Traveling to southern Yunnan (3): Is the small town of Maitreya suitable for living?

Let me make a few digressions first.

When I was in Kunming, my friend interrupted his trip and went back because of something unexpected. The rest of the journey became a solo journey for me.

I'm glad for this little change. Mr. Yu Guangzhong once said: Traveling alone has two benefits: first, there is absolutely no restraint. You can do everything according to your own interests. As long as you endure a little loneliness, you will gain great freedom, and you will be free from the burden of conversation. The second is to be able to go deep into the tourist destination. The more traveling companions you have, the less clearly you can see the world around you.

Let’s make another small statement.

My main purpose of this trip to Maitreya is to investigate and see if Maitreya can become my next destination.

Therefore, strictly speaking, this is an inspection trip, not a tourist trip in the usual sense. In other words, I did not go to the usual tourist attractions, such as Yunnan Red Winery, Dongfengyun Town, Keyi Town, Wetland Park, etc., but instead targeted Maitreya Town.

Now let’s get down to business.

At around 4 pm on March 14, I got on the train from Kunming Railway Station to Maitreya. It took about half an hour to arrive at Maitreya.

I left the high-speed rail station, turned right on the avenue in front of the station, found the high-speed rail bus station not far away, and got on the high-speed rail line 3. After another half-hour drive, the car drove into the city. District, I got off at Lianhua Road, which is where the B&B I booked is located.

From the high-speed rail station to the city, there is a thoroughfare all the way. The vegetation on both sides of the avenue has obvious tropical characteristics, although I don’t feel that the temperature here is much different from Kunming.

Maitreya is less than 900 meters above sea level, much lower than Kunming. The landform is also very different from that in northern Yunnan and central Yunnan. The mountains are very short, lying far away and low all around. They look very plain and lack the momentum of the northwest Yunnan terrain. However, the view is wider because of this, just like over there in Xishuangbanna.

The car was driving on a wide and clean road, with patches of red rock and sand exposed from time to time on both sides, reminding people that this is still the red earth of Yunnan.

From time to time, local people are selling loquats on the roadside. They are very big and neatly stacked in baskets. They are piles of yellow and orange, which makes me happy to see them.

I passed a sign indicating that the road leads directly to Yunnan Red Winery and Dongfeng Yun. It seems that it is very convenient to get there from the city.

As we approach the city, there are many garden workers planting trees on the roadside. In my opinion, this avenue leading into the city is already beautiful.

First impression of Maitreya: high marks.

The car drove into the city, and the city still did not disappoint. It can be seen that the municipal construction is great. Just from the car, the city appearance is not inferior to that of second- and third-tier cities, or even better.

There are very few people on the street (perhaps it has something to do with the driving route of the cars), and there are also few cars.

The car stopped at a stop. The driver, who was enthusiastic and friendly, turned to the back of the car and shouted: Damei Huazhai has arrived. You guys, get off the car here and walk down the right side. Have you seen the archway? ? Go straight from there to Damei Huazhai. Then there was a commotion in the back of the car, Sichuan-Guizhou accents rang out, and a large group of men and women got out of the car. I was sitting at the front door of the car. Through the window, I saw six or seven old people, both men and women, standing on the roadside, holding hands. Carrying in my pocket, holding in my arms, and carrying on my shoulders all kinds of kitchen homemade products, all kinds of eggnog and so on, cartons, baskets, jars and jars, it is a clear way to maintain health at a glance.

There are also many palm trees along the urban roads. The slender palm leaves sway in the warm wind, giving off a bit of tropical style.

I got off the bus at Lianhua Road. Lianhua Road and the passing Beard Weng Road are both beautiful and are real boulevards. Before getting off the bus, the driver told me that Huquan Ecological Park is on my right.

Second impression of Maitreya: Still a high score.

I successfully found the B&B I booked, which is next to the Huquan Bund Hotel and is indeed right next to the lake. I quickly checked in. The standard room at the top of the third floor was fully equipped. The room was clean and bright, the bathroom was large, and the water flow was great. Although the room does not have a direct view of the lake, the lake view is just a stone's throw away. It's only 50 yuan a night, so I have nothing to complain about.

