Trip to Yunnan for the Chinese New Year

"My Trip to Yunnan for the Chinese New Year in 2023"

^{#Yunnan, #Travel, #Family, #Holiday, #2023}

In early December 2022, everything was fully reopened. In mid-December, all six members of my family got infected with COVID-19 one after another. Since those who got infected first didn't want to miss any holidays at the end of the year, I considered traveling during the Spring Festival. The whole family unanimously agreed to go to a warm city in the south for the Chinese New Year. My happy brother circled two places in the southern part of the country - Yunnan and Hainan. There are tropical rainforests where we could look for insects! The airfare to Hainan had been driven up early by those avoiding the virus, so Yunnan, with its rainforest in Xishuangbanna and a round-trip airfare of less than 3,000 yuan per person, became our first post-pandemic travel destination.

Although I hadn't made a travel itinerary for the whole family for three years, I still managed to book the air tickets, rental car, hotels and homestays in half a day. Considering there were old and young people, I arranged the itinerary very carefully.

Transit in Tianjin

On January 18, 2023, we drove from Beijing to Tianjin and booked tickets for the Tianjin Natural History Museum and the Tianjin Science and Technology Museum. After the visit, we checked into the Campanile Hotel. On January 19, we took flight GS7855 of Tianjin Airlines and flew to Kunming. At the Kunming airport, we rented a GL8.

The Trip in Kunming

After arriving in Kunming, we went to the Yunnan Ethnic Minority Park, Dianchi Lake/Haigeng Park and Dounan Flower Market. That night, we checked into the Yunnan Dianchi Hot Spring Garden International Hotel. On January 20, we drove to the Botanical Garden, Daguan Zhuanxin Farmers' Market, Kunming Old Street, Nanping Pedestrian Street and Nanqiang Street Night Market. We still stayed at the Dianchi Hot Spring Garden International Hotel.

Heading to Xishuangbanna

On January 21, we drove from Kunming to Xishuangbanna. On the way, we stopped at Nake Li Village and Yinsheng Tea Manor in Pu'er and had lunch in Banna. Then we checked into the Lianju Gaozhuang River View Family Suite. On January 22, we went to the Chinese Academy of Sciences Botanical Garden, Manyuan Village, Dai Ethnic Minority Park and Manting Park. On January 23, we did a rainforest trek in Mengyuan Wonderland and had a rainforest lunch. We also went to the Chinese Academy of Sciences Botanical Garden and checked into the Mengla Gongshan Qingshe Inn that night.

Yuanyang Rice Terraces and Fuxian Lake

On January 24, we drove from Banna to Yuanyang. On the way, we had lunch in Mojiang and visited the Tropic of Cancer Scenic Area. We also watched the sunset of the Yuanyang Rice Terraces and checked into the Yuanyang Yunshang Rice Terraces Hotel. On January 25, we watched the sunrise of the Yuanyang Rice Terraces, visited the Jianshui Ancient City and had lunch in Jianshui. At night, we checked into the 180-degree three-bedroom lake-view room in the Man Yue | Vanke Sun Mountain Internet Celebrity Town near Fuxian Lake.

Return Trip

On January 26, we took flight GS7856 of Tianjin Airlines at noon and returned to Tianjin. On the way, we visited the Fuxian Lake Chengjiang Fossil Site Natural Museum.

During this trip, we considered both comfort and cost savings. We chose the flights between Tianjin and Kunming and rented a seven-seat commercial vehicle. Although there were some minor accidents, such as Tianjin Airlines having no free checked baggage allowance and no meals, and the increase in rental car prices, we still had a happy holiday.