View of Dali Old Town at the foot of Cang Shan (Mountain)

DALI, YUNNAN

DaLi 大理 - The last remaining
wilderness frontier in China can be found right on DaLi's "door step"...

DaLi has more to offer then just the Old Town, and if you only hang around inside
then you will miss a whole lot more.
For starters:-
DaLi is surrounded by 3 of the most religious and sacred mountains JiZu Shan 鸡足山 ( [Id-41] one of the holy pilgrimage site for Buddhists from around the world), WeiBao Shan 巍宝山 ( [Id-39] home to working Taoist monks and alchemy practitioners) and ShiBao Shan 石宝山 ( [Gd-42] a lesser known nature reserve and religious sanctuary with some of the best preserved grottoes of Buddhism and Taoism). For real local heritage then there are the thousand year old Bai villages at Nuo Deng 诺邓 [Fd-41] and further a field, DaLi is also the gateway to the LAST remaining un-dam Great River in China or for that matter the world - The Nu Jiang 怒江 or Salween River -
a must see before the 11 schedule dams drown the last remaining wilderness frontier in China destroying for ever all its diversity, wildness and raw beauty.
Located between mountain and lake, DaLi just can’t be beaten for its host of activities such as leisure cycling, hard core mountain biking, trekking, hiking, camping, rock climbing, boat cruising or just sheer relaxing by the lake shore...

DaLi is also the third or 2nd stage of the renowned China Pizza Trail depending whether you start the trail from the inland route or from the coastal route...

Seek and be surprised... Dali Map