Ancient city of Dali a major tourist draw
DALI, China: Nestled between the majestic Cangshan Mountain and vast Erhai Lake in northwestern Yunnan Province is the Dali prefecture.
This sole Bai ethnic autonomous prefecture in China has a city, 11 counties, a national-level economic and technological development zone and a provincial-level tourism zone under its jurisdiction.
The Bai people account for onethird of the total population of Dali which stands at 3.6 million, including 13 ethnic minority groups. The Han people and 12 other ethnic groups constitute half of the Dali population.
Dali covers an area of 29,500 square kilometres with 93.4 per cent being mountainous terrain and 6.6 per cent basin.
With 18 running streams and 19 peaks, the highest being Cangshan Mountain at 4,122 metres, which is recognized as a World Geopark by Unesco, Dali attracts 30 million tourists annually, which are about nine times its population.
The natural Erhai Lake, spanning 250 sq km and boasting water volume up to three billion cubic metres, is the second largest inland freshwater lake in Yunnan and the mother lake for the people of Dali.
Erhai Lake stretches 42km from north to south, and from seven to 11 km from east to west. Erhai Lake’s outlet in the south eventually flows into the Mekong River.
Dali Foreign Affairs Office senior official Xie Yubao said the water quality at Erhai Lake has deteriorated as a result of rapid developments and growing population along the lake.
In January 2015, Chinese President Xi Jinping inspected Dali and gave instruction to rehabilitate Erhai Lake, which led to the seven measures rolled out on January 9 this year.
With such measures, the Yunnan Provincial Government and government departments aim to improve the water quality to Class II (Class IV rating being severely polluted). The seven measures include: 1. Regulating buildings, restaurants and hotels to ensure no sewage is discharged into Erhai Lake. The government has since shut down more than 2,000 of the 6,000 lakefront hotels and restaurants for not having a proper sewage system. At the same time, the Dali Municipal Government has also instructed light industries to relocate away from Erhai Lake to prevent toxic runoffs into the lake.
2. Ensuring proper sewage systems in lake-front towns and villages.
3. Reducing water pollution from agricultural activities by controlling the use of chemical pesticides and fertilizers.
4. Carrying out water conservation measures for agricultural activities and rehabilitating the ecology of Erhai Lake.
5. Expediting the construction of facilities that prevent the discharge of sewage into the lake.
6. Joint enforcement by the police, environment and industry players.
7. Concerted efforts involving the people to rehabilitate Erhai Lake.
Xie said the government also channelled water from a lake located 10 km away into Erhai Lake to cleanse its water.
He said the water quality of Erhai Lake had improved significantly since the seven measures were implemented.
For instance, Xie said, some parts of Erhai Lake used to be rated as Class IV in terms of the level of pollution but had since improved to Class II or III.
“Rehabilitating Erhai Lake is an eternal battle. All parties bear the responsibility to ensure the lake remains pristine.”
The ancient city wall of Dali was built in 1382 during the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644). The original city wall totalled six kilometres in perimeter.
On top of the 7.5-metre tall city wall are four gate towers facing east, south, west and north respectively. However, most of the original city wall was destroyed over the years and only about 300 metres remained.
In 1984, the south and north gate towers were rebuilt, followed by the west and east gate towers in 2001 and 2003 respectively. The Dali Municipal Government has classified the ancient city wall as a protected cultural relic in 1985.
Within the three sq km ancient city of Dali surrounded by the sixmetre thick walls are hotels, inns, homestays and shops featuring distinctive traditional Bai ethnic architecture.
Here, visitors will find all kinds of handicrafts, food, fruits, Chinese tea and many other local products, as well as international franchise brands like Starbucks and McDonald’s. Despite being a tourist attraction, there are still around 30,000 people residing within the city walls.
Covering an area of 1,000 mu, or approximately 66.7 hectares, the Chongsheng Temple and Three Pagodas located at the eastern foot of Cangshan Mountain are the landmarks of Dali.
With a history that dates back over 1,800 years, the Three Pagodas are unique because they form a symmetrical triangle.
Qianxun Pagoda in the middle is the tallest among the three pagodas with 16 storeys or 69.13 metres high. The two smaller pagodas built 70 metres away from Qianxun Pagoda have 10 storeys, each standing at 42.19 metres.
What makes the pagodas more fascinating is that they have survived over 30 earthquakes in more than 1,200 years despite not having foundation like modern buildings today. The Chongsheng Temple and Three Pagodas reflect the development of Buddhism in Dali.