Overview
Dali, a city of great antiquity, beckons the visitor in any season and is always a tempting destination for those interested in exploring fascinating natural scenery and the area's considerable historical and cultural heritage. It is renowned as a land of wonders, both natural and manmade, inspiring in visitors a great appetite for its beauty.

Top Attractions in Dali

1.Shaxi Ancient Town
Shaxi is a historic market town located halfway between Dali and Lijiang. Not yet developed as a tourist destination, this town retains its standing as a true "old town", not one which has been rebuilt and manufactured. With the new highway being built not far away, access will be easier in the future, more tourists are likely to make the journey. For now it is still a hidden gem.

2.Dali Ancient City
Dali Ancient City is 13 kilometers (8.1 miles) away from Xiaguan in Dali City, Yunnan Province and is one of the 'Three Ancients' (Ancient Cities, Ancient Pagodas and Ancient Steles) of the Dali Scenic Spot. It can be dated back to the year 1382 during the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) and has been among the top listed historical cities of China since 1982. With Erhai Lake to the east, and Cangshan Mountain to the west, its grand city wall, traditional Bai ethnic minority folk houses and marvelous scenery have been attracting many visitors.

3.Erhai Lake
Erhai or Er Lake, is an alpine fault lake in Yunnan province, China. Its name means "Ear-shaped Sea", due to its shape as seen by locals and travellers. Erhai was also known as Yeyuze or Kunming Lake in ancient times.

Erhai is situated at 1,972 metres (6,470 ft) above sea level. In size, the North-South length of the lake is 40 kilometres (25 mi) and the East-West width is roughly 7–8 kilometres. Its area is 250 square kilometres (97 sq mi), making it the second largest highland lake of China, after Dianchi Lake. Its circumference reaches 116 kilometres (72 mi), its average depth is of 11 metres (36 ft) and the total storage capacity of 2.5 billion cubic metres (2,000,000 acre?ft).

4.Three Pagodas
The Three Pagodas of the Chongsheng Temple are an ensemble of three independent pagodas arranged on the corners of an equilateral triangle, near the old town of Dali, Yunnan province, China, dating from the time of the Kingdom of Nanzhao and Kingdom of Dali in the 9th and 10th centuries.

The Three Pagodas are located about 1.5 km (0.93 mi) north of Dali old town. They are at the east foot of the tenth peak of the massive Cangshan Mountains and face the west shore of the Erhai Lake of ancient Dali.

5.Houses of Zhoucheng
Zhoucheng is located 23 kilometers to the north of the Ancient City of Dali.

Zhoucheng Town is the biggest town of Bai people in Dali. There in the Town live altogether more than 1,500 Bai families.

In the town you can see typical houses of Bai people with close courtyards, "three rooms and a shining wall", and "four rows of houses and five dooryards". For some of the houses, one family makes one courtyard; while others have several courtyards in one family. These houses have a plane of a square. The roof contains two layers of eaves made from green tiles, and is designed in the shape of the Chinese character . There are three to five major rooms which are facing east or south.

6.The Culture Town of Nanzhao
The Culture Town of Nanzhao is located in the central part of the provincial tourist resort of Dali and 2 kilometers to the south of the Ancient City of Dali.

The Culture Town of Nanzhao lies in the central part of the provincial tourist resort of Dali. It covers an area of 13,200 square kilometers, and its construction area is 4,000 square meters.

The Culture Town of Nanzhao has been built after the style of the palaces and houses of the periods of Nanzhao Kingdom and Dali Kingdom.

7.Jizu Mountain
Mount Jizu is situated Dali Prefecture, Yunnan Province, China. The mountain is located to the northeast of Erhai and forms the tripoint of three counties: Heqing, Binchuan, and Dali City. Mount Jizu is a famed holy mountain in Buddhism. Its main peak, Tianzhu Peak, rises some 3,240 metres above sea level. The mountain is vegetated with dense forests and bamboo groves. With three mountain ranges to the front and one range to the rear, it appears like a cock's foot, hence its common name Mount Cock's Foot or Mt. Cock's Claw.

8.Nanzhao Love Island
The Nanzhao Love Island (?????), one of the three islands in Erhai Lake, lies in Shuanglang Village of Eryuan County, the most important part of the national scenic spot of Erhai Lake. Nanzhao Love Island boasts advantaged tourist resources. Surrounded by water, the island is bordering with Jizu Mountain which is a famous Buddhist Holy Land to the east, Baoshan Mountain to the north, Dali to the south, and Cangshan Mountain and Erhai Lake to the west. So there is a saying going like this, "the most attracting sight of Dali lies in Cangshan Mountain and Erhai Lake, and the most attracting sight of Cangshan Mountain and Erhai Lake lies in Shuanglang".