Ultimate Mile Travel Guide: Discover the Hidden Gem in Central Yunnan
Mile, a hidden gem in central Yunnan, keeps an incredibly low profile! Having just returned from a romantic spring flower-viewing trip to Mile, I can't help but share this city that combines art, hot springs, and cuisine. This detailed guide will help you avoid crowds, unlock unique experiences in Mile, and includes practical tips and photo spots at the end. Save it now!
🌟Must-Visit Spots: The Good and Bad
✅Dongfengyun Art Town: The Provence of Central Yunnan
The Kaleidoscope Art Gallery here features unique red-brick architecture with striking visual impact, transporting visitors to a foreign land. For photos, wear a white long dress to capture an exotic atmosphere. To avoid crowds, arrive before 8am. The lavender garden blooms from April to October, creating a romantic scene. Admission: CNY 60/person, sightseeing car ticket CNY 20/person separately, or CNY 80 for a combined ticket is more economical.
📸Secret photo spots: Take overhead shots at the spiral staircase in the Half Cloud Restaurant for artistic effect; capture the stunning contrast between purple flowers and red walls outside the Seal Workshop.
✅Taiping Lake Forest Park: Four-Season Flower Sea and Oxygen Bar
Admission CNY 80, including electric cart fee. The cacti area in the rocky desertification park offers perfect desert-style photo opportunities. If traveling with children, recommend staying at the lakeside wooden cabin guesthouses, where you can enjoy flower views from your window and stargaze at night.
✅Huquan Eco Park: Yunnan's Little Sanya
A free hidden photo spot! Palm trees, white sand beaches, and lakeside cycling paths create a strong coastal resort atmosphere. Perfect for sunset silhouette shots in the evening. When tired, visit the hillside hot springs - CNY 128 for single entry, or free with relevant hotel stays.
❌Keyi Town: Proceed with Caution
The CNY 40 admission fee offers poor value, with excessive commercialization. Even photos on the Lovesickness Bridge require extra fees. Locals recommend photographing Yi ethnic houses in the free areas outside the town for an authentic cultural experience.
🍜Mile Culinary Guide
🌟Must-Try List
- Braised Chicken Rice Noodles: Try Old Mile's version, rich broth enhanced with chicken blood and liver, only CNY 10 per bowl.
- Grape Feast: From April to August, taste homemade wine at Yunnan Winery, paired with grape pastries and grape juice ice cream.
- Night Market Delights: CNY 5 fermented tofu at Wenchang Street, delicious with Danshan dipping sauce! Buddha City Mall's Wednesday and Saturday markets offer affordable fresh fruits.
💣Warning Signs
- Avoid crossing-bridge rice noodles near tourist spots, overpriced at CNY 68 and inauthentic.
- Liangsheng's original ice "ba" is too sweet, better shared among three or more people.
🛀Hidden Experiences Revealed
1. Private Hot Spring Experience: Red River Valley Hot Spring Resort offers boat-and-soak service, surrounded by forest, CNY 198/person including light meal.
2. Winery DIY: CNY 20 entry fee includes wine tasting and personalized bottle filling, perfect for social media photos.
3. State Farm Museum Exploration: Free admission to view 1970s youth migration artifacts, wear vintage workwear for retro photo shoots.
🚗Transportation Tips
- By High-speed Rail: 1 hour from Kunming, choose right-side window seats for Fuxian Lake views.
- Self-driving: 30-minute drives between attractions, Dongfengyun parking CNY 10/day.
- Taxi Alert: Difficult to get rides after 8pm, save driver contacts for return trips.
🏡Accommodation Recommendations
- Artistic Choice: Xiangwang Art Hotel in Dongfengyun, featuring cave-style design and stargazing rooms, perfect for night tours of the empty art town.
- Premium Hot Springs: Huquan Tianyi Villa private springs, CNY 500+ per person, includes butler service and floating afternoon tea.
⚠️Essential Tips
1. Sun Protection: Strong highland UV, bring sunglasses, SPF50+ sunscreen, and UV sleeves - tan lines appear within 10 minutes.
