Travelling in Yunnan

2013.1.7
The sceneries outside the train were very grand with majestic mountains and valleys. Patches of green fields scattered here and there in the scarce flat lands. Some villages assembled at the foot of the mountains.

Our destination was Dali, a beautiful and leisurely town, with nice weathers all the year round. Now, it was winter, very comfortable and warm. The wind was soft and soothing. Willow branches were tossing.
The buildings were orderly set, like a chessboard. They were of ancient styles, built of wooden structures with white walls and black roofs. On the white walls were drawn beautiful black pictures and on the big red doors were copper-like decorations.
A lot of springs gushed out from the ground. Many shops sold various kinds of exquisite and colorful artifacts, like scarves, necklaces and bracelets and so on. The precious stone shops sold a lot of smooth and mirror-like stones carved with vivid and beautiful sceneries. One stone had a red tinted sunrise.
At night, the crescent moon hung in the enchantingly deep blue sky, alongside many bright twinkling stars. Quaint yellowish lamps were lit. I also saw a very cute little furry dog.

Erhai Lake was very beautiful, reflecting the sapphire blue sky and white clouds. The waves lapped against the lakeside stones. Some trees grew in the water, leaves rustling in the wind. A lot of dark-orange wild ducks glided in the lake, calling to each other boisterously.
By the lake, there were also some deep blue small ponds where tall reed stalks swayed in the wind. The waves rippled softly, dazzling and silvery in the sunshine. Sometimes, flocks of birds bustled out and flew across the sky.

2013.1.8

Today I went to a big fantastic cave. The road zigzagged up and down. I walked along, touched and felt the bizarre-shaped coarse stones, like monsters, skeletons and teeth and so on. The cave walls were lit by colorful lights. Some tapeworm shaped stalactites hung down from the tops.
It was dim and quiet. In one place, there was a hole where people could see a peep of sunlight shining through all the teeth-like and crude stone holes.
Outside of the dark cave, it was a grand view from the mountain top. Sweeps of clouds were floating in the blue sky. Underneath were the green satin-like lake, spreading villages, fields and majestic mountains. A lot of mountains here had small and round humps on top. In the distance, it was very misty.
I also visited the three pagodas, one big in the middle flanked with two smaller ones. The light gray pagodas were tall and slender. By the side, a lot of stalls sold colorful artifacts, such as light brown gourds.
Yesterday night, when I got outside in the deep night, I was surprised to see multitudes of stars dazzling in the deep blue sky. Above my head, some star resembled a question mark.

2013.1.11

Early morning, the sky was light gray. Patches of dark gray clouds chased in the sky. There were a lot of flower pots with colorful and bright flowers in blossom.

2013-1-13

In the morning, the sky was light blue. It felt quiet, fresh and crisp. Old trees thrust out smoke-like dry and thin gray branches into the blue sky. The birds were very boisterous, chirping noisily in the trees.
I treaded on the stone paved street, touched the walls and tried to feel the passed times here.
The sunshine sifted down upon the roofs and the  winding river. People washed and brushed things there. By the riverside, some old willows stretched forth bare limbs. A lot of red and golden fish swam about in the river.