Weishan Ancient Town
Cradle of the Nanzhao Kingdom, where Xinuluo rose to found the Dameng State in the early Tang; the present town was walled in the Ming Hongwu era, and Ming dynasty gate towers such as Gongchen Tower and Xinggong Tower survive intact—one of China's best-preserved Ming-Qing county-town layouts
Visitor info
- Opening hours
- Open all day
- Ticket
- Free (Weibaoshan CNY 40)
Price is indicative — final quote on inquiry.
Cradle of the Nanzhao Kingdom, where Xinuluo rose to found the Dameng State in the early Tang; the present town was walled in the Ming Hongwu era, with Ming gate towers such as Gongchen Tower and Xinggong Tower well preserved—one of China's best-preserved Ming-Qing county-town layouts. In town, the Horse Caravan Culture Museum and tie-dye workshops keep ancient crafts alive, and braised-pork ersi (rice noodles) is the signature local dish; outside town, Weibaoshan is a renowned Taoist mountain of southwest China, and its Tuzhu Temple is the ancestral shrine where the thirteen generations of Nanzhao kings were worshipped. The Weibaoshan Song Festival, held each year from the 1st to the 15th of the second lunar month, has continued for centuries, with Yi and Han people singing together.
Getting there: Self-drive / shuttle bus from Dali (approx. 60km)
Photos
More in Dali
- Dali Old Town
Ancient capital of both the Nanzhao Kingdom and the Dali Kingdom; the present square walled city was built in the 15th year of the Ming Hongwu era (1382) after Mu Ying and Lan Yu pacified Yunnan, with all four gate towers still standing; the layout of "a stream around Cangshan, Cangshan embracing the old town" endures to this day
- Three Pagodas of Chongsheng Temple
The surviving core of Chongsheng Temple, the royal monastery of the Dali Kingdom; the main Qianxun Pagoda was built during the reign of Quanfengyou of Nanzhao — a typical Tang-dynasty dense-eaved, hollow brick pagoda 69.13 m tall — with two smaller pagodas added in the Song dynasty on either side
- Cangshan Mountain (Diancangshan)
Nineteen peaks lining the west side of the Dali basin, with the main peak Malong at 4,122 m; every peak keeps snow and every stream flows into Erhai Lake; "Cangshan Snow" heads the four famous scenes of "wind, flowers, snow and moon", and the area is now a UNESCO Global Geopark
- Erhai Lake
Yunnan's second-largest plateau freshwater lake, named for its ear-like shape; the lake covers about 250 sq km, and "Erhai Moon" is one of the four famous scenes of "wind, flowers, snow and moon"
- Xizhou Ancient Town
The largest Bai ethnic market town on the west shore of Erhai Lake, famed since the Ming and Qing dynasties for the 'Xizhou merchant guild'; in the Republican era the four great families—Yan, Dong, Yin and Yang—ran tuocha tea and import-export trade reaching as far as Southeast Asia
- Shuanglang Ancient Town
A fishing village on the east shore of Erhai Lake, famed as the 'top town for Cangshan and lake views' and grown into an art enclave around the lake: dancer Yang Liping's Sun Palace and painter Zhao Qing's Qinglu 'Moon Palace' stand by the water, making it the birthplace of Erhai guesthouse aesthetics