16 girls write the story of Dali's flower seas beside Cangshan Mountain and Erhai Lake
Anyone who has added Shaoyao as a friend knows that from August 25 to September 1, my Moments feed was constantly flooded by me. The study-tour photos were just too, too beautiful, and I couldn't help but flood the feed!
During these days I was also fortunate enough to be chosen as my own "Best Moment of 2018." Setting aside all worries for a while, I rested in Dali together with the herb fans, immersed in the healing energy of the flower seas. Sunny one moment, rainy the next, surrounded by good food and beautiful scenery. Honestly, I myself feel lucky, and grateful that I arranged this study tour! I also got a real, solid vacation out of it.
This article today is dedicated to all the herb fans who came in person. Thank you for your unconditional trust in handing your time and money over to us to arrange; it is also dedicated to all the herb fans who did not come. I really wanted to deliver all the positive energy this study tour received straight to your phone screen.
Also, for those who want to join the next one and are asking how to sign up, today we are doing a little survey. You are welcome to take part and share your opinions!
Skirts fluttering
No one is like you
Wang Zhengrong
00:00/05:02
{Shaoyao Girl Vol.870 }
x
Dali, take a rest
Back in Hangzhou, I can no longer remember exactly where this study tour originated. I only vaguely recall saying to my friends: "Why don't we go to Dali! Take a rest!" And so, the first study tour since the account was created somehow took shape. The recruitment post came out quickly, and the group filled up quickly too (originally I only wanted to recruit 10 to 12 people, 50 expressed interest, and in the end 16 were selected, far exceeding the target). Many girls, while hesitating, suddenly discovered: What? It's full already? That's right, when you all move fast, even I get scared~~
7 days and 6 nights. From all corners of the country, girls who had never met set off separately, gathered in Dali, and began this custom study tour with flowers as the matchmaker.
7 days later, the plane landed in Hangzhou. The body returned to the city, and besides that "feeling like a breakup" striking again, it also felt like I had a dream. Though it was clear, the memory of the dream kept drifting further away, and I feared that one day it would feel as distant as if separated by a century.
Before the next round of study-tour recruitment opens, let me first sort through what happened during these 7 days.
At the end of August, Dali was already late summer and early autumn. There was no lingering "autumn tiger" heat refusing to leave; the sunlight was warm and gentle, and the breeze carried a feeling of ease. Occasionally a burst of rain drifted by, impossible to rush or get angry at, so we simply dropped our umbrellas and sat down, watching the rain fall on the blooming flowers.
In Dali, wasting time in any way is the happiest thing of all, yet we insisted on adding a little flowers to it. As for how attractive it was, well, the people of Dali grabbed our hands and asked straight out: "When are you coming again?"
Perhaps you have traveled before, or studied floral art before, but never like this: in nature's classroom, amid one flower sea after another, pouring in all your passion and attention, absorbing new knowledge and a sense of beauty.
Behind us, the endless Cangshan Mountain and white clouds,
Winding through the boundless flower seas,
Gathering fresh floral materials that are super hard to buy in the city.
In a glass room dappled with sunlight,
A long table covered with more than a dozen kinds of fresh flowers,
Arranging table flowers of our own design,
Earnestly pondering what flowers to add next.
As the sky gradually darkened, the herb candlelight dinner began,
Tasting aromatic dishes specially made with herbs,
Chatting about everything under the sun with the people beside us,
And once full, earnestly zoning out for a while.
How is this a floral study tour? It is clearly a beautiful healing journey of flowers and plants!
Before this, we had also imagined: what kind of girls were these herb fans who signed up so readily? Students? Young leaders? Goddesses? Female entrepreneurs?
……
After meeting them, Shaoyao discovered,that these were a group of poised people who "forget their age."Among them, age could not become an excuse to stop learning, nor a barrier of self-doubt and self-annoyance. "I forget how old I am; my heart is forever young, forever moved to tears." That is exactly how it was.
From Beijing to Shanghai, from Guangzhou to Hunan,
Distance is not a problem;
From university teachers to medical staff, from police officers to dessert shop owners,
Occupation is not a problem;
Spanning from those born in the 1950s to those born in the 1990s, age is even less of a problem.
