Dali prefecture is the only Bai autonomous prefecture in China. With one city and 11 counties within its jurisdiction, the prefecture features a splendid culture and rich folk customs. Dali city (including Xiaguan city and Dali ancient city), the capital of the prefecture, serves as the political, economic and cultural center of the whole preference.
Dali is a famous national historic relic city and a national key scenic spot area. There, visitors can enjoy many historic relics, beautiful natural scenery and colorful nationality customs. It is also one of the birthplaces of Chinese civilization in southwest China. There are many scenic areas in Dali region, including the Cangshan Mountains, Erhai Lake, Butterfly Spring, Jizu Mountain, Shibao Mountain and Weibao Mountain. Among those areas, Dali City attracts the largest numbers of Chinese and foreign visitors. Dali Ancient City is widely acknowledged as Backpackers Paradise in China. Foreign visitors like to stay in Dali ancient city. Some of them live there for months or even years, to observe and study the fascinating culture of Bai nationality.
With its ancient history and natural scenery, Dali is preserved as one of the first 24 historical and cultural towns in China. Dali has become one of the most popular attractions for foreign tourists since it had its first foreign visitors in 1983.
Area Code: 0872
Zip Code: 671000
Location: Dali is located in mid-west of Yunnan Province. 338 kilometers from Kunming.
Climate: monsoon climate with small season divisions, distinct vertical temperature difference.
Area: 1468 square kilometers
Population: 590,000 (Bai minority account for 65 % of the total)
Ethnic Groups: totally 24 minority groups including Bai, Han, Hui, Yi, Lisu, Naxi, Miao, Tibetan, Zhuang, Dai, Wa, Nu and etc.
dining
The food in Dali city is different from that in other areas in Yunnan Province. Little chili is added in the food of Dali. So, it can well cater to the taste of those visitors who never eat chili. The unique food in Dali include fish casserole, Tofu casserole, Cheese (Rushan, Rubing), many kinds of wild fungus, Ham, Various flowers and local green vegetables, Rice noodle, Sticky rice cake with pickled veggies and meat sauce, Mashed potato.
The best restaurants of Dali are centralized within the old city. If you want to try the local food, Huguo Road (also named Foreigners’ Street) inside the old city is the first choice. Along the 200m-long Huguo Road, various extremely characteristic restaurants, beer parlors and cafes can be seen everywhere. They serve a full range of Western, Yunnan, Bai and Chinese dishes. Taihe Lou, which is noted for Sandaocha (Three Courses Tea) of the Bai nationality and the Butter Tea of the Tibetan nationality, is located in this street, attracting countless foreigners to drink there.
On Renmin Road, there are many local Bai and Muslim restaurants serve authentic good fresh food, you just need point out what you want over the shelf. Since the cuisines of the Bai nationality are spicy, you need tell them if you don't eat chili.
shopping
Dali Foreigner Street (Huguo Road) is located inside Dali ancient city. It is 1000 meters long from the east end to the west. It is seven meters wide, paved with dark gray slates. It starts from Tibetan-Yunnan road from the west side, crisscrossing with Boai Street and Fuxin Street. It is a must visit place for visitors to Dali. It centralizes various textiles, handicraft products of national minority and special products of Tibet and Yunnan. The objects selling in curio stores also give people unexpected surprise.
At the Butterfly Spring neighborhood, there is a village called Zhoucheng. Entering into it, you will found that nearly all families have their own workshop of making Laran or Zharan. You may choose some Laran or Zharan there.
You can also purchase beautiful embroidery of the Miao minority at a number of shops. The embroidered items include baby carriers, clothing or decorative patches that were attached to traditional costume.
entertainment
The Bai nationality is famous for their hospitality and their love of dancing and singing. Visitor may go to see Bai dancing performances and the three courses tea ceremony. The best palace to see them is the boat to Erhai Lake as and the Yan Family Courtyard in Xizhou. Besides dancing and three courses tea, programs such as Wedding, March Fair, Raosanling and other ceremonies could be showed. There, daily performances start at 9am and 2pm, and admission is 20 RMB.
