Things to do & places to visit in Dali Bai Autonomous Prefecture, Yunnan, China

Dali Bai Autonomous Prefecture prefecture in Yunnan, China. Timezone: Asia/Chongqing, current date and time: Thursday, May 09, 2024, 14:28.

Top things to do (20)

Top places to visit (24 attractions)

5.0 Da Li Shi Kong Guo Shi Museum (10 reviews)
- 神奇无比的大理石画。
Spent 1-2 hours Art Galleries • Speciality Museums • Art Museums

天然大理石画的画面，千姿百态，气象万千，生机盎然、奇趣横生，真是天工巧笔，难以比拟，丹青一家，望尘莫及。有多少骚人墨客为之倾倒，有多少文人雅士为之陶醉。或为其著文列传，或将其载入史册，赋诸诗歌。把这些作品收集起来，也是一部宏大的巨著。让我认识了大自然的鬼斧神工………… See more..
5.0 Gantong Temple (4 reviews)
- Best starting point to explore the mountain.
Thursday: 7:30 AM - 4:30 PM Historic Sites • Religious Sites

Explore every trail for a slow climb up the mountain from here. This is one of the best things to do in Dali. I won't say too much. See more..
4.5 Xizhou Town (178 reviews)
- Start with morning market and then explore old town
Points of Interest & Landmarks

The bustling morning market was a highlight, and old town was nice and not busy when we checked it out afterwards. It made for a nice change from the much more crowded old town of Dali and Lijiang and highly recommend to include the market and this little gem in your itinerary. It was part of our guided Yunnan tour and glad we did it. See more..
4.5 Dali University (44 reviews)
- looks impressive
Educational sites

by a view from the street the university campus looks well designed and welcoming for students and visitors. See more..
4.5 Dali Erhai Tianjing Temple (37 reviews)
- For views only
Thursday: 8:00 AM - 6:00 PM Architectural Buildings • Religious Sites

This is authentic but not really in operation. China is officially atheist so don't expect to see the real McCoy. There are still Buddhist monks but not all temples are being used for worship. See more..
4.5 Four Scenic Resorts of Dali (25 reviews)
- Dali
Historic Walking Areas

The old town, the lakes are very scenic. It feels more authentic then Lijiang. A trip to Dali by Melanie.5 Star China Holidays in UK See more..
4.5 Weibao Mountain (23 reviews)
- One can feel the peace and tranquillity.
Thursday: 12:00 AM - 11:59 PM Mountains

To get to this place you have to a road that can be a bit hair raising in places, but once there it's all peace and tranquillity. Quite a bit of walking is then involved to reach the temples, but one can take it easy and savor the mountain's air and one doesn't have to see all the temples of this complex. See more..
4.5 Dali Catholic Church (12 reviews)
- Unbelievable, never seen anything like it !
Spent 1-2 hours Points of Interest & Landmarks • Churches & Cathedrals

First time I see this in China. A completely Chinese version of a Catholic church. A must see in Dali ! See more..
4.5 Monument of Shih-tsu Taking over Yunnan (11 reviews)
- 元世祖平云南碑，又名《石乌龟碑》，在大理城西约一公里的苍山中和峰下，现今三月街街场上
Thursday: 12:00 AM - 11:59 PM Monuments & Statues

元世祖进兵云南，攻克大理，对推进全面的军事胜利，复灭南宋，起了决定性的作
用，因此，“平南云碑”建于太理，事出有源。
碑刻虽然已经有几百年的历史，但面貌仍似当年，碑面字迹清晰，无任何破损。 See more..
4.5 Huadian Dam (2 reviews)
Thursday: 12:00 AM - 11:59 PM Bodies of Water • Dams

See more..
4.0 Dali Foreigner Street (365 reviews)
- A Small Part of Dali Ancient City
Points of Interest & Landmarks

This street is where the famous cafes and guesthouses cluster along with souvenir shops and other interesting stores to create a little tourist paradise. See more..
4.0 Three Pagodas reflection Park (88 reviews)
- beautiful place
Thursday: 8:00 AM - 7:00 PM Bodies of Water • Parks

the surrounding area is beautiful the grounds , and temples are very inspiring. great way to fell of the culture and history of the area See more..
4.0 Ancient Architecture of Bai Nationality, Xizhou (42 reviews)
- Lovely village
Thursday: 12:00 AM - 11:59 PM Ancient Ruins • Architectural Buildings

