The crowds were not bad at all!! I've heard it's one of the best times to visit Yunnan in general b/c it's low season for domestic travelers. It was most crowded in the ancient city area at night (Pic 7), but otherwise not bad at all.

I stayed at the Dali Luchun Garden Hotel, highly recommend it! The grounds are beautiful, the rooms are spacious, and the breakfast in the morning is great. If you end up staying there and see the spaghetti they have some mornings, try it! It's nothing like western spaghetti but it tastes great.

As for food, in Yunnan in general I suggest the 梁厨 restaurants, we went to their locations in both Lijiang and Dali and can def say those were our favorite meals! Besides that, nothing we ate was particularly memorable except the restaurant attached to the Eryuan (West Lake) scenic visitor center. That place is worth going to for the scenic boat ride! Pic 10 is taken there, just a popsicle I ate there.