For most of the foreigners, they prefer to spend a quiet evening in the ancient city of Dali. The bars and cafes on Huguo Road (also known as Foreigners Street) are always crowded with foreign and Chinese travelers. Imagine Beatles music playing in an ancient Chinese town and you have a picture of the strange atmosphere created in Dali! The bars and cafes you can't miss are the Tibetan Cafe, Sunshine Cafe, Old Wooden House and Noodle's Book Store on Huguo Road, and the Cafe De Jack and Dali Window on Bo'ai Road on the intersection with Huguo Road.
transportation
Airport
Opened to flight in 1995, Dali Airport is located in southeast bank of the Erhai Lake and is 12 kilometers from Dali city. It can receive Boeing 737 and below. Its flight cities include Kunming, Xishuangbanna, Tianjin, Chengdu, Guangzhou, Chongqing, Guiyang, Guangzhou, Beijing, Shanghai, etc.
The ticket could be bought in major hotels and travel services in Jianshe Road in Xiaguan.
Railway
Dali railway is located in the Yunling Avenue east of the new city. Each day, there are four trains to Kunming, one in morning and three in evening.
Ticket from Dali to Kunming only could be bought in the hall of 35108 Army Hostel in Jianshe Road within the period from 9:30 am to 17:30 pm. The ticket to other cities in the province could be got in the Booking Office in No. 21, Jianshe Road during the period from 9:00 am to 18:00 pm.
Bus
There are three long-distance bus stations in Dali. Dali Long-distance bus Station, as the biggest one in Dali, is located at No.21, Jianshe Road. It operates luxurious express bus lines to Kunming, Lijiang, Zhongdian and etc. Xiaguan North Bus Station is also located in Jianshe Road. It mainly handles the buses to Kunming, Lijiang, Zhongdian, Liuku, Ruili, Jinghong and the suburb of Dali.
Taxi
Taxis in Dali generally cost 5 RMB for the first 3 kilometers and after it 1.4 RMB for each additional kilometer. Outside the ancient city, all prices are negotiable. A taxi to Xiaguan will cost around 40 RMB.
highlights
Tie-dye (Zharan)
Tie dry is a kind of time-honored dying technique in China. According to historical records, it has already appeared by the fourth century at the latest.
Tie dye process includes several procedures. The first step involves drawing the varied and colorful designs on each piece of cloth. The second step is to tie the cloth with thread - not too tightly not too loosely. Thirdly, it involves the dyeing of the cloth with the paint made of Banlangen (a kind of Chinese medicine). Finally, the threads have to be removed and the cloth hung out to dry. In Dali, all the girls have mastered the technique. Generally, the materials used are pure white cotton or a fabric of cotton and flax. The color used is indigo - a blue extracted from dye-yielding herbs. The designs are simple, pastoral and fade-proof and the patterns put on the cloth are usually ordinary flowers, birds, insects and fish.
There is a village named Zhoucheng in Dali where indigo-blue tie-dyeing is prosperous. Chou Cheng is a village about 2,000 meters above sea level. The people who live in this place are Bai nationality. In recent years, home-based workshops appeared and became so common that nearly every family had one. Working procedures became more and more complicated with increased demand.
With continuous evolvement, the choices and designs are richer than before. Blue, green, red, brown and other colors are adopted. You can see flaming tie-dyed tablecloths, handkerchiefs, portiere and clothes hung out in the courtyards, waving in the wind. What attractive folk art!
The grass plaiting of Dali
The grass plaiting is a traditional handicraft art that folks hand down in Dali, the category is numerous, the resource is abundant, each difference of assortment, became the different characteristics of each race. It mainly has the traditional valley grass, straw, the palm tree silk...etc. According to the historical data, at the beginning of the Ming Dynasty, there were schools in the area of Yongchang to teach the method of plaiting grass; Dali once belonged to Yongchang in Ming Dynasty. From that time it is rumored generation by generation. In the recent years, because of the need of the market, the development of the tourism, the category of the grass plaiting of Dali is more and more, contain several hundred cultivate such as grass shade, grass mat, grass basket, grass fan, straw mat, the grass system toy...etc. Only the grass basket is colorful, the shape is diverse, making the dim in vision of person disorderly. There are the race and folks love to see and hear patterns embroidered on the products of grass plaiting such as butterflies, camellias, three towers, Eel Lake, Chang Mountain, animals etc. They are interesting and novel beauty and economic and practical, not only local and each ethnicity like, but also sell far as America, Europe, all countries of Southeast Asia.
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