Dali, a historically and culturally famous city of China, is renowned for her historical interest. During the Tang and Song Dynasties, it was the capital of Nanzhao and Dali Kingdoms, the political, economic and cultural centre of Yunnan, an important gateway of cultural exchange and trading with southeastern Asian countries, and an important pass of the ancient "Silk Route of the South". It has long enjoyed the reputation of "a land of letters".
Dali is situated in the southwest of Yunnan and at the intersection of the Yunnan-Burma Highway and Yunnan-Tibetan Highway. It is 400 km. away from Kunming and one day's bus ride will bring you to Dali via Chuxiong Prefecture. Dali municipality covers an area of 1,457 square km. and is inhabited by 400 thousand people, composed of the Bai, Han, Hui, Yi, Lisu and other nationalities, among whom the Bai nationality makes up 64% of the total.
Dali City stands against Cangshan Mountain in the west and adjoins Erhai Lake in the east, and is embraced by undulating hills around. The elevation of the city proper is 1,974 metres. Dali is a highland city in low latitudes and its climate is of subtropical highland monsoon type. The weather is temperate, the annual mean temperature being 15 C and rainfall 1,078 mm. The monsoon season falls on June through October, and there is no marked seasonal changes in a year. Abundant sunshine makes the weather warm, but the wind is very strong, so Xiaguan of Dali is known as "A City of Wind."
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