train Y762. It was my first time taking a double-decker train, and I had a hard sleeper ticket instead of a hard seat. The train stopped and went for three hours, and we passed by Erhai Lake for a short time.
After arriving in Dali, I left the train station and couldn't see any cars on the road next to the station. I had to cross the overpass to the other side to take a bus. I originally wanted to take a taxi, but an older man said that taxi drivers couldn't go to Dali Ancient City for some unknown reason. So I took bus route 8 to Dali Ancient City, which took about 50 minutes.
After checking into the hotel, I went to explore the ancient city in the evening. It was crowded with people, like a flowing river. I walked around, stopped to look at things, but I was already tired of the ancient city in Lijiang, so I didn't stay long and went back early to rest and prepare for the next day's visit to Erhai Lake.
Day 2#
I rented an electric scooter (50 yuan) and set off to see Erhai Lake (west route). Along the west route of Erhai Lake, I could only ride a bicycle, not an electric scooter. The first stop was Cai Village, where I took some photos along the shore of Erhai Lake (besides taking photos, people were also playing in the water). I enjoyed the scenery of the sky and the distant sea.
Cai Village
I rode the electric scooter around randomly and ended up going to a farmhouse to have a meal.
Later, I went to Guanhai Ting, where an old man was playing in the water.
I also went to the popular S Bay for a photo opportunity.
Day 3#
I moved from the west route of Erhai Lake to the east route. Along the east route of Erhai Lake, I could ride an electric scooter. So I rented another electric scooter (60 yuan) and followed the shore of Erhai Lake. I occasionally stopped to take photos, and the final destination was to go to Ideal Land. The architecture of Ideal Land is perfect for taking photos and it was crowded with people. To go up to the rooftop of Ideal Land for photos, I had to order food. From Ideal Land, I could see the island across the sea (Haidong Island?). The recommendation for Ideal Land was not very high, but the scenery on the east route felt more abundant compared to the west route.
Ideal Land
There are many places to visit in Dali, and you will realize that they are not as ideal as they seem. For example, a ditch or a pavilion can become a tourist attraction. Many attractions are beautiful on Little Red Book (a popular Chinese social media platform), and then everyone rushes to visit and take photos.