Helping one another, considering others, modest and gentle,
Daring to love and daring to strive, these are the similarities among these beautiful souls.
Amid blue lamps and ancient Buddhas, admiring the sea of succulents; visiting a once-famous tea room that is about to disappear, sitting under the trees listening to the rain and drinking tea; learning to make flower cakes and flower-and-herb paper in the flower fields, eating barbecue while chatting about everything...
Casting aside our original occupations and environments, learning together with the teacher and new classmates, collaborating on floral art courses that were wildly imaginative yet clearly organized, from a blank slate on the first day to eager to try on the last day. "I can't believe I made this" became everyone's best praise for themselves.
This journey was far too rich. Shaoyao is still that most earnest observer and recorder. I have organized all the highlights of the trip, please enjoy them together.
DAY 1
Whether it is drizzling or clear for thousands of miles,
The beauty of Dali always shakes the heart.
Our group jokingly called itself the "laid-back group." It seemed aimless and unorganized, yet it was disciplined. In one word, it all depended on self-awareness. As the leader of the laid-back group, Shaoyao arranged for everyone the internet-famous temple Jizhao Nunnery and Mocui Tea Room. The whole way was silent, and yet everyone enjoyed strolling immensely.
Jizhao Nunnery
On a drizzly morning,
We drove along the winding mountain road,
Then followed the forest path, climbing step by step,
And finally arrived at "China's most beautiful nunnery," Jizhao Nunnery.
This ancient temple hides among pines and cypresses,
Its gray bricks and red walls, after decades of wind and rain,
Have become somewhat mottled and peeling, with moss growing between the tiles.
As soon as we entered the gate, we were stunned by the overwhelming flowers and plants before us.
Above our heads were hanging potted plants,
At our feet were succulents spreading in every direction,
The bamboo baskets hanging on the walls held Phalaenopsis orchids,
The vases on the tables held lotuses and lotus seed pods,
Even the shrine where incense is usually burned and Buddhas worshipped
Was covered with succulents of all shapes and forms.
This place is like a primitive, natural botanical museum.
Perhaps because Yunnan has abundant rain and a suitable climate,
All kinds of plants here are much larger than those usually seen,
Drawing many botanists and photography enthusiasts to visit.
Here we "ran into" Teacher Asang,
It turned out a friend was volunteering at Jizhao Nunnery,
And she came to help with a flower arrangement, "borrowing flowers to offer to the Buddha."
The people who come here
Seem to consciously slow their steps and lower their voices,
As if afraid of breaking this precious silence.
Quite a few group members were asking how to sign up as volunteers,
"When old? Coming here is not bad either~"
Many hurried visitors do not know
That behind Jizhao Nunnery there is also a "Hundred Flower Garden,"
Flowers and plants carefully cultivated by the nuns,
Growing so well that the only way to describe them is "plump and luscious."
Following the path of the Hundred Flower Garden inward,
There is a huge stone wall, and succulents actually grow from its crevices,
From a distance, it looks like a Chinese version of a rock garden.
Shaoyao just discovered it one day while taking a walk, and secretly brought everyone to see it.
One group member said this place had never been exposed on the internet before, and we had come to the right place!
Gantong Temple
Gantong Temple is not far from Jizhao Nunnery.
As a thousand-year-old ancient temple, compared with the bustle of Jizhao Nunnery,
It has a somewhat dim, fading-lights feeling,
But this kind of quiet made us very happy.
In the courtyard there is a big osmanthus tree,
The osmanthus bloomed, scenting the whole temple.
In another spot grows a fuchsia,
Its pink and white flowers blooming ardently and abundantly,
Forming a charming contrast with the red walls.
Eating vegetarian meals here also felt much more unhurried,
Perhaps because we consciously asked for little, or perhaps because we had absorbed some spiritual energy,
The vegetarian meal also seemed very delicious.
Mocui Tea Room
Going to Mocui Tea Room was also a chance adventure.
