Dali, Yunnan Province, China
Old Dali - 3 to 8 October: From the Camellia Hotel in Kunming we took a taxi
for the 10:30am bus to Xiaguan (New Dali City), where we arrived at about 5:
00pm. The new four-lane super-highway was under construction, about half
completed; great mountain scenery. On the bus we met “Martin” a Londoner,
avid traveler, and lover of China. He was in the business of buying high-quality
indigo fabrics and garments in China and India and then selling them in the United
Kingdom. From Xiaguan (New Dali City) we shared a taxi with Martin to Old Dali,
a ride of about thirty minutes.
for the 10:30am bus to Xiaguan (New Dali City), where we arrived at about 5:
00pm. The new four-lane super-highway was under construction, about half
completed; great mountain scenery. On the bus we met “Martin” a Londoner,
avid traveler, and lover of China. He was in the business of buying high-quality
indigo fabrics and garments in China and India and then selling them in the United
Kingdom. From Xiaguan (New Dali City) we shared a taxi with Martin to Old Dali,
a ride of about thirty minutes.
Next morning immediately after a scant breakfast at the Golden Flower Hotel
we walked to the Old Dali Inn No. 5 and were glad to find they now had a
vacancy, a nice room for 150 yuan per night, including breakfasts. Than we
went for a second breakfast in a good restaurant on Huguo Lu, where we
accidentally ran into Martin and breakfasted with him. After the second
breakfast we checked out of the Golden Flower Hotel, rolled our bags to the
Old Dali Inn No. 5, and checked in there. We then took a walk to the market,
had a late lunch, and back to the Old Dali Inn No. 5. At the guesthouse we
bought tickets (160 yuan each) for an all-day excursion the following day
around Erhai Lake, which is about five miles long and perhaps a mile wide.
we walked to the Old Dali Inn No. 5 and were glad to find they now had a
vacancy, a nice room for 150 yuan per night, including breakfasts. Than we
went for a second breakfast in a good restaurant on Huguo Lu, where we
accidentally ran into Martin and breakfasted with him. After the second
breakfast we checked out of the Golden Flower Hotel, rolled our bags to the
Old Dali Inn No. 5, and checked in there. We then took a walk to the market,
had a late lunch, and back to the Old Dali Inn No. 5. At the guesthouse we
bought tickets (160 yuan each) for an all-day excursion the following day
around Erhai Lake, which is about five miles long and perhaps a mile wide.
At around 9:30am we started our Erhai Lake excursion in a minibus with about a dozen fellow
travelers. Four or five were Americans spending a year in Chengdu to study Chinese; also
aboard was a Dutch couple whose husband working in Beijing for Shell Oil; also a European
couple and their baby; a Canadian working in Tsingtao as an English teacher, translator and
editor; also four or five Chinese on vacation. Because of the National Day holiday many
people living in China take the opportunity to go on vacation at that time. The first stop on
the excursion was in Xizhou, a very traditional village where we saw a folkloric song and
dance show. The next stop was in Zhoucheng, another traditional village were we saw a place
making tie-dyed fabrics and had lunch. Then came Shuangiang, billed as a fishing village, but
we saw nobody there fishing. Then we made a stop to tour through a very modernistic
luxurious multi-million-dollar home on a bluff overlooking Erhai Lake. Next we visited Wase,
a village where we walked through its very large public market, no different from markets in
thousands of other Chinese towns. The minibus then took us to a boat landing where we
boarded a boat which took us on a half hour ride across the lake to a landing near Old Dali.
travelers. Four or five were Americans spending a year in Chengdu to study Chinese; also
aboard was a Dutch couple whose husband working in Beijing for Shell Oil; also a European
couple and their baby; a Canadian working in Tsingtao as an English teacher, translator and
editor; also four or five Chinese on vacation. Because of the National Day holiday many
people living in China take the opportunity to go on vacation at that time. The first stop on
the excursion was in Xizhou, a very traditional village where we saw a folkloric song and
dance show. The next stop was in Zhoucheng, another traditional village were we saw a place
making tie-dyed fabrics and had lunch. Then came Shuangiang, billed as a fishing village, but
we saw nobody there fishing. Then we made a stop to tour through a very modernistic
luxurious multi-million-dollar home on a bluff overlooking Erhai Lake. Next we visited Wase,
a village where we walked through its very large public market, no different from markets in
thousands of other Chinese towns. The minibus then took us to a boat landing where we
boarded a boat which took us on a half hour ride across the lake to a landing near Old Dali.
