having biked the area extensively and always on the lookout for traffic free areas, I can recommend the following:
Diqin (I assume you mean Shangri-la): head out east on the East Ring road, over Baishuitai, Haba and the east end of the Tiger Leaping Gorge. Go to the west end. Do the trek back to the east. Hop in a ferry or take the new bridge over to Daju. Get transport or hike or ride towards Lijiang on this old road. It has a couple inevitable touristy spots, though. From Lijiang, if you are walking, there's a beautiful hike over Shigu (at the first bend of the Yangtze) on an old horse trail towards Jianchuan. If you can't hike, you're stuck to a fairly tourist-laden road to Jianchuan.
At Jianchuan head out to Shaxi, do Shibaoshan etc. Continue down the valley over Yangbi, or head out to Yunlong if that's not too far out of your way, go into Dali. From Dali take the old road over Chuxiong to Kunming.
Of course, if you can meander more, I suggest you approach Kunming from the north.
Lijiang blaze destroys old town businesses
发布者That was one day after I'd left. Anyway, Danmairen, I'm not sure if there really are fire engines that fit inside the old town of Lijiang. I even have trouble getting around without bumping my head. I'm in fact impressed the fire was contained with relative little damage.
They might have seen it coming though, there was some fire accident between Lijiang and Shangri-La during the time of my visit, which shrouded the entire Jade Dragon Snow Mountain in smoke.
Getting Away: Nanning
发布者I'm a bit late, perhaps, and biased, perhaps, because I haven't seen a proper big city since I left Kunming on my bicycle trip. But I'm positively impressed by Nanning after only one night. Green streets, air quality good, weather nice and warm in winter, big food streets at night, a selection of nice bars, and everything the western heart wants in terms of coffee, restaurants and bars.
In that aspect, it's doing better than Kunming. Con: it sprawls on forever and wouldn't make a good city to start bike rides from. You'd have to conquer forty km to get out of it first.
Interview: Shopkeeper Ms Tang
发布者great article this, I like it when you are digging into Kunming history. Makes up for everything that's been lost and rebuilt.
Fog shuts down Kunming airport, strands thousands
发布者The visibility that day was apparently 300-800, according to a local journalist for Kunming TV.
Kunming subway train derails, killing one
发布者haha! Do you realise the potential irony such a plan has? You'll be shooting the vid and the thing will actually collapse.