The main road was blocked off, and bricks had been laid at the entrance of the small path,
Cold, quiet and still. You should know that before the Erhai cleanup,
Mocui was one of the top-ranked internet-famous tea rooms in Dali.
Following the small path and feeling our way forward, the girls did not complain of tiredness either,
Until after seeing a clear sign, everyone cried out excitedly.
There was also a funny little interlude here,
On the mountain path the plants were lush, and we happened upon a large patch of ferns,
Truly the best backdrop for photos, so the plant-loving beauties took the stage,
One finished shooting, "Next!" rose and fell one after another,
Look at that, every minute felt like a magazine photo shoot~
It had just rained, and the mountain was shrouded in mist,
Lush green tea fields threading through it,
Simply a paradise on earth!!!
Two or three pots of tea, some tea snacks,
Even the cheesecake had passion fruit and lemon added,
Everything eaten and seen was 100 times more beautiful than in the city.
Sitting down and gazing at the distant Cangshan Mountain and Erhai Lake,
Thinking again, there really is nothing so urgent that it cannot wait,
The signal on the mountain is poor too, Mocui, don't rush.
The owner said regretfully that he had received a demolition notice, and the future of Mocui Tea Room was unknown. Thinking that this first accidental visit might turn out to be the last, I could not help but sigh. "The world is impermanent, enjoy the present" is truly a motto for life.
That Mocui could become an internet-famous tea room in Dali also symbolized the values of Dali's residents. When you are busy making money, you miss many scenery, like the newly sprouted tea leaves after rain, like the clouds drifting away in the sky. You seem to know which is more important, yet you may not know which can make you happier.
A flower, a blade of grass, a mountain, a stretch of water, raindrops, cicada song, clouds rolling and unfurling, all have their own tranquil and indifferent charm of life. Sometimes, you must know how to give yourself a chance to experience it.
Rose Petal Cakes & Flower-and-Herb Paper
The rose fields have long since finished blooming,
Only the Yunnan red rose field that accompanies flowers for a lifetime,
has reached the time of setting rose hips.
Among the flower fields, learn to make fresh flower cakes,
Knead the dough, roll the wrapper, wrap the filling,
See who has the stronger hands-on skills, and who is all thumbs.
The cakes you make yourself taste especially sweet,
Rose filling made from fresh petals,
mixed with sweet crushed nuts,
This flavor, so delicious you simply cannot stop~
Making traditional flower-and-herb paper is even more of a test of patience.
Use a wooden mallet to press the raw materials into paper sheets as thin as cicada wings,
Then add water and mix thoroughly into paper pulp,
Dip the mold into the pulp and slowly lift it out,
A sheet of moist traditional paper is initially complete.
Everyone moves through the sea of flowers searching for floral materials, smoothing out the freshly picked little flowers, carefully placing them on the not-yet-dried paper, and finally applying glue, then quietly waiting for it to dry. Take it home and frame it, and it becomes a lovely hanging picture.
The Bai-style BBQ is the perfect finale for the first day,
The girl in charge of the grilling is cheerful and efficient,
She said she does more work at night and doesn't eat, and runs when she has free time,
She went from 200 jin down to 130 jin, astonishing everyone so much that they all put down their barbecue~
In the end, everyone ate until they were too stuffed to move~~ The sky gradually darkened, and the night turned as deep blue as ink.
In this moment, even time slowed its steps, as if lingering over this summer night barbecue party.Could there be a happier moment than now?
DAY 2
The Magical Herb Garden,The Dreamy Glass House,
Finally the class begins!
If the first day was "play," then from the second day onward it is formally "study"~ Learning is something that takes effort!
The class location is set in the "Herb Garden" full of herbs and a sea of flowers,
The garden owner, Sister Lily, led everyone on a tour of the garden,
She patiently explained the characteristics of each herb,
Verbena, rosemary, wild ginger flower,
Thyme, lemon balm, lemongrass...
This is truly a rare nature classroom in the city.
(For detailed herb knowledge, click here to review)
The classroom is a sunny glass house, both beautiful and dreamy,
Bundles of fresh floral materials are piled up in the room,
The desire to learn is instantly ignited!
