Dali 大理市 ·Dallit sil | |
|---|---|
 Locations of Dali City (red) andDali Prefecture (pink) withinYunnan and China | |
  Dali Location in Yunnan Show map of Yunnan Dali Dali (China) Show map of China | |
| Coordinates (Dali Prefecture government):25°40′52″N100°18′1″E / 25.68111°N 100.30028°E /25.68111; 100.30028 | |
| Country | China |
| Province | Yunnan |
| Autonomous prefecture | Dali |
| Municipal seat | Haidong |
| Area | |
• Total | 1,738.63 km2 (671.29 sq mi) |
| Elevation | 1,975 m (6,480 ft) |
| Population (2021)[1] | |
• Total | 771,128 |
| • Density | 443.5/km2 (1,149/sq mi) |
| Time zone | UTC+8 (China Standard) |
| Postal code | 671003 |
| Area code | 0872 |
| Climate | Cwb |
| Website | www |
| Yunnan e-Portal | |
| Dali City | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chinese | 大理市 | ||||||
| Literal meaning | "Great reason" | ||||||
| |||||||
Dali City (Chinese:大理市,Bai:Dallit sil orGuiphet) is thecounty-levelseat of theDali Bai Autonomous Prefecture in northwesternYunnan, China. Dali City is administered through 12township-level districts, two of which are also commonly referred to as Dali.
Xiaguan (下关) is the modern city centre and usually conflated with Dali City by virtue of being its seat. Thistown is the destination of most long-distance transportation heading to Dali and is sometimes referred to as Dali New Town (大理新镇) to avoid confusion.
Dali Town (大理镇),formerly known asTali,[a] is another division of Dali City, located 10 km (6.2 mi) north of Xiaguan. This town, commonly referred to as Dali Old Town (大理古城) to distinguish it from the city seat in Xiaguan, is usually the Dali referred to in tourist publications. The old town is one of the most popular tourist destinations in Yunnan, known for its natural scenery, historical and cultural heritage, and vibrant nightlife.[3]
Dali City is located in westernYunnan, approximately 250 km (160 mi) northwest of the provincial capital ofKunming.
Dali is situated in the transition area between the dramatic valleys of theHengduan ranges on the eastern edge of theTibetan Plateau and the distinctive mountains of the westernYungui Plateau. The county-level city surroundsErhai Lake between theCang Mountains to the west andMount Jizu to the east. The county seat at Xiaguan is located at the outlet of the lake into theYangbi River. Dali Old Town is situated on a fertile plain between the Cang Range and Erhai. This plain has traditionally been settled by theBai andYi minorities.
Dali City bordersBinchuan County,Xiangyun County andHeqing County to the east,Weishan County andMidu County to the south,Yangbi County to the west, andEryuan County to the north.
Its low latitude tempered by its high elevation, Dali has a mildsubtropical highland climate (KöppenCwb) with short, mild, dry winters and warm, rainy summers. Frost may occur in winter but the days still generally warm up to 16 °C (61 °F) or more. During summer, a majority of the days features some rainfall and daytime temperatures rise to 25 °C (77 °F). A great majority of the year's rainfall occurs from June to October. December 2013 was particularly marked for its high snowfall.
| Climate data for Dali, elevation 1,978 m (6,490 ft), (1991–2020 normals, extremes 1971–2020) | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Record high °C (°F) | 23.3 (73.9) | 25.5 (77.9) | 27.1 (80.8) | 29.5 (85.1) | 31.4 (88.5) | 32.3 (90.1) | 30.3 (86.5) | 30.8 (87.4) | 28.8 (83.8) | 27.5 (81.5) | 24.4 (75.9) | 24.5 (76.1) | 32.3 (90.1) |
| Mean daily maximum °C (°F) | 15.9 (60.6) | 17.8 (64.0) | 20.5 (68.9) | 23.2 (73.8) | 24.8 (76.6) | 25.7 (78.3) | 24.9 (76.8) | 24.9 (76.8) | 23.9 (75.0) | 21.8 (71.2) | 18.9 (66.0) | 16.5 (61.7) | 21.6 (70.8) |
| Daily mean °C (°F) | 8.9 (48.0) | 11.0 (51.8) | 13.9 (57.0) | 16.7 (62.1) | 19.0 (66.2) | 20.6 (69.1) | 20.1 (68.2) | 19.6 (67.3) | 18.3 (64.9) | 16.0 (60.8) | 11.9 (53.4) | 8.8 (47.8) | 15.4 (59.7) |
| Mean daily minimum °C (°F) | 3.1 (37.6) | 4.9 (40.8) | 7.8 (46.0) | 10.7 (51.3) | 13.9 (57.0) | 16.7 (62.1) | 16.8 (62.2) | 16.3 (61.3) | 14.9 (58.8) | 12.3 (54.1) | 7.1 (44.8) | 3.5 (38.3) | 10.7 (51.2) |
| Record low °C (°F) | −3.7 (25.3) | −2.6 (27.3) | −2.4 (27.7) | 1.0 (33.8) | 5.6 (42.1) | 8.5 (47.3) | 11.4 (52.5) | 10.5 (50.9) | 6.1 (43.0) | 4.2 (39.6) | 0.1 (32.2) | −4.3 (24.3) | −4.3 (24.3) |
| Averageprecipitation mm (inches) | 29.3 (1.15) | 28.2 (1.11) | 34.2 (1.35) | 27.6 (1.09) | 82.5 (3.25) | 131.3 (5.17) | 199.7 (7.86) | 220.4 (8.68) | 157.3 (6.19) | 91.8 (3.61) | 24.6 (0.97) | 11.1 (0.44) | 1,038 (40.87) |
