Dali, Yunnan

All you want to know about Dali, Yunnan

Dali City
Location of Dali City (pink) and Dali Prefecture (yellow) within Yunnan province of China
Location of Dali City (pink) and Dali Prefecture (yellow) within Yunnan province of China
Dali City is located in China
Dali City
Dali City
Location within China
Coordinates: 25°42′01″N 100°09′23″E / 25.70028, 100.15639
Country China
Region Yunnan
Prefecture Dali Bai Autonomous Prefecture
County
Area
 - Total 1,468 km2 (566.8 sq mi)
Population
 - Total 590,000
 - Density 401.9/km2 (1,040.9/sq mi)
Postal code 671000
Area code(s) 872
Website: http://www.dali.gov.cn/
South gate of the ancient city of Dali
Sunlight streaks out of the dense cloud cover in Dali City.

Dali City (Chinese: 大理; pinyin: Dàlĭ; Bai: Darl•lit; Hani: Dafli) is a county-level city in Dali Prefecture, Yunnan province in the south of China.

Contents

Geography

Dali is 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).

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.

Old Town and new city

The Three Pagodas of Chong Sheng Temple

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 "new city" is known as Xiaguan and is south of the old city. The old city was built during Ming Dynasty emperor Hongwu's reign (1368-1398). Owing to the distance between them, the old city is still peaceful and quiet.

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.

Culture

  • Third Month Fair (Sanyue Jie)

Economy

Transportation

Local transport

Local transport modes include buses (11 routes in the city proper), taxis, bicycles, and boat (on the Erhai Lake).

Air

  • Dali Airport (destinations: Kunming 20 min, Xishuangbanna 25 min). The airport is 13 km to the east of Dali City.

Road

There is a Freeway between Dali and Chuxiong.

From the bus stop near the west gate in Dali there are daily buses to Shangri-La County and express buses to Kunming. Travel time by road to and from Kunming is about 3 hours and 30 minutes. Express buses to Lijiang and minibuses also leave from here. A bus leaves for Shaping every Monday morning for the market.

The three biggest long-distance bus stations of Xiaguan (the "new city") are all located on Jianshe Road. There are daily trains and long-distance buses to Xiaguan from Kunming. From Xiaguan, there is a direct bus (No.4) to the Old Town of Dali.

Rail

Guangtong-Dali Railway is connected with Chengdu-Kunming Railway at Guangtong Railway Station.

See also

External links

Sister project Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Dali, Yunnan
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Administrative subdivisions of Dali Prefecture
County-level cities
Dali
Location of Dali Prefecture (yellow) within Yunnan province of China
Counties
Autonomous counties
See also: List of administrative divisions of Yunnan

Coordinates: 25°42′01″N 100°09′23″E / 25.70028, 100.15639

Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dali_City,_Yunnan"

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