Yunnan: Fuxian Lake & Haiyan Village, Sep 2023

From Jianshui, we head back towards Kunming stopping by Fuxian Lake and Haiyan Village.  Fuxian Lake (抚仙湖), 70km outside of Kunming, is China’s third largest freshwater lake after Dianchi Lake and Erhai Lake.  It is the deepest lake in China with a maximum depth of 155 meters.  Legend has it that two fairies were drawn here by the beauty of the lake, refused to leave, and turned into two stone figures with their hands on each other’s shoulders, hence the name “fuxian” in Chinese.  I had fun photographing the children and their parents flying kites on their school outing.

Fuxian Lake

Fuxian Lake

Fuxian Lake

Fuxian Lake

Fuxian Lake

From Fuxian Lake, we continued to the last traditional fishing village of Kunming, Haiyan Village (海晏村).  Haiyan Village is located along the southeastern shore of Dianchi Lake and for generations, its residents have made a living by fishing.  Nowadays, there are strict controls over the fishing season which only allows the locals to fish one month out of a year, usually in November.   Hence, the village is usually quiet except for one month when the villagers are busy collecting shrimp and fish for sale in the markets.  Haiyan Village is one of the only villages that has maintained the traditional characteristics of Yunnan buildings and was inscribed into the list of villages and towns of historical fame in Kunming.  The village is laid out like a fishbone with one main street with alleyways coming off of it.  The well-preserved houses that line the streets are built using adobe for the exterior walls and wood for the roofs that are then covered with small blue tiles.  These houses, once the most common type of buildings in Kunming, are now difficult to find.  The village has become an internet influencer hotspot and there are crowds of people on the old pier especially during sunsets.

Haiyan Village

Found this small hostel with a roof facing the old pier which I guess people have not yet discovered.  Set up our gear in the shade while snacking on chicken poppers and “fake” sausages.

Haiyan Village

Haiyan Village

All along the path leading to the old pier are food stalls selling all kinds of snacks from lamb skewers to fried dumplings to specialty drinks.

Haiyan Village

This amazing but tiring trip to Yunnan quickly came to an end.  I look forward to revisiting Yunnan, seeing the Yuanyang Rice Terraces filled with water as well as exploring its other cities.  Until the next time, Yunnan!

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