More information on the towns and villages through which we trek will be added here in the coming weeks and months...

The administrative centre of the Dali Bai Autonomous Prefecture, Dali was the ancient capital of the kingdoms of NanZhao and Dali (from the 8th to 13th century). Today, the city is known for the high-quality marble produced in the surrounding areas (in Chinese, "marble" is "Dali stone": 大理石), as well as for its heritage as a location for filming movies set in medieval times.
At an average altitude of 1900-2000 metres above sea level, the old town (not to be confused with the new town, XiaGuan, which is also occasionally called Dali) is located between the CangShan mountains and ErHai Lake.
The population of the Dali prefecture is composed of approximately 50% Han Chinese, one third Bai, 10-15% Yi and several thousand Hui (Chinese Muslims).
The city is not wanting for tourist attractions. Any guide will tell you about old town – nearly 600 years old – with its preserved fortifications, the Three Pagodas of ChongSheng Temple, the Butterfly Spring, the annual festival of the 3rd lunar month, the CangShan and JiZuShan mountains and much, much more.

XiZhou, a relatively well-conserved village lying eighteen kilometres from Dali, was the residence of the King of NanZhao and the filming location for the famous revolutionary film Five Golden Flowers (五朵金花).
Traditional Bai architecture is well-represented in XiZhou as well.