Written by | Smoky cats
Photography | Live
Turning off the lights, Erhai and I exchanged goodnights.
Outside the stone arch window, a white moon seemed to be hanging on the water. The wind blows through the banyan trees, the waves rise and fall, and the silhouette of Nanzhao Style Island resembles a sleeping cat.
When the golden light rises from the horizon again, 2022 will begin.
Tonight, I was in Dali Shuanglang, waiting for Erhai to wake up.
"Erhai Wake Up" is located in the middle of Hai Street, in a bright cove.
Since its opening in 2013, especially after the renovation and upgrading in 2020, it has been one of the most popular homestays in Shuanglang. Passengers from all over the world came to take photos in front of the arches and windows, sending out the feeling that "it is worthy of being the best position".
The sea surface in the early morning is like an oil painting, and the translucent sky light and water light are intertwined, reflecting the golden light of the stone arch windows. This three-story stone castle has finally shown its full picture.
This year is a warm winter, the most comfortable season for the double corridor. The whole sea street is shrouded in a sharp filter, the sun is wonderful, the Gesang flowers are shining, and the sea breeze is soft.
The 5 arches of "Erhai Wake Up" are just a few steps away from the water's edge. As soon as you look up, you can see the sparkle. Looking farther away, the Erhai Sea is like a piece of clear water emerald, revealing a sticky ice blue.
So, why a stone castle?
The more romantic saying is that the Erhai Sea needs a fairy tale. For Yuan Xiaobing, the owner of the homestay, after 16 years of ups and downs in the media career, the second half of his life yearns for warmth, tranquility and solitude.
For the designer of the homestay, the local architectural designer Octogenarian, the bluestone façade, arches and windows, both have a distinct personality and incorporate the characteristics of Bai architecture, which is the appearance that can withstand the years.
From either angle, the castle is mesmerizingly beautiful. It's sturdy, transparent and shiny, with both a heavy and light texture.
On the first floor is a large "Hui" shaped living room, and a Dutch iron tree grows in the glass patio.
The sun and the sea breeze squeezed in, and the whole front hall was warm. All the seats are big and soft, as if to tell you "if you can be paralyzed, don't sit."
It's a café during the day and a tavern at night. In the middle of the house, a fireplace is in the shape of the stars and the moon - this is the owner's favorite, drinking whiskey roasted sweet potatoes, not to mention the flavor.
This is still a book with its own aesthetic taste. Many artists who have lived in Dali for a long time have put their own books and recommended book lists in the bookcase.
You can read the complete works of Wang Xiaobo here, and you can also push open a small window to understand the local culture of customs and things——
Once the Erhai Sea, the west coast is the most famous. How did the double corridor on the northeast shore come to the fore and become the "first town of Cang'er scenery" and the famous "hippie town"?
If you want to see the most beautiful sunrise and sunset on the Erhai Sea, you must come to "Erhai Wake Up" for one night.
The 11 rooms are spread over the 2nd and 3rd floors, each with excellent sea views. In particular, rooms 4, 5 and 6 have the popular "stone arch floor-to-ceiling windows" on social networks.
With the change of light and shadow, the stone arch window presents a non-repetitive beauty, which can be called "the twelve hours of the double corridor".
At 6-8 o'clock in the morning, the sunrise and the morning sun set the island and the Cangshan Mountains with gold edges; in the calm afternoon, the Phenomenon of Tyndal can often be seen, and the pale golden beam of light falls from the clouds to the sea, like a dream.
From 6:30 to 7:00 p.m., the sunset and sunset blend with the sea and the sky, like oil paintings. When the last glimmer of golden light dissipated, the stars lit up the night sky one by one. Standing in front of the window and watching the snow-white cruise ship drive past the foot of Cangshan Mountain, the fairy tale will also be revealed. Whether it's a side face, silhouette or skirt flying, press the shutter to get a postcard.
The warm winter weather is clear, which also means that you will sleep well at night.
On the first night of "Erhai Wake Up", I lay in a room fully baked by the sun, feeling the moisture accumulated in my body and heart, being dried little by little.
Kim Ker mattress, cloud-like duvet, soles of feet are thick cotton and linen carpets. Soundproof glass, smart toilet, retractable clothesline... Every detail is considerate.