| Average precipitation days(≥ 0.1 mm) | 4.2 | 5.6 | 8.0 | 9.0 | 10.7 | 14.7 | 19.4 | 19.0 | 17.5 | 12.9 | 5.0 | 2.6 | 128.6 |
| Average snowy days | 0.5 | 0.4 | 0.3 | 0.1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.1 | 0.2 | 1.6 |
| Averagerelative humidity (%) | 55 | 51 | 49 | 53 | 63 | 74 | 82 | 83 | 82 | 77 | 69 | 64 | 67 |
| Mean monthlysunshine hours | 230.8 | 211.7 | 226.1 | 211.1 | 202.1 | 160.5 | 123.0 | 129.0 | 127.3 | 155.0 | 207.2 | 233.0 | 2,216.8 |
| Percentagepossible sunshine | 69 | 66 | 60 | 55 | 49 | 39 | 30 | 32 | 35 | 44 | 64 | 72 | 51 |
| Source 1:China Meteorological Administration[4][5]NOAA[6] | |||||||||||||
| Source 2: Weather China[7] | |||||||||||||
Dali City has 3 subdistricts, 9 towns and 1 ethnic township.[8]
|
|
| Map |
|---|
 Shangguan Wanqiao Yinqiao Taihe Taiyi Yi Manjiang Shuanglang Wase Haidong Fengyi |
)_(18162196821).jpg)
The Dali area was formerly known asXiemie (苴咩;Xiémiē). The old town was the medieval capital of both theBai kingdomNanzhao (779–902) and theKingdom of Dali (937–1253). That city was razed and its records burnt during its conquest byChina'sYuan Dynasty. The present old town was organized in the late 14th century under theHongwu Emperor of theMing Dynasty. The area became significantlyMuslim (Hui) under the Yuan and Ming and was the center of thePanthay Rebellion against theQing from 1856 to 1863. It was severely damaged during amassive earthquake in 1925.[9]
Rail and thenair transport have permitted the area (particularly Dali Old Town) to become accessible totourists in the 20th century. It is now one of China's official tourist cities[10] and, along with nearbyLijiang, one of the most popular towns. In order to preserve the appeal of the old town, industrial development is restricted to newer townships such asXiaguan. Building codes mandate that new construction in the old town and surrounding countryside must conform to thetraditional Chinese style, with tiled roofs and bricks, plaster, or white-washed walls.
Much of the local economy now revolves around tourism and services catering to travelers.
Historically, Dali was able to control some of the trade betweenIndia andChina and independently famed for the woodworkers of thetown of Xizhou and for its high-qualitymarble, used both for construction and decorative objects. It was so prominent in the latter that themodern Chinese word for marble is literally "Dali stone" (大理石;dàlǐshí).
Local transport includes buses, taxis, bicycles, and boats onErhai Lake. Local busses 4 & 8 provide service from Xiaguan to the old town (1 hr).[12] Tourists often rent bicycles from one of the many rental stores in the old town and explore the region by bike, for instance on a special bike trail around the Erhai lake.
Dali Fengyi Airport (DLU) is a domestic airport about 13 km (8.1 mi) east ofXiaguan on Weishan or Airport Rd. Taxis run about 60 RMB to Xiaguan or 90 RMB to the old town.[citation needed] It services (as of 2014)Kunming (20 min),Xishuangbanna (25 min),Chongqing (70 min),Chengdu Shuangliu (80 min),Shanghai,Beijing,Shenzhen,Guangzhou, andGuiyuan.
Dali (i.e.,Xiaguan) is connected toKunming and points east by theHangrui Expressway (G56), which also runs west toRuili on theBurmese border. TheDali Expressway (G56₁₁) is a spur connecting it withLijiang. The road to the old town isChina National Highway 214, which connects to the expressway to Lijiang north of the lake. It also runs south from Xiaguan toMenghai near theBurmese border.
Long-distance busses run from the old town's west gate to Kunming (about 4½ hrs), Lijiang, andShangri-La. Every Monday, service is also available toShaping for its market.
Long-distance busses run from Xiaguan's stations on Jianshe Road.
Dali hasits own railway station with daily services to Kunming andLijiang. Service to Kunming used to consist of one train during the day and two trains running overnight, with sleeper cars. Per July 2018 Dali is connected to Kunming with a modern high-speed train link with a frequency of one train per hour. As the railway network expands in Yunnan, train service will become available toShangri-La County andRuili in the future.
Thestandard gauge line fromKunming,China toKyaukphyu port opened in 2021, with a station at Dali.
Dali is one of Yunnan's most popular tourist destinations. Sights include:
.jpg)
