Poetic living by Dianchi Lake at the "Zuo Ha" café downstairs, cloud-view dining upstairs,

When the shimmering waves of Dianchi Lake hit the floor-to-ceiling windows, and the aroma of coffee mingles with the lake breeze on the terrace, I found an "ideal lifestyle sample" by Dianchi Lake in Kunming — Dianchi Youli Hotel. Downstairs is the lazy "Zuo Ha" café, upstairs is a scenic restaurant overlooking Dianchi Lake, and the rooms are filled with artistic touches, making even daydreaming a pleasure. ☕️ "Zuo Ha" café downstairs: Lazy moments by Dianchi Lake Hidden on the hotel's first floor is Kunming’s super popular trendy café "Zuo Ha" (a Yunnan dialect phrase meaning "sit down and rest a while"). Step inside, and the warm atmosphere is woven from natural wood tables and chairs and rattan pendant lamps. Outside the window, the sparkling waves of Dianchi Lake shimmer, while jazz music plays from vinyl records. 📸 Photo-worthy spots alert: • Lake-view floor-to-ceiling window seat: Order a "Dianchi Special" (Yunnan small-grain coffee + rose sugar), watch boats glide across the water, and see sunlight dance on the coffee cup rim. • Vintage green plant wall: Wear a floral dress and lean against the wall; every snap looks like a scene from a French film. • Hidden Easter egg: The barista customizes pour-over coffee to your taste and offers a "coffee grounds succulent pot" DIY experience! 🍽️ Scenic restaurant upstairs: Taste all of Yunnan in the clouds Take the elevator straight to the top floor, where the panoramic floor-to-ceiling window restaurant offers views of Dianchi Lake, Western Hills, and the city skyline. By day, it’s a brunch time bathed in sunlight; by night, a romantic dinner under candlelight and starlight. 🌄 Must-try signatures: • Steam pot chicken with rose sauce: Slow-cooked for 3 hours in Jianshui purple pottery steam pot, the broth is clear as jade, and dipping it in rose sauce adds a unique flavor. • Wild mushroom hotpot (seasonal): A must-try during the rainy season, matsutake and chicken mushrooms bubble in a copper pot, so fresh it’ll make your eyebrows raise. • Dianchi Lake fresh seafood platter: Silver fish omelet, fried shrimp cakes, and sour-spicy crucian carp — a bite of Dianchi’s bounty. 💡 Hidden experiences: • Book the "sunset set meal" in advance, and the restaurant will decorate with rose petals and candles for a romantic dinner with the sunset. • A mini art exhibition is tucked in a corner of the restaurant, featuring rotating works by local painters, so you can enjoy art while waiting for your meal. 🛏️ Rooms bursting with design: Every corner is art The hotel has only 20 rooms, each designed by a different designer with themes ranging from "Dianchi fishing lights" to "French rustic charm," rejecting uniformity. 🔍 Other room highlights: 🌿 Nearby activities: From Dianchi waves to old street vibes • Dianchi cycling: The hotel offers vintage bicycles for free; a 10-minute ride along the lake leads to Haigeng Dam, where you can feed red-billed gulls (winter only). • Cultural exploration: A 5-minute walk to the "Caiyunli" art district to browse independent bookstores and watch theater performances. • Old street food hunt: A 15-minute taxi ride to Nanqiang alleys to enjoy tofu pudding, rice noodles, and grilled milk cheese, soaking in Kunming’s local life. 💌 Genuine experience snippets "I was worried a design hotel would be 'all style, no substance,' but the details warmed me! On a rainy day, the butler brought ginger tea and a blanket and lent me an umbrella to take photos by the lake; the rose rice pudding at breakfast was perfectly sweet, and even the tableware was handmade pottery. The biggest surprise was the 'Dianchi sound blind box' in the room — scanning the code lets you hear waves, birdsong, and fishermen’s calls, like putting Dianchi Lake into your headphones." — Blogger Lin Xia 💬 "Only after staying at Dianchi Youli did I understand that the poetic 'facing the sea' feeling can be easily had in Kunming too."