Dali Old Town 大理古城

About Dali Old Town

Fuxing Road links the north and south gate areas, while side streets lead past shops, courtyards and local museum spaces. Wuhua Tower forms a prominent central landmark. Much of the town has been restored or rebuilt, so the interest is in the surviving street pattern and present-day architecture as well as its history. The modern railway-station district of Xiaguan is a separate part of Dali.

The present city was built in the Ming dynasty east of an earlier royal capital. Its four gate towers were rebuilt in 1692, with further repairs to walls and gates during the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Only about 300 metres of the old wall survive. The south and north gates were reconstructed in 1984, followed by the west gate in 2001 and east gate in 2002.

In the late Qing period, craftspeople often worked along streets associated with their trades, including ironworking, copperworking and gold leaf. Craft guilds were widespread, and 16 jewellery shops were recorded during the Guangxu era (光绪). The old town was included in the first group of National Historical and Cultural Cities (国家历史文化名城) in 1982.

What to look for

• Fuxing Road connects the old town’s gate areas and central commercial streets.
• Wuhua Tower and the south-gate wall area give the street grid clear architectural landmarks.

The surrounding area

Old-town streets and the Erhai basin, with Bai cultural context. Select a specific lakeside or city base.

Location & getting there

Getting to Dali Old Town

For this page, use Dali Old Town South Gate as the road arrival point. Dali railway station is in the modern Xiaguan area, so allow a separate transfer to the old town rather than assuming the station is inside it.