A Weekend in Dali

Last weekend was my second time in Dali. The first, was right after Summer Institute in August. It was interesting to return and see all the changes. Although much has stayed the same, many shops have changed hands and selfie sticks have taken over. I walked some familiar routes, but also some new ones, ate another blue cheese burger and some Japanese curry, and took lots of pictures. I also realized that the old town is larger than I thought. The pedestrian area is more limited, but the walls and gates surrounding the old town actually enclose a large area, much of which I walked through this time.

Pruning the willow trees.

The east gate to gucheng (old town).

Walking west, toward the Cangshan mountains, through the center of the old town.

Goldfish in a pool inside a food court.

A fox. I have no idea what it was doing tied up in gucheng. It made me sad. It was clearly extremely freaked out.

South gate.

The main pedestrian street in gucheng and swarms of Chinese tourists.

Dali #1 Middle School, right in the center of old town.

Looking towards the north gate and Erhai from our hostel's roof.

The three pagodas, also from the hostel roof.

My cofellows and I decided to walk down to the lake on Saturday evening. It was a long walk--about an hour each way, half of which was on uneven cobblestones--but it was quite pretty.

A field of young rice.

The site of the three pagodas is probably the most famous site in Dali. The three pagodas were built in the 9th and 10th
centuries. I had heard of them, but never gotten a good look at them. I was surprised to find that the roofs of the temples
stood out in the landscape more than the pagodas themselves (until it really got dark and only the pagodas were lit).

We finally made it Erhai during the final stages of sunset.

Another pagoda across the lake.

Sunday we rented scooters and drove along the shore. More pictures to come soon.