In front of the floor-to-ceiling window, fine porcelain tea utensils and Dian red are placed. Each room has a glass bottle of Cangshan mineral water, which can be boiled to hold a cup of fragrant tea soup.
The most comfortable moment is to turn on the Marshall Bluetooth speaker and fill a pool of hot water.
Lying in the water vapor, Cohen's deep, velvet voice was lingering in his ears, and even the bones were soft.
If you live in the 10th large terrace room, you can also see a more "double-sided" double corridor - a large terrace with a white veil, and below it is a small and leisurely seaside square.
In the distance, the mountains and seas are illuminated, and the low head is the oily green leaves of the big green trees. Under the tree sat an old man with a roasted milk fan, and the pink Bai headdress was bright and picturesque, swaying in the sea breeze with the flowers and trees.
Even if it's just to eat a bowl of "Erhai Wake Up" small pot of rice noodles, it is worth getting up early.
At 8 o'clock, the glass door of the homestay opened to let in the fresh sea breeze and sunshine. The housekeeper will arrange a suitable breakfast according to your taste, as well as whether there are elderly people and children.
Flower rolls and milk are freshly cooked. Rice noodles dotted with emerald green leeks, served a bowl, just the blue sky and white clouds purring and eating, then began to sigh from the bottom of my heart: Heaven is too far, or the Erhai Sea is closer.
If you don't want to live up to the sunshine, go for a walk around town.
The double corridor is backed by the sea, a main street, and the alleys extend like capillaries to the sea. Looking out from mid-air, the eaves of the bai traditional houses are connected, very healing gray-blue.
Even in the depths of winter, the street corners are still full of flowers. Blooming mandalas can be seen everywhere, and pale yellow and low-hanging flowers block the four big characters of "home style and innocence" on the white wall by half.
Mandala is a sanskrit transliteration meaning pleasant flower, and the Buddhist scriptures contain "six o'clock in the day and night, the rain of the day mandala".
To this day, Dali, known in ancient times as the "Myo Xiang Buddha Kingdom", still has a serene and decent temperament. The shady island of Tamaki hides the former "Royal Temple" Tamaki-an.
The waves lapping at the bluestone, and the flowers and trees grow freely. Almost all the houses face the Erhai Sea, and the "Moon Palace" of the dancer Yang Liping was also built here.
Above the winding road, there is a more hidden and magnificent world.
Remember the architect who created the "Erhai Wake Up" octogenarian? His parallel universe , the Tsuyama Art Museum " , is built on the back mountain.
The first time I walked into this lead-gray building, I had the feeling of breaking free from the world of flowers and flowers in an instant. I only felt that my eyes were full of light and light, and the figure walked in the light and dark mist. Beyond the shock is a strange sense of balance that cures obsessive-compulsive disorder.
Look, the familiar arch, the octogenarian teacher is really a single-minded person.
The most "double corridor" nightlife is visiting the door, drinking, singing, and chatting.
Stepping back to the "Erhai Wake Up" in the twilight, the fireplace on the first floor was already burning vigorously. Strangers who have never known each other can easily sit down and roast the fire together, and it is easy to talk about a piece.
The owner was in a good mood that night and invited everyone to drink whiskey. The glass is covered with a layer of water vapor, and the wine is like flowing ice crystals. Looking up at the window, the Erhai Sea still hung with a big moon.
If life is breathless, is there really poetry and distance?
Unexpectedly, 2022 is over, and we are still discussing this issue. 10 years is enough to turn a remote fishing village into an Internet celebrity punch card, and enough to turn the "ideal" into a midnight dream.
In a way, this stone castle by the sea is still a memory jointly constructed by romantic people. In the warm light of the fire, the intimacy of being unconditionally trusted is as beautiful as an illusion.
On the second night of "Erhai Wake Up", I dreamed of the college entrance examination again, and I was about to turn in the papers and write the essay before I started writing. After waking up in a trance for a while, people can quickly switch environments, but anxiety cannot be uprooted.
But soon it was relieved. Blue skies, white clouds, castles by the sea, are not eternal utopias, but they can make you start to think about the possibilities of another life.
In the next instant, you see the warm orange light coming like a tide, the firewood crackling, and several people by the fireplace waving at you at the same time: Good evening!
Wait for the next person to walk in, perhaps, it will be replaced by a slightly drunk you smile and say hello.