Dali City, also known as Tali, is located in the Dali Bai Autonomous Prefecture in northwestern Yunnan, China. It is not a single city but a county-sized area called a city for administrative purposes. The old town, located about an hour away from the modern industrial city called Dali or Xiaguan, is one of the most popular tourist destinations in Yunnan. Dali has a rich history, having served as the medieval capital of both the Bai kingdom Nanzhao and the Kingdom of Dali, and being severely damaged during the Panthay Rebellion against the Qing in 1856-1863 and a massive earthquake in 1925.
Today, Dali is known for its natural scenery, historical and cultural heritage, and vibrant nightlife. The local economy centers around tourism and services catering to travelers, with sights including the Dali museum, Chong Sheng Temple, Guanyin Palace of Copper Rain, Jianji Great Bell of Nanzhao, Three Pagodas, Butterfly Spring, Demi-Gods and Semi-Devils film city, Xizhou, Shaxi, and Shuang Lang.
Dali is located on a fertile plateau between the Cangshan Range to the west and Erhai lake to the east, and has traditionally been settled by the Bai and Yi minorities. Local transport includes busses, taxis, bicycles, and boats on Erhai Lake, with Dali Airport serving as a domestic airport about 13 km east of Xiaguan on Weishan or Airport Rd. Dali is also connected to Kunming and points east by the Hangrui Expressway and the Dali Expressway, with the old town accessible via China National Highway 214. Dali has a mild subtropical highland climate with short, mild, dry winters and warm, rainy summers.
To preserve the appeal of the old town, industrial development is restricted to areas such as Xiaguan while building codes mandate new construction to conform to the traditional Chinese style, with tiled roofs and brick, plaster, or white-washed walls. Dali has a rich history and is now one of China’s official tourist cities and, along with nearby Lijiang, one of the most popular.
Posted by Manfred Sommer (348 Mio. Views) on 2019-03-08 23:43:25