A day of picking green plums to make wine. We drove for almost two hours, with the last stretch on a dirt road, deep into a Yi village in the mountains. The elderly couple picking plums worked so hard and even shared baba cakes and honey with us! Xiao Li shared some plum wine he made last year – it was delicious! After picking and washing plums, we worked until 2 pm and had claypot rice cooked over a wood fire on a stone stove. We also harvested honey – so sweet, and the little bees were so industrious. We put labels on the plum wine, ready to be opened next year. A truly meaningful day. Xiao Li and Shitou are both such warm-hearted guys.
Picked green plums, tasted local honey, made the plum syrup I've been longing for, and now waiting to open it! A perfect trip!
#Recording making plum wine at Meiziyuan, Pibi Lake Town
We drove a small van through 28 winding mountain bends to reach a private small plum orchard at over 2500 meters altitude, with no water, no electricity, no Wi-Fi. We stayed there the whole day.
Along the way, we encountered wild raspberries—small, dark, sour and sweet. We picked some, but guide Xiao Li said not to take them all, leaving some for others.
Since it rained the night before, the ground and firewood were damp, making it hard to start a fire. The fire went out several times. Each time Xiao Li got it going and let us fan it, we fanned it out [facepalm]. Later, after finishing other tasks, Xiao Li stayed by the fire until it stabilized, and finally cooked the meal [tears of laughter].
From picking plums, selecting them, washing off the fuzz one by one, rinsing with clean water, rubbing with salt to remove bitterness, soaking in salt water, drying, removing stems, weighing according to ratio, putting into jars, and labeling—we each did our own part from start to finish. I enjoyed the process of doing everything by hand, slowly making a jar of green plum wine that can be stored for years. I wonder what it will taste like after ten years, but recalling today, it will surely be a memory of happiness, peace, and contentment [heart].
After making the plum wine and plum syrup, we also hiked to the stream source behind the mountain, basked in a little sunshine, walked through vast fields of healing mugwort, picked incredibly flavorful wild Sichuan pepper, and found unripe wild walnuts that had been abandoned (we only realized they were unripe after picking them). At the mountaintop, we threw small stones into the mountain stream and heard a few "plops"—so pleasant and relaxing. It felt like going back to childhood, when every weekend or holiday we would gather friends to go on adventures in the mountains.
The mountains are deep and generous, the air filled with oxygen. I felt every pore of my body was cleansed. I don't know how my two boys will remember today, but at that moment, they were completely relaxed and joyful—and that makes it all worth it.
Picking plums in the deep mountains to brew green plum wine—a surprising journey in Dali.
High-altitude plums ripen later, and summer vacation just coincided with the plum harvest.
Drove 1.5 hours to Songhe Village, the high-altitude plum production area in Eryuan, with ten thousand acres of plum plantations—truly spectacular! Entering the plum orchard, we picked plums by hand, washed them, removed the stems, dried them, added rock sugar and baijiu... to brew our own bottle of green plum wine, waiting for winter to open the sealed wine and savor the good times of Dali.
During the drying period, we went stream hiking beside the plum orchard, a light trek in the cool stream water, observing plants and insects, feeling the beautiful midsummer in the deep mountains.
The grandfather at the plum orchard keeps bees. We watched how honey is harvested on-site, spread honey on bread—it tasted amazing!
In the village center, there was a busy plum market where villagers trade the plums they've picked. Nearby, there was a plum factory where we could watch locals carve plums—removing the pit and carving the plum into a flower in just a few seconds.
A leisurely day, met interesting travel companions. Looking forward to coming back to Yunnan in winter to see the mountains covered in blooming plum trees.
Had afternoon tea in Songhe Village, Eryuan. The villagers used incense to smoke the bees out, then took out the honeycomb and honey. We spread fresh honey on bread—tasting such a fresh flavor for the first time, it was super delicious.
I've been to Eryuan many times, but this time was the best experience.
Went deep into the mountains at over 3000m altitude, to Yunnan's largest green plum production base to pick plums, made two bottles of green plum wine, and sent them to friends far away.
That whole day was immersed in the fragrance of green plums.
This will definitely be another day I often recall.
