The first time I tasted fresh butter directly scooped from a bucket, its texture was very much like cheese—creamy and fragrant when chewed.
The ancient towering trees with intertwined roots have stood along the Tea Horse Road for hundreds of years. Watching the passing travelers, from horse-drawn carriages to modern motor vehicles, as the wind blows, the seed pods of Denga hummingbird tree produce a melodious clattering sound like flowing water, as if telling us about the wonderful years they have experienced.
Today's biggest happiness was for Gua Gua—city dogs can run freely in the wilderness without worries, chasing butterflies, squirrels, small birds, and frogs. In the process, Gua Gua even managed to plunge into the vegetable patch! Gua Gua, you’re now a dog who has also traveled the Tea Horse Road.
We leisurely walk while picking beautiful flowers and plants, dyeing them onto our bags, and also harvesting wild vegetables that grow freely, which we then turn into delicious wild vegetable tempura. This was my first time learning that wisteria flowers are edible.
My friend Xiao Jing and I sat by the river listening to music, frying tempura, eating fruits, drinking tea, and chatting—all at the same time (ha ha ha, so many things happening simultaneously). Looking up, I noticed the sky was painted in so many colors—such a spontaneous gift from nature.
A special hiking experience begins the moment you get into the small van. Leader Wang Wang carries a bamboo basket and takes us along a path through the fields into the mountains—an authentic outdoor experience. Climbing upwards, we encounter many plants; spores and single-celled plants, once pictures in biology classes, are now real and present around us and at our feet.
The ancient fern, White Fern, which has existed since the dinosaur era, grows wildly and vigorously. At an altitude of over 2,000 meters, it loves sunlight, covering large slopes layer by layer, with the longest reaching over 3 meters.
Maungqi Fern, Silver Fern, Back Fern, Wolf's Tail Fern—each fern species looks similar but is entirely different. First time seeing the immature Yunnan Walnut Tree, smelling the pure pine aroma from the natural pine on the pine tree, very refreshing. Tasted Wang Wang Test's rare edible rose, with a slightly sour taste. Under the microscope, fern spores look like eggs, and the leaf shape resembles ancient war halberds—small flowers. Also, wild strawberries, wild tea, and numerous complex plant species whose scientific names are hard to remember—Wang Wang knows them all thoroughly.
During walking and stopping, I felt the energy brought by the mountains, forests, and trees, and also enjoyed the simple, honest communication with Leader Wang Wang and fellow companions. On the way down the mountain, I asked Wang Wang if walking the same route so many times would become less interesting, and Wang Wang shared that plants in different seasons have completely different appearances and discoveries.
Yes, in the world of plants, there are always new stories happening—long, quiet interactions with the world in their own way.
By far my favourite activity around Dali. My guide You took me on an amazing tour through the forest. She has loads of knowledge on local plants, trees and the history of the temple. I got to learn a lot of things and could ask her anything, but could also spend some time in silence exploring the forest. The forest is so valuable and I feel honoured to experience with such an outstanding experience
The scenery Arura found was so beautiful. Even with kids, it wasn’t difficult to enjoy the experience that the pasture and snow-capped mountains brought — we loved it!
As a diligent user of Little Red Book for 11 years, with an annual reading volume of 23.154 million words, I found the OTC town through the 'Adult Study Tour Project' notes and experienced the platform concept of 'exploring local connections' during this event. A day before the activity, the staff set up a WeChat group chat including the platform, host, and consumers. The host prepared event insurance, agreed on the meeting time, location, and main content of the activity in advance.
Our leader, Yang Mi, was already waiting at the location in a storytelling van and actively engaged us in conversation along the way. The activities took place in the wetland park, at a Rushan cheese-making shop, and on the banks of the Miyu River. Looking back, except for a sick puppy that didn’t attend, everything matched the pictures displayed on the mini-program. During the processes of collecting plants, making eco-printing, and vegetable tempura, our experience and the completeness of the products were fully considered, and patient teaching and friendly chatting accompanied us throughout. The leader took photos throughout the event and shared them in the WeChat group on the same day after the activity, showing great sense and efficiency.
With kindness and a feeling of closeness, I would guess our leader’s MBTI type is INTJ. If you see this review, feel free to take the test ^. Our leader is a woman with low material desires, full of love for fields and mountains, experienced yet still childlike, exuding a natural wildness. She patiently and sincerely answered all questions. On the return trip to Dali that day, it started raining, and after we requested to be dropped off near our homestay, considering the specific circumstances, she readily agreed and dropped us right at the doorstep. With gratitude, I write this review, hoping things will continue to improve.
Absolutely stunning trail! Although the journey takes about an hour and a half, it’s totally worth it.
The difficulty is also okay; there’s only an elevation gain of about 300 meters at the beginning, and then it becomes very flat. The scenery is breathtaking, with each section having its own unique charm. The trail conditions are diverse—stone paths, forests, meadows, and pine needle paths—making it far from monotonous.
Huanhuan brought a lot of snacks, and even hot tea! Eating in the mountains felt so satisfying!! Along the way, Huanhuan introduced us to various plants in great detail. Look at the last picture—Huanhuan was so dedicated, lying on the ground to take pictures of us, hahaha! I will definitely recommend this route and the guide to my friends!
The day before, I heard fellow participants in Xipo mention how beautiful this route is, highly recommending it.
Today, I followed Wangwang and Tailor along the Cloud Ridge. I bought some delicious food from Posh Stone and set off happily. The car ride passed by with eating, drinking, and laughter shared with my companions.
The short climb at the beginning was a bit challenging for someone like me who doesn’t exercise much. I had to stop frequently to rest, but thankfully the pace was slow and not strenuous. A small part of the scenery is shown in the photos (I think aesthetics are subjective).
). My friend and I both felt that the forest was beautiful, the interplay of light and shadow was stunning, and being in the forest felt relaxing and comfortable. When we got tired, we just sat wherever we wanted. Midway, the sunlight was perfect, and the environment was so cozy that I took a little nap—it was delightful~ This trail was quiet, healing, and stress-relieving... The scenery was beautiful, and the conversations with fellow hikers were fun and interesting! The guides and fellow hikers were all considerate in taking photos for each other, capturing many satisfying shots. Wishing all fellow travelers a pleasant journey!
The Cloud Ridge hike was very special. Along the way, we experienced an incredibly rich variety of terrains, and each section of the path allowed us to touch completely different natural textures. Even though I’m an avid hiker, I still found it fascinating!
Our guide, Tailor, didn’t talk much, but he was very sincere. He genuinely spent the whole day chatting with my child about Naruto—it was an entire day! Several times, I secretly worried that my child might be too bothersome, but Tailor never showed any impatience or敷衍, responding thoughtfully to every word.
I’ve always believed that anyone willing to listen carefully to children must be very kind-hearted.
Before we left, I showed my child the profiles of each guide, hoping he would notice the unique qualities of each person. When we got home, he was so enchanted that he asked me to look them up again. Combining the bits and pieces Tailor occasionally shared about his own experiences during the day, my child filled in the gaps with his own imagination, mixing fact and fiction to create a mythical image of Tailor. In the end, he concluded: 'Mom, I think Tailor is the coolest. I’ve never met anyone who loves Naruto so much that they opened a ramen shop related to it—I really admire him!'
Thank you to Tailor’s dog, Guobao, for providing half of the emotional support, and thank you to Tailor for creating this wonderful memory for my child. I think this memory will stay with him for a long time: In that special February, he had a very unique day with Tailor and Guobao.
