The Southern City Gate
The ancient city of Dali is one of the 24 leading historical and cultural cities in China. It faces Erhai Lake and is backed by the Cangshan Mountains. The present city was built in 1382, the 15th year of the reign of Ming Emperor Hongwu, when Mu Ying and others occupied the states of Nanzhao and Dali in Yunnan, and Commander Zhou Neng built it in Ming Dynasty style. In the following year, Commissioner-in-Chief Feng Cheng expanded the east and south walls. From then on, each city wall becomes 1,500 meters long, 12 meters wide and 6 meters high. The city wall had four gates, each with a gate tower. The earth wall was covered by rocks and consolidated by a layer of brick. It was rebuilt on several occasions, but the size and arrangement remain the same. The city was the capital of the State of Dali and later Taihe County. Now, the 300-meter western section of the south wall, the 800-meter middle and northern sections of the west wall, 300-meter southern and northern sections of the east wall and the south and north city gates are still intact.