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Ancient City of Dali

Features of Ancient City of Dali

 

Let’s start with” one Yunnan's most popular tourist destinations”Historic sites, ancient buildings, temples, Cangshan Mountain, Erhai Lake, local crafts cannot satisfy you? Then, how do the "Foreigners' Street" with Western-style restaurants and bars and English-speaking business owners sound? Yes, that’s the meaning of tourism: wandering among the scenic area of Erhai Lake and Cangshan Mountain, and ancient architectures with 1,000 years old, learning the history and peoples of these area, shooting the every possible beauty before you. Onlinechiantours highly suggest you have a visit of the Foreigners’street.

As Kingdom of Nanzhao unified the southern China about the year 738 AD, the Dali became an important trade center as it located on the road from Southeast and South Asia to inner China. On the other hand, as the rulers of the Nanzhao are Buddhists, Dail became a center for the spread of Buddhism from Southeast and South Asia to the rest of China and East China. In 1253, as Mongolian Emperor Kublai Khan conquered the Dali, Dali became an important military outpost for the Mongolians.

With a population of about 40,000 people, a large percentage of them are of ethnic minorities called Bai or Yi. Though there are some older buildings and structures remaining from earlier eras, such as the Three Pagodas from the Tang Dynasty era, most of the present ancient city of Dali was built during the Ming Dynasty, and it was preserved by the government nowadays. As modern structures are forbidden to construct here, so the structures in Ancient City of Dali are traditional.

It is very small enough to get around in on foot, and is laid out in a grid. Besides, no vehicles are allowed in the ancient city of Dali. The major landmarks are the South and North Gates with their thick walls with Fuxing Road running between them, Cangshan Gate and Erhai Gate, and Yangren Street (Foreigner’s Street) that is lined with cafes, international style restaurants and tourist shops. A stroll through the ancient city with its stone paved streets, traditional style houses, and numerous gardens is an interesting excursion. It’s true that the local people love growing flowers and there is an annual Flower Festival.

"Foreigners' Street", with Western-style restaurants and bars and English-speaking business owners, is a place where foreign visitors can congregate. Besides, the various snacks of Bai People, traditional drinking of “Three Cups of Tea” of Bai People and a lot of marble decorative objects and marble art objects will give you day’s exploration.

A traditional Bai house has three rooms, one major room and two side wings. Facing the major room is a wall called the “shining wall”, for when the sun sets, the sunlight shines on the wall and then reflects into the yard, making the whole yard bright. Bai Houses have extensive decoration, such as the colorful pictures, woodcarvings, marble craft objects, and traditionally dyed cloth etc.

Ancient City of Dali Notes

1.Getting There
There is a direct flight between Kunming and Dali, and from the Dali airport to Ancient City of Dali takes about 40 minutes by taxi. Also it is possible to take a train from Kunming to Dali about 8 hours.

2.Nearby Attractions
Cangshan Mountain
The famous Cangshan Mountain scenic reserve locates only a few kilometers away.