Lancang River

　　The Lancang River flows through Yun County for a total distance of 176.5 km. Since the 1980s, the state has successively built million-kilowatt-class hydroelectric power stations—the Manwan Hydropower Station and the Dachaoshan Hydropower Station—on this stretch of the river. The dams of the two power stations rise abruptly into the sky, forming two serene, picturesque highland lakes connected like terraces, as well as a hundred-mile-long lake, namely the highland lake of the Manwan Reservoir area and the hundred-mile-long lake stretching 91.3 km from the Manwan Hydropower Station to the Dachaoshan Hydropower Station. Due to the combined effect of the two dams in raising the water level, the originally towering green mountains appear shorter, creating numerous large and small bays and peninsulas. The lake surface becomes winding and twisting, with uniquely varied shapes. Looking out over the lake, the water is a vast expanse of azure blue, with ranges of green mountains stretching continuously. The landscape of mountains and water blend together, creating a seamless harmony of water and sky.

　　Boating on the lake, the scenery changes with every movement of the boat—each step presents a new view—giving one the distinct feeling of “clearly seeing the mountaintops, yet sailing atop them,” evoking an involuntary association with Li Bai’s verse, “The monkeys’ chatter on both banks never ceases, but the light boat has already passed ten thousand layered peaks.” Along the lakeshore, contiguous fertile fields, flowers, trees, and leisurely grazing livestock, along with ethnic minority villages hidden within the lush greenery, all together compose a poetic, dreamlike pastoral symphony. It forms a blissful scene where heaven, water, and humans coexist in harmony, and people and nature are in perfect unity.