The gate tower of Dali Ancient Town

There were four city gates facing west, east, north and south, upon which sat a gate tower. Four further towers were also placed at the four corners of the city wall. As it underwent many phases of prosperity as well as decline, only the city base remains till today. We can explore the mystery belonging to that period of history, especially through witnessing some parts of the city wall, the North City Wall Tower and the South City Wall Tower which were restored in 1982.

Nanzhao Fengqing Island

Located in the Cang-Erhai Scenic Area, Nanzhao Fengqing Island is one of the three islands in Erhai Lake. The most important part of the national scenic spot of Erhai Lake, Nanzhao Fengqing Island boasts advantaged tourist resources. Around the island, the water is clear and the sand white, making for hundreds of acres of beautiful scenery. It is totally surrounded by water, adjacent to Chicken Foot Mountain, the famous Buddhist sacred place, to the east, Shibao Mountain to the north, Dali to the south, and Cangshan Mountain and Erhai Lake to the west. It is often said that “the most beautiful scenery in Dali is in Cang-Er, and the most beautiful scenery in Cang-Er is in Shuanglang.”

Dali Ancient Town

Dali Ancient Town, Unlike any other Chinese town, the traditional Bai ethnic folk houses give the town distinctive feel. The town’s layout was uniform, with five main streets from south to north and eight main streets from east to west, while marketplaces were neatly arranged within the town, which has remained unchanged to this date. Besides the Bai houses, the houses with gray-green roof tiles, peculiar workshops, temples, schools and churches with antique flavor are scattered. Traditional marble artworks, like pencil vases, striped screen, and a variety of woven handicrafts of fine straw are laid chockablock on both sides of the street to be appreciated and purchased. Its grand city wall, traditional Bai houses and marvelous scenery have been attracted many visitors.

Cangshan Mountain

Cangshan Mountain, also known as Diancangshan, two kilometers west of Dali, comprises nineteen peaks. All of them are 3,000 meters above sea level. Green trees and beautiful rivers are everywhere. From north to south the 19 peaks are Playful Cloud, Green Waves, Five Terraces, Lotus, White Cloud, Crane Cloud, Three-sun, Orchid Peak, Snowman, Ying Le, Goddess of Mercy, Harmony, Dragon Spring, Wang Ju, Horse-dragon, Sheng Ying, Buddhist Top, Horse Ear and Setting Sun. The names are all related to the landscape. The highest peak is Horse-dragon, 4,122 meters above sea level into the sky under a snow mantle that never thaws.

Erhai Lake

Erhai Lake is a famous alpine lake in Yunnan, 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 lies on the Tuanshan Mountain in north 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 three pagodas

The three pagodas have survived more than 30 strong earthquakes in the past 1,000 years and stand intact a marvel of architecture; it is a major national treasure under preservation. Standing like three legs of a tripod, the Chongsheng Three Pagodas made of bricks were built a thousand years ago.

Chongsheng Temple

The Chongsheng Temple was the Buddhist center of Nanzhao State. And the temple, commonly known as Dali Three Pagodas, is built between 822 and 859. The three pagodas used to be situated in Chongsheng Temple at the foot of Diancang Mountain on the shores of Lake Erhai. The temple no longer exists, but the three pagodas, different in size and history, remain.