Dali Old Town 大理古城 @ Yunnan

Date: 28 Dec 2008
City: Dali, Yunnan
Remarks: Day 6, Dali Old Town 大理古城


Dali old town is located in Dali Bai Autonomous Prefecture (大理白族自治州) in northwest Yunnan, 13 km from the New City of Dali, at the foot of Cangshan Mountain. It was the home of the Bai ethnic minority, an ancient Chinese city with history dated back to the Ming Dynasty. The bus from Lijiang to Dali took us around 3 hours.

I like the Dali Old Town more than the Old Town of Lijiang. Although the Dali Old Town is again another major tourist spot with lots of tourists, I noticed that the town has made its effort in maintaining its authenticity comparing to the Old Town of Lijiang. It feels less touristy and more comfy walking around the Dali Old Town. The Dali Old Town is a pleasant ancient town with well-preserved traditional houses and cobble paved streets. The town is laid out on a typical north-south, east-west axis with four main city gates and ancient city walls.

You can have a gentle walk within the Old Town. The town isn't a big one and a walk wouldn't take long. There are food stalls, antique shops, travel agents, guesthouses, bars and restaurants for the tourists for sure, but also flower stalls on the streets, banks, supermarkets, and some other local shops as well for the locals.

You can as well get up to the city wall for the overview of Dali Old Town. You got to admire the mainlanders. They can charge you anytime anywhere. There was even a counter on the city wall and you had to pay to walk around the walls. The counter did not look like an official one at all. It was just a table which seemed to be run by a random local. You got to pay RMB2 before you can walk around the city wall.

PS1. Notice there are many stalls/ hawkers selling strawberries on the street. Seems like strawberry is the local specialty in Dali.

PS2. It was very enjoyable to sit at the outdoor table of one of the bars in the Foreigners Street, a street full of bars and restaurants, to catch the vibe. We sat there for hours just to lay back. There was a group of Bai people passed by our bar, seemed like having some kind of traditional wedding ceremony. Very interesting to get a glimpse, and very glad to know that the Dali Old Town is still alive, with people living inside, telling stories, at the same time creating their own stories.