Dali

Dali is located west of Kunming. The city is famous for its marble (Dalishi), but might be more famous for travelers for its ambiance. Time seems not to have moved for centuries, the cozy and relaxed ambiance, gives you the feeling of the real old Chinese provincial flair.

Dali Bowuguan

This is the Dali Museum, decorated in an old Soviet-style. The museum will show you bronze, ceramics and of course marble from the 8th till the 10th century ac. Unfortunately the museum has lack on English explanations, which could make it less interesting.

Yangren Jie

This is the Chinese translation for “Foreigner’s street”. The reason is that this street has lots of Western-restaurants and of course souvenirs-shops. You will find your home dishes like: apple-pie, cheeseburgers or pizzas. Sometimes it is hard to recognize, but the taste will remind you of being home. The people, who don’t want to be reminded of home, can find also all the local specialties and Tibetan food.

Erhai-Hu

The lake of Erhai is located 10 minutes by bike from Dali, might be one of the largest lakes you have seen in China. When you are standing at the Zonghe Temple you will have a clear view at the fisherman on the lake. They are using cormorants to catch fish. These birds are tied up by ropes while they dive for fish. As soon as the birds catch a fish, the fisherman picks the fish out of there bill.

The lake is furthermore the best way to visit the village of Wase, a traditional village built at the shores of the lake. Also the lake is home to the island Putuo, which is inhabited by a small community.

Santasi

Santasi is also known as The Three Pagoda. The Pagoda can be recognized from far away, in the north-west of Dali. The biggest Pagoda is 72 meters high and is built out of 16 layers. Although the Pagodas are very beautiful, the entrance fee of 121 Yuan, may hesitate entering them.

 


Instead of going into the Pagoda, you could also take the cable-car to the Zonghe-Temple as a good alternative, to get the best view of them.

More sights to visit:

  • Zonghe Temple
  • Cangshan Mountains
  • Guayin-Temple
  • Gantong-Temple
  • Nunnery of Jizhao
  • The village of Xizhou
  • The market of Shaping
  • Hudie Quan, the Butterfly Source

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