After settling in and taking a short rest, I immediately went out to see Maitreya City. It was already eight o'clock in the evening. The owner of the B&B Wang told me that the security in Maitreya is very good. After ten o'clock in the evening, there were many people walking on the road in front of us.

Of course I am relieved. Somehow, from the moment I stepped into this small town, and even further, I felt at ease and comfortable.

Sure enough, a place, like a person, has an aura. The aura of the small town of Maitreya makes people feel at ease.

I walked along the lakeside road in front of the inn, passed the Bund Hotel, and then walked on. There were restaurants and restaurants one after another on the right hand side. Some of them looked like old restaurants, very grand. It's so unique that for a moment, you'll think you're walking in Shanghai or some neighborhoods in Hangzhou - you really will have that illusion.

The aroma of braised chicken wafted out from several old restaurants. It smelled very good and tempting. I couldn’t help but take a few deep breaths: Well, Maitreya braised chicken has been famous for a long time. I will try it tomorrow. It's a real treat.

I walked straight to the Hot Spring Road and walked up the Hot Spring Road to my destination: Fountain Square.

At this time, there were no pedestrians on the road, and there were not many cars. This was a main road, very wide, and the shops on both sides of the road were still open, but there were neither pedestrians nor tourists. Naturally, the shops There are no customers either. I saw that several stores were getting ready to close, and the time was only around 8:30.

There is no nightlife - I thought: It is indeed a paradise for leisure and retirement.

I was alone along the way, but I didn't feel lonely or nervous at all - I said, this small town is inexplicably calming. Is it because of the hot spring water? have no idea.

Fountain Square, the largest and most prosperous commercial center in Maitreya City, is still brightly lit at the moment, but there are still not many people and cars! I am used to seeing the bustling traffic in the city. In recent years, Dali has become more and more noisy. Some people say that Zhonghe Village at the foot of Cangshan Mountain is more crowded and chaotic than the urban villages in Shenzhen. Therefore, Maitreya Town is There were few people and cars, and it was quiet and leisurely, which left a deep impression on me.

I went all the way from Fountain Square to the night market. There were not many people in the night market (say the important thing three times!). I bought a few pieces of freshly baked Shiping tofu at the night market. Each piece cost 50 cents. It was a big piece and it was delicious! I bought another sugar cane for eight yuan. After the stall owner peeled it, he chopped it into small pieces with a small machine and put it in a bag for easy consumption. I wanted to take it back to my place to eat, but I tasted a piece. It was so sweet and the taste was so pure that I stopped hugging it and ate it all the way back.

I also examined the prices of other commodities in the night market and came to a firm conclusion: overall prices in Maitreya are lower than those in Dali.

The third impression of Maitreya: continue to score high.

I walked back along Maitreya Avenue. It was already past nine o'clock in the evening, almost ten o'clock. I felt at ease and the sweetness of the sugar cane also made me happy. At that time, there were almost no pedestrians on the road. The street lights were very bright, and the lights of the surrounding buildings, especially the rows of big hotels, were also very powerful. I had a carefree journey, as if I was in a deserted land. It was already past ten o'clock when I returned to the hotel. , and also transferred to Huquan Hotel for a tour.

When I returned to the room, I felt a little excited. I felt no stranger to this small town where I had met for the first time. On the contrary, I felt very comfortable and comfortable. I took a quick hot bath, made a facial mask, and fell asleep with a happy sigh.

Early the next morning, I rushed out excitedly. Whenever I visit a new place, I always like to see its appearance in the morning and dusk. I believe that is the closest to the real appearance.

I first went to the Huquan Ecological Park next door. Even though I had seen a lot of picture introductions beforehand, I was still amazed by Huquan Ecological Park!

I know this is a man-made lake and a man-made scenic spot (in fact, almost all the scenic spots in Maitreya are man-made). In the past, Maitreya had almost no tourism resources: no mountains and rivers, no natural scenery, and no humanities A historical site is not an ancient city. Today, Maitreya's tourism industry ranks among the top in Yunnan Province - this can be regarded as a small miracle), but this "man-made" is undoubtedly too successful!

