I stayed in a red brick castle in Yunnan
Because this trip was solo, I strictly controlled my travel budget, and the place I stayed on the day I arrived in Kunming was 👉 Mile Dongfengyun Niu Duo Luo Music Farm
I originally went for the night view of Dongfengyun Scenic Area🌃, but it was too late when I arrived, and I missed the sunset🌇
Dongfengyun was created by a talented artist from Mile, Yunnan, named Luo Xu. It is said that he was inspired by his child's doodles on paper and had a sudden idea to create this series of buildings. The buildings are all made of red bricks, without using a single steel bar or nail, forming an architectural complex with themes such as kaleidoscope, half a cloud, and seal. The construction of this building took only 300 days, using 300,000 red bricks, and built such a red brick arch structure that even architects couldn't help but marvel at.
⭕️ Dinner was at the Chinese restaurant of 👉 Dongfengyun Meijing Pavilion Select Hotel, mainly because I only got the rented car🚗 at 5:30 pm, and it was almost 8 pm when I arrived in Mile City.
⭕️ Meijing Pavilion Hotel is outside the Dongfengyun Scenic Area, just show your order🎫 to enter the hotel.
⚠️ After that, I had an extremely unpleasant dining experience, please avoid this restaurant⚠️
⚠️ I walked into the restaurant from the lobby and there was no staff to greet me, not even a glass of water🥃 was poured, and I ended up pouring it myself;
⚠️ It took 15 minutes to take my order after sitting down, and only after asking several times did they take my order;
⚠️ It took 30 minutes to serve the dishes🥣 after ordering, and I was told that the service ends at 9 pm, it was the first time I finished a hot pot meal in 15 minutes;
⚠️ The table next to me even got the wrong pot base🍲❗️
⭕️ It was already 9 pm after dinner, so I hurried to Niu Duo Luo to check in. The homestay is inside the scenic area, just show the order information to the gatekeeper and you don't need to buy a ticket🎫 to enter the scenic area❗️
⭕️ Following the navigation🧭, I quickly arrived at the homestay. Since it was a dead-end road, the housekeeper said it was fine to park the car on the side of the road as long as it didn't affect other cars.
⭕️ Since it was the off-season for tourism, the housekeeper upgraded my room for free😄 from the annex to the main building.
⭕️ The housekeeper was very enthusiastic and helped move my luggage🧳 to the room. The room was large and clean, and I always felt like I had come to Spain🇪🇸.
⭕️ The homestay included breakfast the next day🥣, and now that I think about it, the rice noodles served to me were Mile's special braised chicken rice noodles🍜 in addition to the self-service fruits, bread, and stir-fried dishes.
⭕️ After eating and drinking, I took photos and checked in at the scenic area. It's really too good for photos📷 here, with blue skies and white clouds🌞 and plenty of light, but often you may have to compete with the aunties for a spot. Of course, you will also meet many beautiful👩 ladies.
⭕️ When leaving, I grouped another afternoon tea☕️ package from Meijing Pavilion (of course, I applied for a refund as soon as I entered the hotel). Although the service experience at the Chinese restaurant was not great, the hotel is really beautiful.
💰 Cost summary is as follows:
💰 Meijing Pavilion dinner: 148
💰 Niu Duo Luo accommodation: 380 (including breakfast)
📷 Photo shooting suggestions:
1️⃣ It is recommended to shoot in the afternoon. I shot in the morning, and the angle and intensity of the light were not ideal. The local sunrise in Yunnan is around 7:20 am, and sunset is around 7 pm;
2️⃣ It is said that flying drones is not allowed in the scenic area, but I took off from the homestay to shoot the kaleidoscope;
3️⃣ Classic shooting spots: The main entrance of the Meijing Pavilion lobby can capture the hotel's three large chimneys, and the rest is shooting around the kaleidoscope. Since the main body of the building is quite large and there are many people, you can bring a telephoto lens.