Dali City
Dali City, formerly known as Tali, is the county-level seat of the Dali Bai Autonomous Prefecture in northwestern Yunnan,
Similar to Carlisle in England, Dali City is not a single city but a county-sized area called a city for administrative purposes. Transportation to "Dali" usually arrives at the modern industrial city called Dali but locally distinguished by its former name Xiaguan. Travelers to and discussion of "Dali", however, usually refers to the old town located about an hour away. The old town is one of the most popular tourist destinations in Yunnan, known for its natural scenery, historical and cultural heritage, and vibrant nightlife.
History
The Dali area was formerly known as Jumie (苴咩, Jūmiē). The old town was the medieval capital of both the Bai kingdom Nanzhao (fl. 8th and 9th centuries) and the Kingdom of Dali (937–1253). That city was razed and its records burnt during its conquest by China's Mongolian Yuan Dynasty. The present old town was organized in the late 14th century under the Hongwu Emperor of the Ming Dynasty. The area became significantly Muslim (Hui) under the Yuan and Ming and was the center of the Panthay Rebellion against the Qing from 1856–1863. It was severely damaged during a massive earthquake in 1925.
Xiaguan, Dali City
Xiaguan (Chinese: 下关, p Xiàguān), formerly known as Hsiakwan, is a town at the southern end of Erhai Lake in Dali County & Prefecture, Yunnan, in China. It has been the principal point of entry for Dali since the creation of the Burma Road and has become the major city and industrial center of the county, to the point where it is often called "Dali" or "New Dali". It is connected to Kunming and Burma by the Hangrui Expressway (G56), with Lijiang by the Dali Expressway (G56₁₁), and with Dali's old town by Hwy 214.
It is about 60 minutes south of Old Dali by bus. As of 2014, a new, new Dali city center is now being built on the east side of Erhai Lake.
See also
Coordinates: 25°34′00″N 100°14′00″E / 25.56667°N 100.23333°E / 25.56667; 100.23333
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