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Published: July 20th 2012
Getting from Kunming to Dali via bus (you can also fly pretty cheaply) requires some blind trust and a willingness to avoid questioning the local system. Mike, Cindy, and I bought the tickets the day before after wandering around a small bus station near the middle of the city and eventually following a tout who said he could get us tickets. He did, indeed, have a storefront, so we felt comfortable purchasing them (110 Yuan each) ahead of time. It's good that we did, because we quickly learned that nearly everything fills up ahead of time in China, which I suppose makes sense. Every bus and train has been full, and I've met others who were turned away and had to wait an extra day. When we returned to the shop the next morning, without explanation we were directed to follow two teenagers somewhere to get the bus. They walked ahead of us through traffic for ten minutes, eventually pointing at a van, which then transported us to a bigger bus station. This is a process I would question or even avoid in other places in the world, but in general, I found the Chinese people to be extremely honest and
helpful. There isn't enough development of tourism, apparently, for there to be any real scams. All this confusion existed despite having a Mandarin speaker with us, so it would be all the more complicated with a language barrier.
Even though we chose not to take a local bus, the seats were still very small and uncomfortable, making the five-hour journey from Kunming seem longer than it was. The bus dropped us off in the new town (referred to usually as 下关 (Xiàguān)), so we then had to pile into a tuk tuk for a 15-minute trip to the old town. At first we scoffed at the offers, thinking people had ulterior motives, but eventually we trusted someone to take us without incident.
Because traditional Chinese architecture is difficult to find somewhere like Kunming, or even in new Dali, entering the Old Town was like entering another country. Near the entrance of the old town (see pagoda photo) are dozens of woodworking shops. The craftmanship was impressive, but despite the low prices, the pieces would be impossible to take home. For the most part, the Chinese prefer to raze old buildings rather than to renovate or preserve them, in
the name of progress. The old towns in some cities are the exception to this rule.
A fellow traveler had read years earlier that the old town is a backpacker haven -- an off the beaten track gateway to three mountain ranges. While the surroundings are still quite picturesque, the city center has in the last few years been transformed into a Chinese mega-tourist destination, with a plethora of souvenir shops, Western restaurants, and expensive jade jewelry stores. Thousands of newly-middle class Chinese swarm the streets, and while the buildings are in traditional Chinese architecture, many of them have obviously just recently been renovated to mimic the desired atmosphere.
Though we were tired, we walked around the old town center and look at a few places before choosing one. With a group of three, we were able to get very nice accommodations for around 150 yuan/night.
The next day made Dali well worthwhile. We rented bikes for next to nothing (pretty good quality, too) and weaved through traffic, toward the lake. There are some posted maps along the way. At the lake, we turned to the right, where there are some beautifully maintained wetlands. After a lunch
of fish and shrimp from the lake, we found that on the other side of the scenic area, the path stops, but we decided to continue riding through the narrow alleyways, past intermittent farms and communities. The variety and quality of the crops, the rural lifestyle so close to a city, and the proximity of the lake and mountains are all impressive; all in all, Dali wouldn't be such a bad place to live.
JI ZHU SHENG (Chicken-Foot Mountain)
Even though it's actually 2-3 hours away from Dali, I've included Ji Zhu Sheng in the Dali section because it doesn't have its own location on this site. Rather than spending several days in Dali, this Buddhist Pilgrimage / day hike is well worth the effort. We didn't see another Westerner there (granted, it was the low season), and most Chinese tourists opt for the cable car that cheats it way to the top of the mountain. If you choose to walk it, it takes a full three hours to get to the top, even without long breaks, and almost the entire walk is up stairs. There are some other temples and sites on the way to Jinding Temple
Steps
There are thousands and thousands of steps like these, unless you cheat and take the cable car.(and Lengyan Pagoda -- see photo), which is the final destination at the peak.
The hotel area at the bottom of the mountain is pretty fascinating. Two rows of nearly identical hotels face each other, and all of them have the same refrigerators, the same food options, the same beers -- everything. There are small differences in cleanliness, toilets, and price; otherwise, it's an interesting communist setup. I had some of my best meals in China here, though, since we just pointed to various vegetables that we wanted in our meal, and they did their best to make them taste good, sans strange, unidentifiable meats.
There are more photos below.
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