DALI

Dali Bai Nationality Autonomous Prefecture has one city and 11 counties within its jurisdiction. Its prefectural capital is Dali City including Xiaguan city and Dali ancient city . There are four scenic areas in the Dali region, including the Cangshan Mountains, Erhai Lake, Butterfly Spring and other historic relics in Dali City , Jizu Mountain in Bingchuan County , Shibao Mountain in Jianchuan County and Weibao Mountain in Weishan County . Among those areas, Dali City attracts the largest numbers of Chinese and foreign visitors. Dali Ancient City is widely acknowledged as "Backpackers' Paradise" in China. Foreign visitors like to stay in Dali ancient city. Some of them live there for months or even years, to observe and study the fascinating culture of Bai nationality. In the so - called " Yangren Street (foreigner's street) " in the heart of ancient city where is always full of foreign visitors, there are several dozens of cafes, western style restaurants, and clothes shops offering services to foreign guests. And it seems that everyone of local Dali Bai peope in the Yangren Street is a multilinguist! Dali is a famous national historic relic city and a national key scenic spot area. There, visitors can enjoy many historic relics, beautiful natural scenery and colorful nationality customs. Historic relics include the Three Pagodas of Chongsheng Temple which are the symbol of the ancient culture of Dali, the ruins of Tianhe City ( once the capital of the Nanzhao Kingdom ), the Dehua Stele, the ruins of Yangjuhu City ( once the capital of Dali Kingdom and later the new capital of Nanzhao Kingdom ), the Stele commemorating the conquest of the first emperor of the Yuan Dynasty over Yunnan and the Gantong Temple. Scenic spots include the beautiful Erhai Lake, the expansive and lofty Cangshan Mountains, and the charming Butterfly Spring. The newly - developed " jade belt TRIP " in Cangshan Mountains extends over 20 kilometers. The " March Fair " , held on every March 15 of the lunar calendar, the " Raoshanlin " ( a kind of Bai dance ) , held on every April 23 of the lunar calendar and the " Butterfly Meeting " , held on every April 15 of the lunar calendar are rare opportunities for visitors to experience the customs of Bai people.

Tourist Attractions in Dali:

Pagodas of Chongsheng Temple
Pagodas of Chongsheng Temple, commonly known as Dali Three Pagodas, are located in the Chongsheng Temple at the foot of the Zhonghe Peak of the Cangshan Mountain just one kilometer to the northwest of the ancient city of Dali. They were built in the Five Dynasties (907-960AD). The pagodas were built for two main reasons. First, they were holy structures that invoked the Buddha's protection against the frequent disasters of floods and earthquakes. Secondly, the pagodas were used as a storehouse for scriptures and precious objects. More than 600 rare relics of the states of Nanzhao and Dali were discovered in the three pagodas during the 1978 reconstruction, making them even more famous. Standing like three legs of a tripod, the tallest of the three, Qianxun Pagoda was exquisitely constructed, with multiple tiers of eaves. It has 16 tiers that reach a height of 69.13 meters (230 feet). In the central part of each facade, a shrine was built and a Buddha statue of white marble installed. It is in an architectural style typical of the Tang Dynasty (618-907AD). The two smaller pagodas to its west and north, each 42.19 meters (135 feet) high with ten tiers, have a luxurious appearance with their exquisite carvings. They are solid and beautiful, and in octagonal shape. On top of the pagoda are placed three bronze gourds, representative of the ethnic style.

Cangshan Mountain
The Cangshan Mountain, also known as Diancangshan, is located two kilometers west of Dali. It's named after the verdant forests around. The Canshan Mountain is a chain of the Yunlin Mountain of the Hengduan Mountains. Starting at Eryuan in the north and ending at Xiaguan in the south, it measures 42 km in length and 25 km in width. It is best noted for its snow, clouds, rivulets and peaks, which are regarded as the four great wonders of Cangshan Mountain. The mountain is fully covered by woods, enveloped in drifting clouds and hung with springs on its steep cliff sides. With its vast collection of plants and trees, the Cangshan Mountain is also a veritable botanical garden. The Cangshan Mountain is not only abundant in vegetation such as pine trees, furs, camellias, azaleas, orchids and medicinal herbs like Chinese angelica and banksias rose, but also where Dali marble is quarried. The Cangshan Mountain comprises 19 peaks, the highest of which is Malong Peak at an elevation of 4,122 meters. It is snow-capped all the year round with a moraine lake on the summit. There are 18 brooks running down the 19 peaks. The snow-melted water between every two peaks rushes down and converges into the Erhai Lake. The clouds over the mountains are varied and changeable. The most magnificent scenic wonders are the Husband-Yearning Cloud and the Jade-like Belt of Clouds. Every year when spring is changing into summer, a lone cloud will emerge over the top of Yuju peak, drifting up and down and casting glances about. Then, it suddenly turns into a dark cloud, resembling a woman in black. At this very moment, a gale will howl and cause rolling waves across the lake; this cloud is called ¡°The Husband-Yearning Cloud¡±. After rain in summer or autumn, a cloud will drift up slowly in the sky, stretching out kilometers around like a jade belt round the mountain; this is called ¡°the Jade-like Belt of Clouds.

