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Dali

The Three Pagodas of Chongsheng Temple in Dali

A Bai heritage town between the Cangshan mountains and Erhai Lake, crowned by the thousand-year-old Three Pagodas.

Sightseeing map

Major local sights pinned on a satellite map — tap a marker for its name.

  1. 1 Erhai Lake
  2. 2 Cangshan Mountains
  3. 3 Dali Old Town
  4. 4 Xizhou Old Town
  5. 5 Three Pagodas
  6. 6 Shuanglang Old Town
  7. 10 Shaxi Ancient Town
  8. 11 Butterfly Spring
  9. 12 Xiao Putuo Islet
Best season
Spring (Mar–May) brings rapeseed and cherry blossom, but also the year's strongest UV. Summer (Jun–Aug) is cool, though the rains start in June, usually in the evening. Autumn (Sep–Nov) has the clearest air and the best light, with prices easing after mid-October. Winter is clear, dry and cold.
Time to allow
Two to three days.
Altitude
2052 m

About

A Bai heartland set between the nineteen peaks of Cangshan and Erhai lake. Dali Old Town sits at 2,052 m and Xiaguan at 1,970 m, with about 80% of sea-level oxygen — apart from climbing Cangshan, most people feel nothing, making this the gentlest altitude on a Yunnan trip.

Getting there

Kunming to Dali is 307 km of high-speed rail, about 2 hours for around ¥150. Fengyi airport is about 15 km from town, roughly ¥30 and 40 minutes by ride-hailing.

Getting around

Public transport here is among the best of these cities: 32 bus routes plus 3 tourist lines, all taking mobile payment. But the two shores of Erhai differ completely — the west is a 46 km greenway closed to outside vehicles, while the east is open to cars and carries Xizhou, Shuanglang and Xiaoputuo.

What to eat

Bai three-course tea, rushan cheese, Xizhou flaky pastry, and fish from the lake.

Know before you go

The wind is real, strengthening as you near the water, and can stop the Cangshan cableway. Street taxis run the meter but take long routes, and the pedicabs near the old towns invent per-kilometre prices — order a car through an app. Hotels are banned within 80 m of the lake, so "lake view" photos are often shot to hide the road; ask for unedited pictures before booking.

Sights here
Routes through here
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