October 28, 2024

Before heading to Lijiang, we visited the 斗南 Flower Market in Kunming. The market was stunning, with a vast selection of various flowers. Inspired, we decided to send a package of flowers to our parents in Shanghai. We purchased two types of flowers but were shocked to discover that we couldn’t mail them due to restrictions related to the ongoing Shanghai export exhibitions. Left with no choice, we returned the flowers to the vendors and paid a small fee for the return.

Later, we boarded the high-speed train from Kunming to Lijiang, which took about three hours. Since our rental was located inside Lijiang Old Town, our host met us at the town gate and transported our luggage on a scooter, which was quite convenient given the old town’s layout.

For dinner, we enjoyed a wild mushroom hot pot with grilled beef on the side. The meal came with a unique precaution: we had to wait 15 minutes for the wild mushrooms to be fully cooked, and a small sample of the soup was taken for safety records. Once ready, the flavors were incredible.

After dinner, we visited the town square to watch the local traditional dance performance, but the area was overcrowded and felt disorganized. Deciding it wasn’t worth the hassle, we returned to our rental to relax and unwind for the evening.

2024年10月28日

今天在前往丽江之前，我们先去了昆明的斗南花卉市场。这里鲜花种类繁多，色彩绚丽，令人目不暇接。我们想给父母寄一盒鲜花作为礼物。我们精心挑选了两种鲜花，却在邮寄时被告知因为即将进行的上海进博会，无法将鲜花寄往上海。无奈之下，我们只好将鲜花退回给商家，并支付了一点退货费用。

从昆明到丽江的高铁，全程大约三小时。由于我们的住宿位于丽江古城内，出租车不能进，而高低不平的街面行李箱无法拖着走。房东在古城入口处接我们，并用电动三轮车将行李运送到住处。小三轮在古城狭窄的街道中显得尤为方便。

我们的民宿闹中取静，现代化的设施和古典民宿相结合，很雅致。老板娘态度非常好，办理入住手续时又是鲜花饼，又是热茶，很暖心。

入住后我们赶紧前往古城的四方街广场观看当地的传统篝火舞蹈表演。然而，广场人头攒动，显得有些混乱，不够尽兴。

晚餐我们品尝了野生菌火锅，还搭配了烤牛肉。这顿饭有一道特别的程序：因为有些野生菌是有毒性的，桌上放了计时⌛️器，野生菌需要等待20分钟煮熟，服务员还取了一小勺汤样留存备案。等到野生菌完全煮好后，我们才开吃，同时也慢慢放入其它食材。各种菌子味道鲜美无比，令人回味。烤肉也相当不错，照片都来不及拍便一扫而光。