I’ve sang Pai in northern Thailand’s praises until I was blue in the face. Whenever anyone asks me where my favorite place in Southeast Asia is, I answer, “Pai,” without even needing to stop and think about it. There’s so much to love about that hippie town, full of dreadlocked, tattooed, and pierced residents and visitors.
I certainly didn’t expect that I’d find Pai’s counterpart in China, but was pleasantly surprised to see dreadlocked and rock star-attired Chinese residents when I visited Dali in Yunnan province, about 4 hours outside of Kunming.
Dali is the kind of place that everyone likes, and unlike other old towns in China which have been completely manufactured and are fake, people actually make their homes and livelihoods in Dali.
What is it about Dali that makes it so amazing? For one, the scenery is beautiful:
The town is surrounded by mountains for hiking and lakes for bicycling around.
For a rental fee of 30 RMB for one day, one can rent a bike and take it around the outskirts of town and around Er Hai, the massive lake outside of town.
I met up with a couple of guys I had briefly met at my hostel in Kunming, and we hatched a plan to cycle along as much of the river as we could manage given our late 12noon start.
Along the banks of the lake in a small town outside of Dali, we happened upon an enterprising woman who engineered an hour-long boat ride for us for about 40 RMB each – a bit rich but an adventure we felt like having, so we sprang for it.
About 20 minutes in we were rewarded with the incoming of fishermen with their cormorant birds – a symbiotic relationship where a string is tied around the bird’s neck so that when it dives for fish, it’s unable to swallow them. The birds are given a fish as payment for their services after the fishermen have a satisfactory catch.
I had read about this before but didn’t realize the method was still employed just as it had been hundreds of years in the past. It was pretty exciting to see first-hand.
The lake itself is pretty easy to cycle around, with flat paths passing through a lot of little villages with various food and beverage offerings.
However, cycling around the lake still proved difficult because of the constant beautiful distractions, such as the busy people fishing in the lakes, tending to the fields of veggies and rapeseed flowers, and generally making Dali as picturesque as a little Chinese town can be.
The final distraction was shao kao, which I’ve waxed poetic about my love for in Kunming. I was more than happy to come upon it again in Dali.
Alex was, too. He even made up a song about it that I still can’t get out of my head, three weeks later.
He also felt compelled to push a Chinese man on a hammock.
Oh Alex, always giving!
The day finished with a brilliant sunset, which I climbed a roof to get a photo of:
I stayed in Dali for three days, eating at little German coffee shops, discovering a beverage called exploding egg mango, drinking an amazing IPA at the Bad Monkey bar, making new friends, and making plans for the lesser-known parts of Yunnan, near Tibet.
I would be heading there next.
Do it yourself:
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- Busses leave from Kunming West bus station to Dali every 20 minutes or so. One can also take an overnight train, but it takes 3 hours longer than the bus
- Most busses actually go to Xiaguan, 15km outside of Dali old town. Busses bound for the old town can be taken from the parking lot in front of the bus station for 2.50 RMB. Ask to be dropped off at Honglongjing (红龙井), which is closest to the hostels
- Rent a bike anywhere along the main walking street, Renmin lu, for 30 RMB. They will request a passport
- Follow the signs for Er Hai along the western road
- Stay: I’m a big fan of The Lily Pad. It’s super clean and a great value for the money with a western style bathroom – a treat in China!
Andrea says
Wow your photos are stunning. What camera do you use?
Kristin says
Why thank you! Just a Nikon D3000 – the most basic DSLR they make 🙂 Info is here: https://www.bemytravelmuse.com/backpacking-asia-packing-list/
Steph (@ 20 Years Hence) says
You’ll forgive me if I stop reading your posts about China because they positively make me sick with envy! When we visited at the start of our trip, we were such green travelers that we found the country really overwhelming and largely unenjoyable. We started in the north and stuck to the cities early on and I think that also tainted our experiences, so we never made it to Yunnan or Sichuan province. I don’t have a lot of regrets about our trip because we’ve done the best we can with the info we have at any given moment, but in retrospect (and seeing your photos!), I really wish we had made it to China’s southwest. It looks so beautiful!
Kristin says
I think it’s a hard place to start out. I am definitely glad that I have some travel experience to build upon for my time here. It wasn’t easy at first but now that I’ve gotten the hang of it I’ve learned to love the differences and challenges. The Southwest is Amazing!
Emily says
I’m so happy you’re traveling here right now and posting about it because China is where I’m starting my RTW trip in September and I’m going to be traveling to all these regions! After Beijing and Xi’an I’m heading to Chengdu and then to Dali, Litang, Tiger Leaping Gorge before flying out of Kunming to Kathmandu. Now I know all the best things to do in those areas thanks to you! 🙂
Kristin says
September should be a good time! I am totally loving Chengdu. I have returned to it because I love it so much.
Sam says
Dali was probably my favourite place in China (a close second would have to be Suzhou near Shanghai) when I visited in 2009, and it’s somewhere I definitely plan to go back to. Another thing I recommend doing in Dali if you like hiking, is taking a gondola up the mountain behind the town and walking along the very well marked path through the forest with gorgeous views of Dali and the lake below, then taking a ski-lift back down to the town at the other end.
Kristin says
Oooh I’ll have to check out Suzhou now!
Joella J (J in Beijing) says
I haven’t made it to Dali yet. We are planning to travel in Western China in the summer, so hopefully then. The photos look great. Looking forward to hearing more about Yunnan.
Kristin says
Yunnan is wonderful. I think you’ll really enjoy it!
Heather says
I completely agree with your love for Dali! We spent five days there, staying on the lake and exploring the old town which is by far one of the most authentic in China. We took the train down from Lijiang which was a huge disappointment but Dali completely made up for everything Lijiang lacked. Glad you are enjoying your time in China!
Kristin says
I thought Dali was a lot better than Lijiang as well. Lijiang is fake, Dali’s real.
Kylie Belli says
This is awesome and you’re gorgeous! I finally made my way to Pai and was definitely in love. Guess I’ll have to start a trek to Dali!
Kristin says
Aw thank you, Kylie.
Samm says
Nice, can I repost it on my site?
Kristin says
NO – I suggest you come up with your own content.
Nicole @ Shinyvisa says
Nice experience. I was at Dali last year. Is this er hai lake? Did you visit xi zhou too?
Cheers!