Dali City, Yunnan

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Coordinates: 25°42′01″N 100°09′23″E / 25.70028, 100.15639
Dali
The Three Pagodas of Chong Sheng Temple
Dali Location within China
Country	China
Region	Yunnan
Prefecture	Dali Bai Autonomous Prefecture
County

South gate of the ancient city of Dali

Sunlight streaks out of the dense cloud cover in Dali City.

Dali (Chinese: 大理; pinyin: Dàlĭ; Bai: Darl•lit; Hani: Dafli) is a city in Yunnan province in the south of China, located on a fertile plateau between the Cangshan mountains to the west and Erhai lake to the east. It has traditionally been settled by the Bai and Yi minorities. It is also the capital of the Dali Bai Autonomous Prefecture (Chinese: Dàlǐ Báizú zìzhìzhōu 大理白族自治州; Bai: Darl•lit Baif•cuf zirl•zirl•zox).

1 History
2 Old Town and new city
3 Sites of interest
4 Culture
5 Economy
6 Transportation
7 See also
8 External links

[edit] History

Dali is the ancient capital of both the Bai kingdom Nanzhao, which flourished in the area during the 8th and 9th centuries, and the Kingdom of Dali, which reigned from 937-1253. Dali was also the center of the Panthay Rebellion from 1856-1863.

Dali is also famous for the many types of marble it produces, which are used primarily in construction and for decorative objects. In fact, Dali is so famous for the stone that the name of marble in Chinese is literally "Dali Stone" (Chinese: 大理石; pinyin: dali shi).

Dali is now a major tourist destination, along with Lijiang, for both domestic and international tourists.

[edit] Old Town and new city

Dali and Yunnan's capital Kunming are only a 40-minute flight apart. Dali's newly finished administrative district that houses the newly opened Dali International Convention Center is in Longshan District. The Dali government's urban planning keeps its old and new districts separate, so those coming here for the first time often feel they have entered a time tunnel.

The old city, north of the new city, was built during Ming Dynasty emperor Hongwu's reign (1368-1698). Owing to the distance between them, the old city is still peaceful and quiet.

[edit] Sites of interest

Night view of the downtown area

Dali is one of Yunnan's most popular tourist destinations, both for its historic sites and the "Foreigners' Street" that features western-style food, music, and English-speaking business owners, making it popular among both western and Chinese tourists, who come to gawk at the foreigners. There are also multiple "coffee shops", such as those in Amsterdam, where foreigners smoke marijuana that grows in the hills surrounding the town.

Dali museum
Chong Sheng Temple
- Guanyin Palace of Copper Rain (rebuilt in 1999)
- Jianji Great Bell of Nanzhao (recast in 1997)
- Three Pagodas
- Surrealist Group
- Butterfly Spring