Dali Ancient City - An Old Town has More than 1,200 Years of History to Tell

The existing Dali Ancient City is formed the square-shaped structure, laid out on a typical north-south, east-west axis. There are four main city gate towers (that were once the only portals into the city through the wall) on each of the axes. In the old town, there are five north-south streets and eight east-west streets. All the streets in the old town give a feeling like chessboard.

When looking down from Cangshan Mountain, travelers can see the Wenxian Tower, South Gate, Wuhua Gate and North Gate line up, magnificently and majestically; and Bai ethnic architectures stand along the old streets, elegantly and quaintly.

Old City Gate Towers

The city gate towers stand each side of the old city like the soldiers protecting the old town. The six city gate towers include Wenxian Tower, South Gate, North Gate, Cangshan Gate, Erhai Gate and Wuhua Tower.

Wenxian Tower

Wenxian Tower is called "The First Gate of Dali Old Town". In the reign of Kangxi in Qing Dynasty (1701), the chief commander of Yunnan Province named Piantu inscribed "A Historic Town with Rich Culture" (文献名邦) and hence the tower got the name.

South Gate

South Gate is also called Double Crane Tower or Cheng'en Tower, with a history over 600 years. This gate is the oldest building of Dali Old Town and become the symbol of the ancient town. The inscription "Da Li" on the city wall was inscribed by Guo Moruo, a famous modern Chinese writers.

Wuhua Tower

Wuhua Tower was first built in the year of 856 in Nanzhao for gathering and meeting. This symbolic architecture has five storeys offering a panoramic view of Dali Old Town, Cangshan Mountain and Erhai Lake.

North Gate

The North Gate is called Anyuan Gate or Santa Gate which was first built in 1382. North Gate is the closest gate to Three Pagodas of Dali, about 1.5 kilometers away. Standing on the North Gate, travelers can have a look at Three Pagodas from afar.

Cangshan Gate

Cangshan Gate is the West Gate, also called Yongzhen Tower. It is about 2 kilometers from Cangshan Gate to Tianlongbabu Film Studio and Cangshan Mountain.

Erhai Gate

Erhai Gate is the East Gate, also called Tonghai Tower. It is about 5 kilometers from Erhai Gate to Longkan Pier of Erhai Lake.

Old Streets

Travelers should not miss the famous "Foreigner Street", Fuxing Road and Renmen Road, etc.

The 1500-meter Fuxing Road is the main street and the busiest street in Dali Old Town, linking South Gate and North Gate. The architecture along Fuxing Road keeps Ming and Qing Dynasty style and river flows through the street. The north section of Fuxing Road is mainly for selling clothes and daily goods while the south section is mainly tourist commodities and souvenirs.

"Foreigner Street" is in the upper section of Huguo Road with a length of 185.6 meters. Travelers can see many friends from all over the world and find Chinese and Western restaurants, jewelry shops, tie-dye shops, antique shops, art galleries, bars...

The 1200-meter Renmin Road is the second Foreigner Street with many bars, hostels and restaurants. This east-west street leads to Erhai Gate.

Old Temples & Churches

Another OLD aspect in Dali Old Town is temples and churches. These old sites include Dali Old Town Wumiao Temple, Catholic Church located between Renmin Road and Hongjin Road, and Christian Church located in the north of the town, close to the Second Hospital.

Museums

Travelers can catch the chance to explore the museums in the town, including Dali Museum, China Dali Rural Film History Museum and Dali Intangible Cultural Heritage Museum where you can learn more history and culture of Dali and Bai Ethnic Group.

March Fair (三月节)

Bai people's March Fair is held from 15th to 21th of the third lunar month. March Fair is the grandest festival for the Bai people who are living in Dali, Yunnan. March Fair is also known as Guanyin Fair, hold at the foot of Cangshan Mountain and the west of Dali Old Town. Nowadays, it has developed into the largest market for commodity transaction in the west Yunnan. During the festival, businessmen and local people in and around Dali gather here to participate in the transaction. What’s more, horse-racing, folk dance and songs, Dongjing music will be presented by the Bai, Yi, Naxi, tibetan, and Hui minorities.

Cangshan Mountain

Cangshan Mountain (Mt. Cangshan), located west of Dali Old Town and Erhai Lake, is with nineteen peaks and eighteen streams. Travelers can take cableways to reach the top of Cangshan Mountain or explore the breathtaking scenery along Jade Cloud Road.

Erhai Lake

Erhai Lake (Ear-shaped Sea), reputed as "Pearl of Plateau", is the second largest highland lake of Yunnan. Taking a boat and cycling around the lake are fantastic ways to explore "Silver Cangshan Mountain and Jade Erhai Lake" scenery.

Three Pagodas

Three Pagodas, the symbolic building of Dali, was first built in the time of Nanzhao Kingdom and Dali Kingdom in 9th and 10th century. Looking from a distance, the pagodas are like three ballpoint pens standing between the magnificent Cangshan Mountain and elegant Erhai Lake.

Dali Ancient City (Dali Old Town) lies on Yita Road of Dali Bai Autonomous Prefecture in Yunnan, about 356km northwest of Yunnan’s capital city Kunming and about 157km south of Lijiang.

How to Get to Dali Old Town

Tourists usually get to Dali by high speed train or flight. Dali has only one airport and one bullet train station. They are Dali Airport and Dali Railway Station. Dali Airport has flights to/from Beijing, Chengdu, Chongqing, Guiyang, etc. Dali Railway Station operates bullet trains from Guangzhou (10.5~11 hours) and Kunming (2~2.5 hours) and K-trains from/to Lijiang (about 2 hours).

Dali Ancient City is about 17km away from Dali Railway Station. You can rid a taxi or private car to the Dali Ancient City from the train station in about 40 minutes. And Dali Airport is about 30km away from Ancient City. There are taxi and Airport Bus to take visitors to Dali Ancient City from the airport in about 1 hour.

How to Travel around Ancient City

Buses and private cars are forbidden inside the Ancient City. At the south gate of Ancient City, there are sightseeing buses for you to choose. Those buses will take you to have a circle travel inside the old town and make stops at about 10 appointed stops during the way. However, the best way to travel around the old town is by walking. If you like, you can also rent a bike or an electric motorcycle.

Distance from other famous attractions in Dali

• About 5 kilometers from Erhai Lake
• About 2.3 kilometers from Three Pagodas of Dali
• About 1.9 kilometers from Cangshan Mountain
• About 24.7 kilometers from Shuanglang

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