This is the village where The Linden Centre is located. If you are not staying at the Linden Centre you should really come here for a day to explore the narrow alleyways, the old houses and of course to visit the Linden Centre for lunch or a tea on their amazing back terrace. The village has a really good morning market every morning and if you hire bikes or a horse and cart you could do a nice trip down the the tongue of Er Hai lake and explore some other villages on your way. See more..
4.0 Zhoucheng Village (30 reviews)
- Authentic village
Historic Sites

We arrived here taking a shared minivan from the North Gate of Dali: we were the only foreigners and nobody spoke English, but we asked the staff from our guesthouse to write in Chinese the name of the village. It was easy. We arrived before lunch and there was the market in the main square: we were the only tourists and no one cared about us. It was very authentic, with women dressed with colourful clothes. Walking uphill you will find a nice buddist temple. There are some women in the street that will try to take you in their yard to show you the tie-dye tecnique and to sell you overpriced clothes and fabrics. Be prepared to bargain over if you want to buy something. See more..
4.0 Little Putuo Island (28 reviews)
- Temple Island
Islands • Religious Sites

The small temple is nice, and right-sized for the island of Dali Little Putuo. No photo-taking is allowed within the temple. See more..
4.0 Dali Wenxian Road (18 reviews)
- Entrance to ancient city
Thursday: 12:00 AM - 11:59 PM Historic Walking Areas

This is one of the entrances to the ancient city. There is an old city wall with the entrance full of colourfully dressed performers and artists waiting to take photos with local and foreign tourists for a fee. Atmosphere here is festive with people jostling for space for photography. See more..
4.0 Yu'er Park (17 reviews)
- Blissful
Thursday: 8:00 AM - 5:00 PM Parks

This park is beautiful, perhaps it lacks big areas of grass to lie down on but there is a lot of signs on the multitude of trees that are here. If you want a place to do some exercise then this is great with a bunch of tools for use. If you are lucky you will catch the old men playing their traditional instruments. See more..
4.0 Zhonghe Temple (17 reviews)
- Quiet & local path
Ancient Ruins

I walked up from old town and followed a local path. I then was pointed towards a small bike path that turned into a dirt trail (rare in Chinese parks) which I fully enjoyed. It was quiet and once I got to the top I barely saw any other people. Quiet and wonderful hike! See more..
4.0 Shaping Market (15 reviews)
- True Colors of the Bai Minority - Must See

This was one the most intense time of our trip. We went to this market not sure of what we would find. And even though we thought it would be bigger, this market was very rich in colors and local flavor. Almost all the older folks are dressed in their Bai traditional clothes and sell mainly food. Surprisingly, some of them will even speak a little English. We originally thought it would take us about 30 mn to go around but ended up spending about 1.5 H as we found it so interesting to watch the locals on their weekly shopping trip. And if you buy something, some of them will even agree to get photographed with you. This is only a weekly market which takes place on mondays so make sure to plan your trip so that you won't miss it. See more..
4.0 Qingbi Stream (6 reviews)
- Pretty
Thursday: 9:00 AM - 5:30 PM Bodies of Water

That’s where you can get from Gantong cableway. The view is very picturesque and you can take a hike towards ximatan cableway (unfortunately as of now you can’t take the whole hike as they require you to go down the same way as you came up) See more..
4.0 Xishoubaizu Residence (5 reviews)
- 表演没意思
Thursday: 7:55 AM - 6:00 PM Points of Interest & Landmarks

大理民居挺好看金花也挺漂亮就是喝三道茶看表演很没意思估计是演出次数太多演员表演起来都没表情很麻木而且感觉三道茶不太干净 See more..
3.5 Butterfly Spring Park (66 reviews)
- Ok park but the spring looked great
Thursday: 8:00 AM - 5:00 PM Parks • Fountains

The park is nice for a park but nothing spectacular. The butterfly is only available once a year so forget the butterfly as well :D But the butterfly spring is beautiful. It had crystal clear emerald colored water with carps swimming inside. With the reflection of the tree above the water, and reflection of the coins in the pond, it looked like an art installation. See more..
3.5 Dali Museum (44 reviews)
- Day trip
Thursday: 8:00 AM - 5:30 PM History Museums

Good place to go when it’s raining, free to go in and they have language translators for free but you need to give a deposit 200 yuan plus ID, you collect when you return. Some interesting stuff. Ok to kill couple of hours See more..
3.5 Tianlongbabu Film Studio (32 reviews)
- If you have nothing better to do, you may do it here
Beach & Pool Clubs

We went at 9am just in time for door opening ceremony by the "emperor" and his entourage. The ceremony was probably the highlight of the place. Inside the gate, there was an acrobatic show. The shops inside were selling the same stuff that you would find in the Dali Ancient Town. Left the place after 15 minutes of walk-about. Frankly I opine we could give this make-believe place a miss. See more..