Dali,  Yunnan Province

About 420 km (261 miles) Northwest of Kunming, the city of Dali is located between Erhai Lake and Cangshan Mountain. With the population of about half million, Dali is the capital city of the Dali Bai Autonomous Prefecture. The city was built in 1832 as a city of the ancient states of Nanzhao and Dali. The wind of Xiaguan, the flower of Shangguan, the snow of the Cangshan Mountain and the moon of the Erhai Lake make up the Top Four Scenes in Dali.

Stretching from north to south, the Cangshan Mountain is 3,500 meters above sea level with its main peak at 4,122 meters high. Snow covers the mountain top all year round and the melted water forms streams flowing down the valley into the Erhai Lake. The thicklt-forested mountain always looks green and moist, and in autumn, belts of cloud skirts the mountain side, lingering for days on end. The Clear and Green Stream, the Dragon and Phoenix Cave and the Zhonghesi Temple are the main scenic spots of Cangshan Mountain.

Erhai Lake of Dali is a plateau fault limn. Legend has it that at the bottom of the lake grows a tremendous jade cabbage and the jade juice secreted by it forms the water of the Erhai Lake. In the bright moonlight, the smooth Erhai Lake presents the mirror image of the white Cangshan Mountain snow, creating the famous scene called “Jade Erhai Lake and the Silver Cangshan Mountain”. Erhai Lake is reputed for its three islands, four shoals, eight scenes, and nine bends. A cruise around the lake at night will give you the full taste of its charisma.

The architecture of Dali is still featured with a traditional pattern of the Ming (1368-1644) and Qing (1644-1911) dynasties, with five east-west streets and eight north-south lanes, all paved with grey flagstone and with brooks flowing along-side them. The first impression left by the houses of the Bai ethnic group is its orderliness and grandiose. Each has three white plastered wall plastered walls and roofs of grey tiles, with the front gate shielded by a screen wall. Decorated with bracket sets and cordons, the front gate never fails to get noticed. The screen wall on the other hand is where the eyes of the visitors linger. In the center of the screen wall usually embeds a big marble stone of the Cangshan Mountain, surrounded by calligraphy and paintings. In front of the screen wall stands a small flower bed. The screen wall, together with the mosaic-covered ground constitutes the living space of the Bai people. As a matter of fact, the dwelling is where a Bai person’s total income went in days gone by.

In ancient times, Dali was mostly known for its countless towers. Among them, the most magnificent ones should be the pagodas in the Chongshengsi Temple. The main pagoda of the three, the 16-tiered Qianxun Pagoda, stands in the middle, and the two adjacent pagodas are 10 stories high. The Qianxun Pagoda was hollow and once equipped with a ladder for people to climb. Seem from the top of the pagoda, the Erhai Lake decorated with white sails and green shoals and the Cangshan Mountain skirted by clusters of clouds are all within clear view.

About 26 km away from the ancient city of Dali lays the Butterfly Spring. The spring water squeezes its way out of white sand and pebbles and then pours into a 2-square-meter pond walled with white marble banister. The pond is surrounded by thick foliage, among which the most notable is an ancient tree called the Butterfly Tree for its shape like the wings of a butterfly. In the season when the Butterfly Tree is in blossom, thousands of butterflies, both palm-big and bee-sized ones, gather at the Butterfly Spring. The butterflies resting on the Butterfly Tree then form a colorful ribbon down to the spring by linking their feelers one by one. When they have reached the surface of the spring, the butterflies then scatter to all sides and start the game all over again.

Dali is the dwelling place of Bai ethnic group. White is the color of honour for Bai people. Men prefer to wear white shirts and women like to wear earrings and bracelets. Maidens have braids and tie bright red strings on their white turbans. Between the 15th and 21st day of the third month of the lunar calendar, the traditional festival of the third Month Street is held annually, with horse racing, singing and dancing and trading activities as the main events.

Related Report Links: Dali, Yunnan Province