Lovely Lotus Delicious Vegetarian Tucked down a little alley off Bo Ai Lu, the Lotus has been serving up excellent vegetarian food for years and is popular with both foreigners and Chinese. Choose something off the menu, or go for the popular all-you-can-eat buffet for 20rmb. Yi Ran Tang Simple, basic vegetarian food served up […]
Local “Bai” Food
Duan’s Kitchen This place can get busy and with good reason. Outstanding local Bai food as well as a twist on some popular chinese foods. The PuEr Chicken is recommended, followed by the mulberry yoghurt. Good Panda A solid choice on a street which has many similar looking local restaurants, that can be identified by […]
Chinese Restaurants
Sichuan Restaurant The place to go for authentic (i.e. Spicy!) Sichuan food. They serve a whole variety of dishes but the fish is highly recommended here. No English sign but look for thee big red hanging lanterns. They do have an English menu. Peking Noodle House A little hole-in-the-wall restaurant on Renmin Lu that serves […]
Asian Restaurants
Korean Restaurant A little pricey since they had their refit, but this place produces some excellent korean food in a casual setting. They no longer give you a barbeque at your table, and so they do it themselves in the kitchen. The barbequed beef is excellent. Just wrap it in a lettuce leaf, add a […]
Bakeries in Dali
Bakery 88 Probably the most popular bakery in town, Bakery 88 makes excellent bread, sumptuous breakfasts, and offers a wide variety of cakes. Now in a new location on the corner of Bo Ai Lu and Renmin Lu. Sweet Tooth Sweet Tooth make the best cakes in town. Their unbaked cheesecake is one of the […]
Cangshan Mountain Summit Trek – Very Difficult
CangShan Summit Trek There are two main paths up to the summit of CangShan Mountain from Dali Old Town. Do not attempt to scale the mountain without proper planning. This is a dangerous mountain and lives have been lost. Make sure you have all the proper equipment and that you notify people of […]
Dali Nightlife – Karaoke Bars
Karaoke (KTV) bars Ready for the full Chinese nightlife experience? Then get yourself down to a karaoke bar and belt out your best Tom Jones or Madonna while drinking some of the weakest beer known to man! Like any other popular tourist town in China, Dali has dozens of Karaoke bars dotted around town, which […]
Getting to Dali
Introduction Most transport to Dali arrives at the nearby city of Xiaguan, which is often referred to as Dali City. From Xiaguan local buses run to the ancient city of Dali and other towns around ErHai lake and beyond. Bus Buses from the provincial capital of Kunming leave from the West bus station every 20 […]
A Brief History of Dali
The area around ErHai lake has been the home of the Bai people for over 4000 years. The former Nanzhao Kingdom was established in 738 with Dali as its capital. Following 200 years of prosperity the kingdom collapsed and the area turned to chaos. In 937 Duan Siping established the Kingdom of Dali which became […]