2. Cash Preparation: Some farmers' markets and wineries accept cash only.
3. Drone Registration: Dongfengyun is a restricted zone, apply through "Tour Yunnan" APP first.
4. Off-peak Visits: Dongfengyun weekend crowds triple workday numbers, visit early on working days for photos.
🌸Three-Day Alternative Itinerary
- Day 1: Morning at Dongfengyun Kaleidoscope, afternoon at Yunnan Winery, evening sunset at Huquan Eco Park.
- Day 2: Relaxing morning at Taiping Lake Forest cabins, rocky desertification park photos, evening hot springs at Red River Valley.
- Day 3: Climb 1,999 steps at Jinping Mountain temple, afternoon shopping at Buddha City Mall, then departure.
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Practical Information:
✨Dongfengyun Hours: 8:30-20:00 (last entry 17:45)
🚌Shuttle Service: Taiping Lake electric cart CNY 30/person, hop-on-hop-off
🍇Grape Picking: Recommend Mile Rose Honey Manor April-August
When you arrive in Mile, you absolutely must visit Yunnan Red Winery to learn about its origins, see how it's produced and stored, and, of course, taste some fine wine. I was surprised by how large the winery is, and how crowded it is. Entering the cellar, the aroma of oak permeated my nostrils. Each cellar contained a different variety and vintage of red wine. I ended up having a glass of sweet red wine, which was quite good.
Friends who like wine culture can visit the factory. The factory is clean and tidy, the explanation is gentle and beautiful, the tour route is well planned, you can understand the wine culture and taste grape wine, and you can also see the pastoral scenery of Mile.
Although the scenic area charges an entrance fee, it also provides tour guides explaining the wine production process, free wine tastings, and a 10-yuan discount on wine. After visiting the winery, you can also purchase your favorite wine. The wine prices are quite affordable.
It's about half an hour from downtown Maitreya. The winery has an announcer who takes tourists to visit the winery. It's good to have some explanations, but it's just a little faster. We have no time to digest and run elsewhere, so we have to do it by ourselves. The 34 two-person tickets purchased online are quite valuable. You can visit and learn about the wine-making process. You can taste red wine and learn wine-tasting knowledge. The tickets include vouchers, which can be used to buy wine and fruit juice. Too cool! Unfortunately, it wasn't when the grapes were ripe that we didn't see them. In addition, Mingming Vineyard is very big, there are churches, flowers, plantations and restaurants. Why don't you show us around?
About half an hour's drive from Maitreya downtown, there are announcers and tourists visiting the winery all the way. If there are no announcers, Yunnan Red Winery is situated in the 10,000 Mu vineyard of Maitreya Eastern Charm Farm. The tall and magnificent fermenter-style building and Nantian First Cellar display the mysterious wine. The farm opposite is full of lavender and windmill on the hillside. In addition to the rich red wine culture and taste of Yunnan's top red wine, it is also very suitable for photography. Tickets: 80 yuan for individual passengers and 40 yuan for group tickets.
Understanding red wine culture, a good place for contestant gift! There are explanations, walking and watching more than half an hour. Suggestions for summer grape ripening season, you can see the whole process of red wine production! With tickets, you can taste red wine, teach wine tasting methods, and finally buy red wine can also be 10 yuan vouchers.
The only manor in Yunnan that makes red wine is worth visiting. The announcer will give you a detailed introduction of the process of making red wine and taste delicious red wine. Ticket price 20 of which 10 yuan can be deducted when purchasing red wine at export. It is very cost-effective to understand the process of red wine brewing, but also to enjoy red wine free of charge. Finally, you can take red wine with you at a preferential price.
The experience is good. I came on weekends. It should be more fun to come on weekdays and in July when grapes are picked. Tickets can be used as cash. It is recommended to add a wine tasting package 🍷 and red wine side dishes, ham slices and cured meat salad avocado salad, etc., which can be used as a meal, because the rest area here feels good to see the vineyard.