Before class, many students worried that with zero foundation they might not be able to keep up. Teacher Asang dispelled that worry.“Flower arranging is an art of unleashing imagination,As long as you are willing, you can arrange flowers anytime, anywhere."
Although flower arranging is not as relaxed as people imagine,
It is mentally and physically demanding, from collecting, trimming, and caring for floral materials,
Each requires patience. But it is also very fair,
You give 1 part, and it gives you back 2 parts of happiness.
Why learn flower arranging? Everyone has their own answer. Perhaps to prepare a wedding for a daughter who married far away in the United States, perhaps to enrich one's own life, perhaps because one's cafe or clothing store needs flowers to dress it up, or perhaps simply because one's heart was once touched by flowers and has been accompanied by them ever since...
When we do not treat flowers as a tool for making money, but simply immerse ourselves in them and enjoy the beauty they bring, happiness appears.
In Teacher Asang's eyes, there are no students who cannot be taught, just as there are no floral materials in the world that are not beautiful. As long as one has ample interest and the teacher teaches according to the student's aptitude, everyone can gain something. The students absolutely love her, completely struck by a powerful charisma, and soon all bury themselves in hard work.
When the day ends, we review the results again, and simply cannot believe this is work after only one day of floral art class. Are they really beginners?
Although almost the same floral materials were used,
ButEveryone's work has a different style,
The so-called "flowers reflect the person" is exactly like this.
French-style flower arrangement works
Collection of wreath works
French natural-style table floral art works
Many students were making a bouquet by hand for the first time,
Screaming for the bouquets, and also fascinated by the students' spirit,
The girl holding flowers is the most beautiful~
DAY 3 & DAY 4
Everyone is a floral artist!
The first day covered theory and built foundations, the second day the teacher taught hand by hand, and by the third day, the course increased in difficulty and became even more fun. The teacher no longer assigned fixed floral materials, and the students no longer worked alone; they had to collaborate as a team and integrate into the space for floral art creation. This has always been Teacher Asang's required course,
Prompt-based spatial floral art creationIt began. In plain words: the students split into groups to find suitable scenes in the garden, use flowers to decorate the place into an ideal look, and also explain the theme of the work and their inner thoughts, and they must be able to convince the teacher~
This is no longer as simple as playing with a few flowers. It requires keen judgment and aesthetic sense, as well as a cooperative spirit and breakthrough thinking, breaking through frameworks to design floral art forms. It is a great test of comprehensive ability. Is it really okay for beginners to face something this difficult right away??
As it turned out, everyone had a great time. Some chose wood and hemp rope swings, some chose European-style cabin steps, some chose the lawn and bicycles... The floral materials were not limited to those provided by the course, andYou could also pick them yourself in the garden, depending on how you use them~
It is said that the dahlias in the neighboring garden have bloomed,
The students carried baskets on their backs and picked them, so happy,
Isn't this just a real-life version of "the little flower-picking girl"~
Of course, truly excellent outdoor spatial floral art cannot lack supporting players. Everyone borrowed cushions from the herb garden cafe, or used their own gauze scarves and straw hats, to create a relaxed and romantic feeling for the scene.
Over these two days, everyone became diligent little bees, flying around every corner of the garden, gathering flowers and carrying plants, carefully building their own little nests bit by bit. As for the final works, I won't say much, everyone just look at the pictures:
DAY3 Student Works
DAY4 Student Works
Seeing everyone playing with flowers, I couldn't help but feel the itch too, and used leftover floral foam to decorate a chair (actually, Shaoyao is also a beginner).
Mainly using pink roses and lisianthus,
Paired with white Peruvian lilies and purple salvia,
Creating a French romantic style.
A large amount of pokeweed is used at the tail, heavy like wheat ears,
Thinking of autumn, this is the harvest in my heart.
Unfortunately, I joined midway and only made half,
Ran out of time?(? ???ω??? ?)?
After the three-day course ended, everyone was exhausted, so we specially arranged a delicious herb banquet. Have you seen them, smelled them, eaten them? Can you make them? I hope that after returning this time, everyone will have learned them all.
