Dream lifestyles in Dali end in disappointment

Smog a factor

Beijing resident Mu Yi moved to Dali after careful planning and visits to the city with his wife.

He said he decided to relocate 2,100 kilometers from the capital due to heavy smog, which had caused him serious discomfort. But more important, he wanted to change his way of life.

The 45-year-old worked for a State-owned company in Beijing before moving. Since 2001, he had been sent abroad by his company to work in countries such as Sudan, Ecuador, Iran, Syria and Iraq as chief manager for business development. However, he faced great pressure, both from work and security problems.

Mu said he had several narrow escapes from bomb attacks near his office in Iraq, where he worked for seven years.

When he returned to work at the company's Beijing headquarters in 2015, he found he could not adapt to life in the city. He had to travel for a total of three hours each day on the subway between home and work.

He also had a busy work schedule, and began to wonder what life meant to him, Mu said.

"I felt I needed a change, so I talked with my wife. She agreed with me that we should sell our house in Beijing and move to somewhere we liked," he said.

The couple searched online and drew up plans to move, finally deciding on Dali, where they bought a villa on an estate at the foot of Mount Cangshan.

In May 2017, Mu left his job and traveled with his wife and son to their new home.

He said he is happy with his new life. "The lifestyle in Dali is slow, easygoing and totally relaxed. There are no business phone calls, as there always were in Beijing. This is 100 percent the life I dreamed of," he said.

Mu is trying to find something he enjoys to begin a new career. "I don't intend to take up a job to make money - I want to find something I truly love doing to enrich my life," he said. "Since I decided to move to Dali, making money is no longer a priority."

Chu, the author, said she and her husband enjoy their new life. They have their own property and a business in Dali. She gave birth to a daughter last year, which has made life busier.

She said Dali is a good place for her to get to know more people from across the country.

Many of the nonlocals who have chosen to remain in Dali, which also attracts considerable numbers of foreigners, believe their new lives are good.

"Maybe someday when my daughter is of school age we might go back to Beijing. But who knows?" Chu said.

Mu said, "I don't know what will happen in two or three years time or beyond, but now is the best time for me and my family."

Yang, the restaurant owner, said: "I will always be here in Dali. When you are enjoying the best time of your life, why bother thinking of the future?"