Purple coconuts. [Photo by Xu Xiaomin / China Daily]

Yunnan is also famous for its dried or fresh mushrooms. To have them all at a go, head to a hotpot restaurant where you can feast on an assorted of them.

Yunnan has some notable local snacks as well, such as the Xizhou baba, a baked pie made of wheat flour that can be found in Xizhou town of Dali city. The charcoal-baked pie, which has an addictive crispy exterior, comes in sweet and salty options.

Most people prefer the sweet one, which has a red bean filling that is mixed with rose sauce. I found that the salty option, which is filled with minced preserved pork or ham and topped with chopped scallion, was just as delicious.

These pies are available almost everywhere in Dali and the best one I had was prepared by a young couple in a lakeside wet market in Wase town.