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Dali City stands against Cangshan Mountain in the west and adjoins Erhai Lake in the east, and is embraced by undulating hills around. The elevation of the city proper is 1,974 metres. Dali is a highland city in low latitudes and its climate is of subtropical highland monsoon type. The weather is temperate, the annual mean temperature being 15 C and rainfall 1,078 mm. The monsoon season falls on June through October, and there is no marked seasonal changes in a year. Abundant sunshine makes the weather warm, but the wind is very strong, so Xiaguan of Dali is known as "A City of Wind."
3 pagoda in Dali ancient town
As "a land of letters", Dali was the cradle of the Bai culture. In the long history of the past, the ancestors of the Bais and the Yis had created the brilliant Erhai Culture and left numerous illuminating historical and cultural relics. Within the boundaries of Dali, there are many ancient pagodas, steles, places of historical interest and frescoes. The ancient Dali City is still standing there elegantly and toweringly. The most outstanding places of interest in Dali are: the ancient city proper of Dali, the Three Pagodas on the ruins of Chongshengsi Monastery, Nanzhao Stele, the Tablet Commemorating Kublai khan's Conquest of Yunnan, the remains of Taihe City, the Tomb of Du Wenxiu, the scroll of pictorial history of Nanzhao (Tang Dynasty), Pictures on Buddhist themes Painted by Zhang Shengwan of Dali (Song Dynasty), and the Frescoes in Xingjiaosi Temple of Shaxi (Ming Dynasty). All these are the witnesses of the brilliant history of this ancient city.
Cangshan
Mountain and Erhai Lake are the best scenic spots in Dali,
which are reputed as the "Snow-covered Cangshan Mountains and Jade-Green
Erhai Lake". Cangshan Mountain stands erect like a huge screen. Its
snowcapped pinnacles and the streams in between under fleecy clouds make a
beautiful picture. The placid and crystal clear Erhai Lake comprises the
following famous scenic spots: the Three Islets, the Four Sand Bars, the
Five Miniature Lakes and the Nine Curvatures. The magnificent Three
Pagodas, the Lofty Cangshan Mountain and the Colourful Butterfly Spring
add lustre to what is already beautiful. The Wind, Flowers, Snows and the
Moon make a perfect natural picture that renders this ancient city even
more attractive. So, people adorn it as "A Corner of Mother Nature" and
"Switzerland in the East."
The folk ways of the minority
nationality are richly colourful. The architectural layout of "Sanfang
Yizhaobi" (a courtyard with rooms on three sides and a screen wall on the
remaining side) and "Sihe Wutiangjing" (one big courtyard with four
smaller ones at the corners of the main one) of the Bai nationality is
elegant yet unsophisticated. "Every household has a water well and every
family owns a number of potted flowers" are the tradition and common
practice of the Bais. The attire of the Bai girls is brilliant and
graceful, simple yet harmonious. The national minorities in the Dali area
have many traditional festivals and gatherings, namely: the Benzhu
Festival (worshipping the guardian saint or the local god of a Bai
community), the Flower Festival, the March Fair, Raosanling Festival,
Torchlight Festival and Lake Tour Festival. Among them, the March Fair is
the most magnificent of all.
Terraces on the way from Dali to Lijiang
1-3days trips Round Dali
Cormorant fishing: The Bai tradition of fishing
Dali bike tours | Dali bike + boat tours | Dali trekking + camp
Cycling around Erhai lake 2-3 days | Dali - Shibaoshan - Shaxi 1-2 days
Cable car up to Cangshan mountain + hike on the cloud road
Dali Ecotours 1-3 days | Dali Eco-tours 5-8 days | Dali-Weishan market day
Cormorant fishing is a tradition of hundreds of years old. The birds are with the fisherman from the day they are born. He feeds them and takes them every day to the lake to have them watch the adult birds fishing. The grown up birds have a string of hemp around their neck so that if they catch fish they can't swallow the bigger ones. They bring the fisherman the big fish and he rewards them with smaller ones they can eat.
When the younger birds are big enough they are conditioned to do the same thing. Cormorant fishing is a dying tradition. From the 75 fishermenfamilies there are 15 left doing this. The main reason for this is that the lake is starting to get empty because of over-fishing. Many birds are sold or killed because the fishermen can't afford them any longer. The food is more expensive than what the birds actually bring in. At this moment plans are being developed to keep alive not only the birds but also the tradition. So if you still want to see this tradition.
If you want to see it have to booking befor the fishing man going on the lake.
2-10days trips round Dali
Dali-Tiger leaping gorge trek 2-3days | Dali-Lijiang-T.L.G-Zhongdian 4-6days
Dali-Lijiang-Zhongdian-deqin(Meeli) 5-8days | Dali-Weishan-Pu'er-Banna-Kunmin 5-10days
4-16days trips round Dali
Dali-Pu'er-Banna-Yuanyang rice terraces-Jianshui-Kunming 8-12days
Dali-Kunming-Tiankeng(great pit)-Guilin-Yangshuo-Yongsheng rice terraces 12-16days
Dali-Lugu lake(matrilineal) 4-6days | Dali-Lugu lake-Lijiang 4-6days
Dali-Lugu lake-Yanyuan-Xichang 6-8days | Dali-Lijiang-Zhongdian-flight to Lhasa 5-8days
12-20days trips round Dali
Dali-Lijiang-Zhongdian-Deqin-Mangkam-Bamda-Linchi-Lhasa 12-15days
Dali-Lijiang-T.L.G-Zhongdian-Daocheng-Yahding-Litang-Kamding-Chengdu 16-20days
Shaxi Ancient Town
The only surviving market town on the Tea and Horse Caravan trail, ShaXi town, has been built 600 years ago, is inhabited mainly by Bai, Yi, and Lisu.
In this town you still can find some ancient courier station...
Temple of Chongsheng
Great bell temple
