Yunnan - Day 4

Day 4, Tuesday – We went to Dali by bus. The journey was around 5 hours. The wind is stronger in Dali and the air is cooler and dryer. Er Hai is a very huge lake with shape of an ear. Er Hai Park is a small park located at the South of the lake. There’s nothing much to see there. Dali Museum is another boring place located inside the Dali Old Town. Tian Long Ba Bu Movie Studio is an artificial place built for the filming of Jin Yong stories. Jin Yong is a famous writer for the martial arts stories. There are several countries in the studio, built based on the stories by Jin Yong.

The Bai minority have been ruling Dali for 50 years. For the Bai minority, we can recognize whether a lady is single, engage or married by their hats. The hat is known as 风花雪月 (“Feng Hua Xue Yue”). For single ladies, their hats are of ½ moon shape. For married ladies, their hats are of full moon shape. It is a tradition that any man who touches a ladies’ hat must work for her for three years, unless the girl shows no interest in the man. For single ladies, when they reach the age of 18, their mothers will give their daughter a jade. This jade has been passed down for generations and will be inherited by the eldest daughter of the family.

The 3 cups of tea by the Bai Minority is something unique. The 1st cup is a bitter, the 2nd cup is sweet and the 3rd cup is a bit spicy. This also represents the sweet and bitterness of our life. For proposal, the man must prepare 6 pots of wine, 6 boxes of cigarettes, 6 chickens and a jade for the lady being proposed. The wine, cigarettes and chickens are for her parents to show his sincerity. If a lady is married, there’ll be jade on both hands. During weddings, the bride will wear sunglasses. It is said to hide her tears on the wedding day. Villagers, passersby, relatives and friends can give their blessings to the bride by pinching her. For the Bai minority house, there are 2 levels. The lower level is to stay while the upper level is to keep food.

We stayed overnight at Landscape Hotel, which is located in Dali Old Town. The design of the hotel is of an old building and the room is very unique. It is classical. The blankets prepared are made of silk.
p/s: For different place, we will have a different local tour guide. This is their government policy. For Dali, ladies are address as 金花 (“golden flower”) while guys are address as 阿鹏哥 (“Ah Peng Ge”).