The Old Dali Inn No. 5, which had been our first choice was full. With Martin’s
help (he speaks Chinese) we found a room alt the Golden Flower Hotel. The
“extra deluxe” room was very nice but the staff at the Golden Flower Hotel
spoke about as much English as I do Chinese (close to zero) so we had a hard time
communicating, and we were kept awake until after 2:00am by extremely loud
amplified music and drumming from a nightclub on the street below our window.
help (he speaks Chinese) we found a room alt the Golden Flower Hotel. The
“extra deluxe” room was very nice but the staff at the Golden Flower Hotel
spoke about as much English as I do Chinese (close to zero) so we had a hard time
communicating, and we were kept awake until after 2:00am by extremely loud
amplified music and drumming from a nightclub on the street below our window.
The following day I felt sick, probably from lunch during the excursion the day
before. Virginia got sick in the evening. We took it easy, awaiting recovery.
The day after our “sick day” we felt much better around noon. In the afternoon
I bought airline tickets to fly 15 October from Zhongdian to Guilin, via Kunming.
We also climbed up and walked the city wall which surrounds most of Dali.
Old Dali is a small town which has retained many of its old traditional-style buildings as
well as much of it's old city wall and several historic Buddhist temples. Dali's scenic
setting is excellent, with a mountain range on one side and a beautiful large lake on the
other. The town's two main streets are for pedestrians only, with many guesthouses and
small restaurants. Dali has become very popular with Chinese tourists, especially during
the National Day holidays while we were there. Dali is also a favorite destination for
foreign backpackers
well as much of it's old city wall and several historic Buddhist temples. Dali's scenic
setting is excellent, with a mountain range on one side and a beautiful large lake on the
other. The town's two main streets are for pedestrians only, with many guesthouses and
small restaurants. Dali has become very popular with Chinese tourists, especially during
the National Day holidays while we were there. Dali is also a favorite destination for
foreign backpackers
The Old Dali Inn No. 5, which had been our first choice was full. With Martin’s help (he
speaks Chinese) we found a room alt the Golden Flower Hotel. The “extra deluxe” room
was very nice but the staff at the Golden Flower Hotel spoke about as much English as I
do Chinese (close to zero) so we had a hard time communicating, and we were kept awake
until after 2:00am by extremely loud amplified music and drumming from a nightclub on
the street below our window.
speaks Chinese) we found a room alt the Golden Flower Hotel. The “extra deluxe” room
was very nice but the staff at the Golden Flower Hotel spoke about as much English as I
do Chinese (close to zero) so we had a hard time communicating, and we were kept awake
until after 2:00am by extremely loud amplified music and drumming from a nightclub on
the street below our window.
Dali Ladies sitting by the street.
Dali storefront dental office.
Dali garbage truck. Truck plays an identifying tune on its loudspeaker and
local residents and merchants come out to put their garbage into the truck.
local residents and merchants come out to put their garbage into the truck.
Bedsheets drying on the balony railing at
the "Old Dali No. 5 Guesthouse"
the "Old Dali No. 5 Guesthouse"
Security instructions on the door of our
room at the "Old Dali No. 5 Guesthouse.
room at the "Old Dali No. 5 Guesthouse.
Construction workers on the shore of Erhai Hu (Lake rhai), Old Dali, Yunnan, China.
In the late afternoon
we took a taxi to the
“Three Pagodas”, one
of Old Dali's best
known sights. Upon
returning to our
guesthouse we had
an unpleasant
discussion with the
taxi-driver, who
tried to double the
fare by claiming that
the fare we had
agreed on was "per
person"
we took a taxi to the
“Three Pagodas”, one
of Old Dali's best
known sights. Upon
returning to our
guesthouse we had
an unpleasant
discussion with the
taxi-driver, who
tried to double the
fare by claiming that
the fare we had
agreed on was "per
person"
Old Dali's famous "Three Pagodas"