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The Ancient City of Dali
 The Ancient City of Dali, also known as Yeyu in ancient
times, is located 13 km south of Xiaguan, at the foot of the Cangshan
Mountain in the west and overlooks the Erhai Lake in the east. It was
set up in the 15th year of Emperor Hongwu Period of the Ming Dynasty
(in 1382 AD) as the capital of the Dali kingdom.The original city wall
was 8 metres in height and 6 km in length with four gates and gate
towers in the east, west, south and north. The four gate towers are
named Chen En, Tong Hai, Cangshan and An Yuan respectively. At
present, only the south and north gate towers remain standing.
The layout of the ancient city resembles a chessboard. There are five
streets stretching from south to north, and 8 lanes from east to west,
all paved with blue slabstones. Along them are the typical houses of
the Bais which have stone walls and dark blue tile roofs. The brooks
from the Cangshan Mountain flow through the streets and lanes around
the city into the Erhai Lake.
The people in Dali are fond of flowers and every family has a
courtyard with seasonal flowers in blossom all the year round. Every
February in the Chinese lunar calendar when the Flower Festival is
held, pots of flowers are displayed in front of every house, which
forms a vast sea of flowers in the whole city.
Inside the city, there are many historical relics and places of
interest such as "the Forbidden City" which served as the headquarters
of Du Wen xiu Uprising (1856), the anciet Yuxi School and "Foreigners
Street" in Huguo Street. Along this street lie many tea houses,
antique shops, Chinese and Western restaurants, and the ancient
buildings are found here and there. Tourists at home and abroad have
been attracted to visit Dail. The ancient architectural beauties, rich
minority customs and picturesque scenery are the main attractions of
Dail. |
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