Dali and Xizhou

Dali used to be a paradise for the individual traveler: an old town on lake Erhai, with narrow streets lined with colorful little shops and plenty of great pubs and bars, one would easily fall in love with. Now the lake and the Cangshan mountain range are still there for you to visit, but Dali itself has changed a lot. 1999 Horticultural Expo in Kunming has arrived there, too, and the old alley that connected the North and South Gate has been broadened to make place for the growing Chinese tourism.

Two new gates have been built, and city walls have been raised over the remains of the ancient ones that enclosed the town in earlier times, so that if you had already been there before, you will feel absolutely lost. We ought to say that most of the new buildings in the city center are old-styled and not completely out of place, but the rising tourist industry made the town grow larger and larger so that you'll find horrible suburbs where once there were only fields. Neverthless, it's still worth to go and stay for a few days to visit the surrounding villages and pick up blue batiks from the overwhelming, ubiquitous women of the Bai minority. The Three Pagodas are the best-known touristic spot in the area, but Guanyin Temple (Guanyin tang), the market in Shaping (every monday) and the streets of Xizhou are among the best choices you have.

Above, one of the Three Pagodas. The children on the left are waiting for their parents to take their picture in front of the reflection of the pagodas in a water pond.

How to get there: from Kunming to Dali by bus it's now not more than six hours - provided your bus doesn't break down, which happens quite often. Buses depart early in the morning and at 1 pm from the main railway station for 50 to 70 yuan. Once in Dali, a bike will be one of the best ways to get around; otherwise, catch one of the buses that run down to Xiaguan and up to Shaping (on the northern corner of the lake). Xizhou is halfway up and a bus will take you there from Dali in half an hour for 3 to 5 yuan. Then there's the possibilities of quite expensive boat trips on the lake - Putuo Island is very dull, avoid it if you can.

Hints and tips: remember that buses from Kunming will usually take you just as far as Xiaguan, the new horrible industrial town half an hour from the old city; don't believe anybody who says that yes, they'll take you to Dali gucheng, because it rarely happens. From Xiaguan to Dali a taxi there's a public bus for 0,5 yuan or private minibuses for not much more. All pictures taken by Diana Lavarini on February, 1-2, 2000. Camera: Minolta Dynax 500si, 80-210.

 

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Sinophilia was born in 1998 as a meeting-point for China-lovers. In these years we have managed to build a database of essential information on the Chinese culture, adding here and there a few more specific essays on Chinese art, history, language and religions, and some useful tools.

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