Butterfly Spring
Butterfly Spring is located at the foot of the Yunlong Peak of the Cangshan Mountain, 25 kilometers north of Dali. It is actually a pool four meters deep and 20 square meters wide with ancient camphor trees beside it. In the fourth lunar month every year, when the trees put forth fragrant flowers, thousands of butterflies' flutter among the branches and over the spring water forms a dazzling ¡°Kingdom of Butterflies¡±. Swarms of butterflies in twenty or so breeds descend on the tree, linking those head against tail into numerous colored ribbon-like strings which keep dangling over the pool. The spectacle has become a real wonder known far and wide. The inevitable legend associated with the spring is that two lovers committed suicide here to escape a cruel king. After jumping into the bottomless pond, they turned into two of the butterflies that gather here during May.

The Erhai Lake and Erhai Park
The Erhai Lake, known as Kunming Lake in ancient times, just as its name implies, is similar to an ear in the form. It is a lake formed after a foundering of the earth's crust. It is a fresh water lake in the Yunnan Plateau at an elevation of 1,972 meters. In the middle of it, there are islets and sandbars. It is located two kilometers east of Dali. It starts at Dengchuan in the north and ends at Xiaguan in the south with a length of 42 km and width of 8 km. It is 116 km in circumference and covers an area of 250 square km. The average depth is about 11 meters and the total storage capacity is 2.5billion cubic meters. The blue, rippling lake and the snow-covered Cangshan Mountain add radiance and beauty to each other. The scene is, therefore, described as ¡°Silver Cangshan and Jade Erhai¡±. Three main islands and several temples and villages along the lake's dry eastern shore are worth visiting. ¡°Erhai Moon¡± is one of the best sights where one can enjoy the moon mirrored on the lake on a clear night. The Erhai Lake is also rich in aquatic animals. About an hour by boat from Xianguan is Golden Shuttle Island (Jinsuo Dao), with a small fishing community on the east side and a cave for exploring. On the shore, directly north of the island, is a rocky peninsula crowned by a pavilion and temple. Sacred Buddhist buildings, destroyed and rebuilt many times, have stood on this spot for nearly 1,500 years. Erhai Park is located at Tuanshan Mountain, 2.5km away from Xianguan. It was once a royal deer ranch of the Nanzhao Kingdom. Built in 1976, the park covers1700 mu of land. Climbing along the path up to the mountain, one can see green pine trees, famous flowers like camellia, magnolia primrose, michelia Alba and azalea. On the top are the Observation Pavilion and the Long Corridor overlooking the lake, the zoo and the garden. Standing high on the top, one will have a pleasant view of the jade-like Erhai Lake dotted with sails here and there and the silvery Cangshan Mountain.

The Dehua Stele in Nanzhao
The Dehua Stele in Nanzhao stands at the foot of Fading Peak of Cangshan Mountains and is 6 kilometers from Xiaguan City proper. It faces Erhai Lake, with its back to the Cangshan Mountains. The stele was built in 766AD, the first year of the reign of Tang Emperor Dehua. It is 3.02 meters high, 2.27 meters wide and 0.58 meter thick. Made of sandstone, the stele records the political and military affairs of Nanzhao State and the cause of the Tianbao Battle between Nanzhao and Tang forces. Most important is the fact that the stele records the history of Yunnan Province and the relations between these groups.

The Luosha Pavilion
The Luosha Pavilion is 15 kilometers south of the ancient city of Dali. It houses a statue of Avalokitesvara. The pavilion was built on a huge rock on a mountain slope of the south bank of the Yangxi Stream. The rock is 16 meters wide and 6 meters high. There is a crack in the middle, which is said to have been made by a divine being with an axe.

The Gantong Temple
The Gantong Temple is located on the southern slope of Shengying Peak in the Cangshan Mountains, five kilometers south of the ancient city of Dali. It was built in the early years of the State of Nanzhao (early ninth century). It is composed of the Main Court and the Great Hall to the west of the Court. To the left of the Hall is a bronze bell weighing hundreds of kilograms. While to the right there was originally a big drum with a diameter of nearly two meters, but the drum no longer survives. The temple is appreciated as the foremost in Southwest China for its quiet environment, imposing halls and numerous ceremonies.

The Lesser Putuo
The Lesser Putuo is located on an islet in Erhai Lake. It was built during the Ming Dynasty, and rebuilt in 1982. Its pavilion structure has two stories. On the first story stands a statue of Tathagata and on the second a statue of Avalokitesvara. From the second story, there is a superb panorama: the Dali City proper and 10 of the peaks of the Cangshan Mountains to the west, Haiyin, Wase, Lianhuaping and Yu'an mountains to the east, and the expansive Erhai Lake with sailing boats on it to the south.

The Old City Gate
The ancient city of Dali is one of the 24 leading historical and cultural cities in China. The present city was built in 1382 AD. The city wall had four gates, each with a gate tower. The earth wall was covered by rocks and consolidated by a layer of brick. It was rebuilt on several occasions, but the size and arrangement remain the same. The city was the capital of the State of Dali and later Taihe County.

The Wuwei Temple
The Wuwei Temple is located at the Yangxiang Village in the city of Dali. It was built up in the Yuan Dynasty and was rebuilt late in the Qing Dynasty. From east to west, there are a great hall, passage hall, big palace and 5 wings in the temple. There was a bronze bell, which was built with the silver money that was collected by the Master of the temple Wu Ai and his disciple Fa Hai in the year of 1445. This Bronze Bell is 12 meters high with the diameter of 1 meter. The sound of the bell is loud and can be heard at a far distance.

Foreigner's Street
Along this street lie many tea houses, antique shops, Chinese and Western restaurants, and the ancient buildings here and there. No matter tourists from home or abroad must come here to feel the real life of Dali.