Dali      Yunnan Province


Dali is a city 400km west of Kunming. It is located between the Erhai Lake and the
Cangshan Mountain. The area is famous for its natural beauty and the ethnic culture of the
Bai people.

The Cangshan Mountain with 19 peaks stands here like a silver screen. The highest peak
is 4120 meters above sea level and the whole mountain range runs as long as 50
kilometers. The Erhai Lake looks like a mirror dotted with floating boats on its rippling
surface.

The Erhai Park on the southern shore provides visitors with its ancient-style pavilions,
corridors and platforms where one can take a panoramic view of the Cangshan Mountain
and the Erhai Lake. The Butterfly Spring is another frequent destination of tourists in Dali. The clear water and the flying butterflies give
people a sense of tranquility and mystery.

In history, Dali used to be one of the important posts on the road to India and Myanmar. It was once a very prosperous town for cultural
and economic exchanges between China and Southeast Asian countries. Both the well-known Chinese geographer Xu Xiake and the
Italian traveler Marco Polo visited Dali and described it in their Travels.

Dali is noted for its glorious history and culture. Built in the 9th century, the three majestic pagodas of Cangshan Temple present a
typical architectural style of ancient China. The stone Dehua Tablet of Nanzhao Kingdom is a very important historical relic for
researching the history of the Tang Dynasty and the Nanzhao Kingdom. Another important historical relic is the Stone Tablet
Commemorating Kublai Khan’s Conquest of Yunnan. This tablet is the earliest record about the establishment of Yunnan Province by
Kublai Khan.