The park covers an area of ??more than 3,000 acres, and the artificial lake area reaches more than 1,700 acres. The entire park is surrounded by mountains and rivers. The water in the park is vast, green trees are shady, and large areas of water are like mirrors. Looking at it makes people's eyes clear and their hearts happy.

Originally, brand-new man-made attractions can easily become superficial, thin, unrealistic, and often disappointing and annoying. Maitreya's artificial landscaping, because of its generosity and authenticity, even exceeds tourists' expectations - it has naturally achieved success in the tourism market. This is a case worth learning from.

Not only Huquan Ecological Park, but also Dongfengyun, Wetland Park, and even the winery also surprise people. A friend visited these places and sighed after returning: I really like Maitreya. It surprises me time and time again and moves me time and time again.

After leaving Huquan Ecological Park, I went straight to the braised chicken and braised chicken rice noodles. There are two brand braised chicken restaurants on nearby Wenquan Road, one is Ma's Braised Chicken and the other is Zhuyuan.

I visited both of them. Not only did I taste the braised chicken rice noodles (Ma's) and rolled noodles (Zhuyuan) on the spot, I also packed half a braised chicken from each restaurant.

The braised chicken rice noodles here are priced at 7 yuan for a small bowl and 10 yuan for a large bowl. The braised chicken is slightly higher than that of Zhuyuan. Zhuyuan’s 70 per kilogram and Ma’s 80 per kilogram are both lower than Kunming’s 98 per kilogram.

According to my taste, I won’t talk about the rice noodle rolls and rice noodle rolls, they are all about the same and all are okay. Speaking of braised chicken alone, Ma's "dry braised" has a more authentic flavor. The first bite is just average, but the more you chew, the more flavorful it gets. The one in Zhuyuan is more similar to the one in Kunming City, a little wetter and the taste is fresher and stronger.

The dipping sauces of both companies are excellent.

After dinner, I made a special trip to the Maitreya Library. Due to time constraints, I did not go in.

After wandering around a bit longer, I took the bus to the passenger terminal, and from there I took the shuttle bus from Maitreya to Kaiyuan, and then directly took the shuttle bus from Kaiyuan to Jianshui. At around 5 p.m. Enter Jianshui Ancient City.

Along the way, I was thinking about the small town of Maitreya. A small town that originally lacked tourism resources, it actually occupied a place in Yunnan, a major tourist province, with its man-made attractions. Why?

There is naturally more than one reason. I just want to talk about one point here, which I feel deeply.

After a day and night of walking around and observing Maitreya, it always reminds me of those small tourist towns in Thailand, such as Chiang Mai. In my opinion, they are all “tourist-friendly” destinations. This friendliness does not refer to the attitude of local people, but to the government's overall tourism development concept.

The governments of these places are committed to providing tourists with real, cheap and good things: beautiful scenery, delicious food, beautiful things, beautiful city appearance, complete tourist supporting service facilities, etc. . And this is the right way to develop tourism in a place.

The development concept proposed by the Maitreya City Government is: innovation, green, openness, and sharing - I think they have actually implemented it, not just talked about it on paper. Especially the last "***".

So much talk – so, the final answer?

(Is the small town of Maitreya suitable for living (including health care))

The answer is yes.

Of course, for some people, it will be too hot here in summer. But as far as March is concerned, I personally feel that Maitreya is cooler than Jianshui, and it is definitely cooler than Pu'erbanna. Maitreya in winter is much warmer than Dali, Kunming.

Therefore, overall, Maitreya's climate is desirable.

A friend who specializes in writing travel guides, after visiting Maitreya, commented that this is a quite western town, not a rustic small county town.

I agree with her statement. Especially when taking the bus from Maitreya to Kaiyuan, and from Kaiyuan to Jianshui, the small counties I saw were almost without exception dull and rustic. In comparison, the small town of Maitreya seemed even more rustic. Beautiful and charming, outstanding.