"Breakup Buddies" Filming Locations Guide: Dali Wutong Inn, Erhai Lake, and Road Trip Routes

A car travels from north to south, with the characters constantly stopping between Zhangjiajie, Furong Town, Kunming, and Dali. "Breakup Buddies" is often simplified to "going to Dali to find the Wutong Inn," but what the film truly leaves behind is a cross-provincial highway: Dali is the emotional climax, while the preceding chaos and detours are equally part of the story.

If you're only planning to follow the movie route in Dali, you can allocate two to three days for Longkan, Erhai Lake, Dali Old Town, and Shuanglang. If you want to retrace the movie route, you'll need at least two segments in Hunan and Yunnan, and you'll have to recalculate the distance of over 1,000 kilometers. You can't drive at the pace of a two-hour movie.

The core of watching the movie in Dali involves visiting Longkan, Erhai Lake, and the ancient city, and it's recommended to allocate two to three days for this trip. The Wutong Inn in the film corresponds to a real inn in the Longkan area, but its operation and visitor status will differ. The complete movie route spans Beijing, Hunan, and Yunnan, making it unsuitable for a short road trip.

What real locations are included in the movie's route?

Place	Relationship with movies	Travel judgment	Recommended time
Longkan in Dali, west bank of Erhai Lake	Wutong Inn and Erhai Lake Life Scene	The main website for watching dramas in Dali; the guesthouse is a commercial space.	Half a day to the 1st
Dali Old Town	The city and nightlife environment at the end of the highway	Suitable for accommodation and walking	Half a day
Shuanglang	The Erhai Lake Inn area, boosted by the movie	Located in a different part of Erhai Lake than Longkan	Half a day to the 1st
Kunming	Filming in cities in Yunnan	Suitable for transportation transfers, no need to chase after specific flight seats.	Half a day
Tianmen Mountain and Furong Town in Zhangjiajie	Filming locations for the first part of the road trip	A separate itinerary to Hunan needs to be arranged.	2 to 3 days
Shangri-La	Filming locations listed in the production company's materials	It is relatively far from Dali, making it suitable for extending into northwestern Yunnan.	More than 2 days

The film information on China Film Network lists Beijing, Zhangjiajie in Hunan Province, Furong Town, Kunming, Dali Ancient City, Erhai Lake, Wutong Inn, and Shangri-La as filming locations. Dali is just the most recognizable section; attributing all the highway footage online to Erhai Lake easily leads to mislocation.

Wutong Inn: The Difference Between the Movie Title and the Actual Business Space

The Wutong Inn in the movie corresponds to the Yundu Inn near Longkan Wharf in Dali. After the movie was released in 2014, a large number of tourists entered the inn looking for the message wall and rooms. At that time, the operators had already stated that it would not be open to the public for visits, and the movie set was gradually restored to the original inn space.

More than a decade has passed, and the guesthouse's name, operating methods, and surrounding roads may have changed. Even if you can find the "same" guesthouse on a map, you shouldn't treat the accommodation space as a public attraction. If you don't have a reservation or any plans to make a purchase, you can simply view it from the public roads and Erhai Lake walkway; do not enter the guest room area, and do not ask guests to cooperate with taking photos.

 Wutong Inn is both a movie set and a constantly evolving private business space. Watching the show does not automatically grant you the right to enter and visit. 

Longkan and the west bank of Erhai Lake: Suitable for cycling, but not for using the road as a film set.

Longkan is located on the west bank of Erhai Lake, and its sunrise, metasequoia trees, village roads, and distant views of Cangshan Mountain all offer unique travel value. After the completion of the Erhai Lake Ecological Corridor, the rules for pedestrians and vehicles on some sections of the road are different from those during the filming of the movie. Electric vehicles, bicycles, and other vehicles should follow the on-site signs.

To experience the feeling of a road trip like in the movies, choose a legal and open cycling route and move between Longkan, Caicun, and the ancient city in sections. Don't drive your vehicle into restricted areas to get a shot of your bike alongside Erhai Lake, and don't stop in the middle of village roads. Early morning light is good, but sunrise is also a popular peak time for photography.

Shuanglang: Although it's also located on Erhai Lake, it's not where Wutong Inn is situated.

After the film's release, the seaside inns in Shuanglang and Longkan saw a significant increase in popularity, with many shops using the "Filming Location of Heartbreak Road" as a selling point. Earlier local investigations had already pointed out that signs with the same name and actual filming locations do not always correspond; the core location of Wutong Inn is in Longkan, not every waterfront inn.

Shuanglang is located on the northeast shore of Erhai Lake, accessible by road from Dali Old Town. It's a great place to see the Nanzhao Folk Island, villages, and the stunning views of Cangshan Mountain and Erhai Lake; its tourism value doesn't rely on movie hype. If you only have two days, choose an accommodation between Longkan and Shuanglang to minimize travel time around the lake.

A two-day, one-night Dali TV series binge-watching itinerary

On the first day, stay in Dali Old Town or on the west bank of Erhai Lake. In the afternoon, hike along Longkan and the ecological corridor, returning to the Old Town in the evening. On the second day, you can continue cycling towards Caicun, or get up early and head to Shuanglang, choosing one section to explore in depth. To complete the entire Erhai Lake loop, add an extra day for a more relaxed experience.

When including the Hunan segment of the film, two to three days should be allocated for Zhangjiajie and Furong Town, followed by a flight or high-speed train journey to Yunnan. After Dali, the trip to Shangri-La should also include at least two more days. Designing all locations as consecutive long-distance road trips will rapidly increase driving time, the risk of returning the car at a different location, and the risk of fatigue.

 The road trip feel of "Breakup Buddies" comes from constantly deviating from the plan. In reality, the journey requires controlling the distance and reserving time each day to truly get off the bus and live life. 

How does it differ from the route in "Go to the Windy Place"?

Both books promote travel in Dali, but with different focuses. "Go to the Windy Place" is suitable for Fengyangyi, Xizhou, Shaxi, and slow-paced accommodations; "Breakup Buddies" is suitable for Longkan, the Erhai Lake Highway, guesthouse culture, and inter-provincial travel. If traveling in the same area, you can use the village route of "Go to the Windy Place" to focus on culture and stops, and the Erhai Lake route of "Breakup Buddies" to focus on cycling and road trips.

The management of seaside guesthouses, traffic rules, and ecological corridors in Dali is constantly changing. Before booking, confirm the actual address, parking, and luggage transfer arrangements. Claims of "original movie rooms" or "celebrity-style beds" without reliable evidence can only be considered commercial advertising.

Reference source

• 1905 Film Network: Information and Filming Locations of "Breakup Buddies"
• Yunnan.cn: Touring Dali through Movies
• Kunming Information Port: On-site Investigation of Wutong Inn and Longkan
• Hunan Provincial Department of Culture and Tourism: "Breakup Buddies" Boosts Tourism in Dali
• Dali Prefecture People's Government: Shuanglang and Nanzhao Folk Island

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