Brrr… It is cold here… It is still Yunnan – China, but the west of Yunnan and on the level of 1970 m abve sea level. Believe or not – I am under snow-capped peaks of Cangshan -Jade Mts.
In the past Dali was the capital of independent Nanzhao Kingdom. The old town is well preserved – with imposing city gates and the city walls. There are cobbled streets and traditional wood-and-stone ornate houses… It is low season now, so fortunately there are not much tourist. I think that for the traveller it is one of most interesting places in China…
I took a chairlift to the Zhonghe temple over the town for the beaitiful view of the great lake Erhai Hu. They will charge you 30 y entry to the national park plus 60 y for the RT lift.
From the temple you will see Three Pagodas – very nice landmark, but when later I came to the entrance I recognized that it is private property now and they charge hefty 120 yuans for entry. Sorry, I just take the photos from outside and hitchhiked to the vilage of Xizhou – 18 kms north. Bai people live in this area (Burmo-Tibetan mix). They built interesting mutli-courtyard ornate houses and in Xizhou there is quite a lot of them. Some of them converted into museums (10 y entry). I was walking along narrow streets having my daily noodle soup in the main square eatery… Wonderful day! But the night will be cold again!