Decorate the glass house used for class like a dining room,
Change to a white tablecloth, light aromatherapy and candles,
Place the table flowers designed by each person by hand.
The highlight is the ribs roasted with lemongrass,
Large shrimp pan-fried with rosemary,
The roast meat is filled with the unique fragrance of herbs
The final course is a dessert garnished with figs.
Although there is no wine, I am drunk.
DAY5
No time to stroll through the sea of flowers,
A 5-hour continuous final exam!
The last day of floral art study is the big exam day. Some were so nervous they couldn't sleep, and no one knew what they were so excited about.
The location is a truly pure natural sea of flowers without artificial adornment,
Connected to the endless Cangshan Mountains, accompanied by white clouds and sunlight.
There are so many varieties that even the garden owner cannot clearly say,
"All these flowers can be cut," this sentence is really amazing!
It is simply the most lavish earthy pick-up line heard this year!
Follow the damp path deeper and deeper into the heart of the sea of flowers,
Dahlias stand proud, patches of spider flowers like clouds and mist,
The red zinnias in the sunlight are especially dazzling.
In the pond, lotuses and water lilies bloom in full glory,
The reeds by the water seem like feathers dropped by birds,
Two leisurely ducks play in the water.
In this vast and boundless sea of flowers, the final exam topic escalates further:
Use completely local materials, make use of natural vegetation or existing architecture, and around the theme "Take a Rest in Dali," carry out prompt-based spatial creation with no rules or constraints, and also select a piece of background music that matches the mood, and make a short video recording your own work.
The companions felt as if facing a great enemy, and began meticulous division of labor and cooperation, discussing ideas for the work, and painstakingly searching the boundless sea of flowers for suitable floral materials.
Flowers alone are not enough; the stage also needs exquisite scenery. White lace gauze curtains, straw-woven cushions, candlesticks, tray props, and so on. How to pair them with floral materials also greatly tests everyone's creativity.
Shaoyao's bag also became one of the props. In the vacation-style straw bag, a few elegant reeds are placed, plus a candlestick and red wine, immediately opening the mode of a leisurely holiday.
>>A quick insert: today's second article has a group buy of derivatives from this study tour, beautiful long skirts and patchwork bags. Babies, don't forget to move over and shop, thank you.
The students used the interlacing trees, the tables and chairs by the pond, and the attic railings, decorating them with freshly picked flowers and plants. It looked casual, but in fact it had undergone careful design.
What was the final result?
Students' Final Exam Works
As the teacher, Asang was so moved that she had not a single comment left to give, and as the initiator of this study tour, Shaoyao was genuinely proud of my medicine fans. You all were truly great!
I think the girls must have understood in this final exam what "take a rest" means. Resting the body is only superficial. We must often take care of our own hearts and ask them: "Are you okay, are you tired?" When you notice exhaustion, give yourself the chance to rest.
There is nothing and no excuse that does not allow you to rest.Rest well, then set out again, and you will be stronger than before.
Cangshan and Erhai gave you the answer, the wind and stirring grass gave you the answer, the playing mandarin ducks gave you the answer. When you quiet down, the answer in your heart naturally emerges.
Before boarding the plane on the last day, a student busy with a real estate project sent me a WeChat message: "Thank you very much for organizing this flower study tour. It was truly rewarding. It made me reflect that I cannot give up the pursuit of beauty just because life is dull. Let's meet again next time!”
After finishing this retrospective article, I feel as though I have once again drawn strength from within.
The key question now is: where will the next edition be held? And how can you sign up to join? (My WeChat Moments was flooded with comments for those few days, so I need to give a proper answer.)
emmm, the truth is, I don't know either...As for where the next edition should go, the herb fans have 50% of the say.We've narrowed it down to a few places: Beijing, Xi'an, Lijiang, Taiwan, China, Chengdu, Xiamen, Kyoto... Come join the call for suggestions!
Which hidden paradise do you long for most? Come cast your precious vote - who knows, next time we might really go to that city~