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Dali Ancient City

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Dali Ancient City (alternatively, Dali Old City), also variously called Yeyu City, Forbidden City (not that Forbidden City!), and Zhonghezhen by the local Bai folk down through time, lies about 13 kilometers north of the new municipality of the same name (but generally referred to as Xiaguan), situated between Cangshan Mountain to the west and Erhai Lake to the east. Dali/ Xiaguan is the capital of Dali Bai Autonomous Prefecture, the only prefecture of the Bai Ethnic Minority in China (there are of course Bai ethnic individuals and enclaves in various parts of China, but their concentration in these areas does not warrant the creation of a political entity expressly in their name). There are a number of ethnic minority groups besides the Bai Ethnic Minority in the prefecture, but the Bai are the largest group, comprising over 60% of the ethnic community throughout Dali Bai Autonomous Prefecture.

Dali is justifiably termed an ancient town, as it has a thousand-year history. The sixth king of Nanzhao State, Yi Muxun, built Dali in CE 779, making the city his new capital. The city was initially small by present-day standards, consisting of only 6 streets, but it became a lively market place that attracted merchants from far and wide. The center section of this old town, where the marketplace was located, was called Yeyu City.

The city grew under subsequent Nanzhao kings. For example, Wuhua Tower was constructed  west of  the original old town from CE 823-859 during the reign of Quan Youfeng, the tenth king of Nanzhao State, and in the years that followed the construction of Chong Sheng Monastery to the northwest of the city, consisting of three pagodas, of which Qianxun Pagoda is the most well-known, began. In its heyday, Chongsheng Monastery was the largest monastery in the region and comprised a number of other monastic structures than the Three Pagodas which are all that remain of this once thriving monsatery. Yeyu City continued to expand both physically, commercially, and as regards political influence. When the Dali state was officially founded, replacing the Nanzhao state, Yeyu City - which, at the time had come to signify the entire city, not just the city's original core - was renamed Dali, retaining its status as captial of the new state. Dali remains the capital city of the modern-day Dali Bai Autonomous Prefecture, though the official offices are located in the new Dali city, Xiaguan.

For a period stretching some 600 years, and spanning several imperial Chinese dynasties, Yeyu City/ Dali was the political, economic, and cultural hub of Yunnan Province. Today, the old city's many cultural and historical sites bear witness to the city's glorious past: the two towers, one to the north and one to the south, that stand facing each other; the 9 streets and 18 lanes that criss-cross each other in checkerboard fashion; and the former famous residence - which came to be known as the "Forbidden City" - of Du Wenxiu, the commander of a peasant uprising during the Qing (CE 1644-1911) Dynasty, all serve as evidence of the city's illustrious past. The perhaps most salient feature about Dali Ancient City is it's grandiose format: with a perimeter of some 6 kilometers, and with its former 7½-meters-high and 6-meters-thick fortress walls on all four sides (sections of these walls still stand), replete with gates and towers, this is truly an expansive capital city, befitting a king.

The layout of Dali Ancient City and its typical Bai vernacular architectural styles

The main street of the old city is laid out in a north-south direction. Lining both sides of the main street are buildings with roofs made of green tiles. Houses, stores and workshops connect with each other in a simple, organic fashion that is very appealing. Lushly bordered meandering creeks carve up the city, imparting an air of freshness. Cosy gardens and quaint teahouses beckon the visitor inside, offering a respite from the summer heat, while shops and booths, chock-full of must-have handicrafts whose workmanship can only be described as exquisite, are ready to tempt the re-energized tourist.

There are two main Bai building styles for private dwellings: Sanfang Yizhaobi, which consists of a center courtyard with rooms on three sides and a light-reflecting "shining" wall on the fourth side, the side opposite the main room (corresponding to the living room/ parlor in an Anglo-Saxon dwelling); and Sihe Wu Tianjin g, or a set of four houses, one in each corner of a large center courtyard, and with four additional small courtyards, one adjacent to each of the corner houses. Sanfang Yizhaobi is the most common Bai house style.

The purpose of the light-reflecting wall is as follows: Since the worst gale winds generally come from the west in this part of Yunnan Province, it is advantageous to position the house such that its back faces west, leaving the entrance facing east, where there is little wind. This is especially critical in the new city of Dali (Xiaguan), which is more exposed than usual (it is aptly called the City of Wind). However, since the sun sets in the west, then with no "shining" wall to reflect light back towards the front of the house, where the main room ("living room", or parlor) is situated, the house's occupants would be consigned to sit in the dark for much of the afternoon, or use artificial lighting. The "shining" wall thus neatly resolves this potential problem in an unintentional but environmentally-correct fashion. The "shining" wall really shines, as it were (one is tempted to think of this as an inherent daylight-saving time measure), towards the close of the day, when the sun's rays are low and can hit the wall with full force, reflecting bright sunlight back into the courtyard and through the windows of the living room especially.

The Sihe Wutianjing building style is more exclusive, being reserved for the more well-to-do members of society. Much care is taken in designing the entrance gate to the Sihe Wutianjing compound, as its design and adornment is an occasion to flaunt one's social and economic status. The elaborate ornamentation of the main gate also pays homage to one's ancestors.

Both as regards Sihe Wutianjing as well as Sanfang Yizhaobi architecture, the woodwork of doors and windows are engraved with the figures of various birds and flowers (these special woodcarvings are made in the neighboring city of Jianchuan), the walls of the rooms are decorated with so-called wash paintings (wash painting, sometimes referred to as ink-and-wash painting, is more commonly associated with Japanese art, but it is in fact a Chinese technique that was developed during the Tang (CE 618-907) Dynasty and involves a small amount of pigment/ ink and a large amount of solvent to prepare the canvas/ surface prior to the drawing/ calligraphy/ etc.), and the house's painted roof and pillars, its upturned eaves and the special "dougong" system, or system of double brackets that support the roof atop the pillars, are all unique Bai national architectural characteristics.

Another building material common to Dali is marble. Marble comes in two main types: pure-color marble and grain marble. The marble of Dali is of the latter type. In Chinese, marble is often referred to as "Dali Stone" because it is typically produced in Dali. "Dali Stone" is quarried from all nineteen peaks on Cangshan Mountain. The marble of Dali has an exquisite texture, with unique, colorful veins. It glitters translucently, one of the most highly-prized qualities of Dali marble since it was first quarried in the Kingdom of Nanzhao during the Tang Dynasty. Dali marble is sold the world over where fine marble is demanded.

From time immemorial Dali marble has been used to adorn imperial palaces and to fashion the tombs of famous personages. Many famous works are made from Dali white marble. They include the basso-relievo and hurdles of the foundation of the Monument for the People's Heroes in Beijing , the seated Statue of Chairman Mao in the Memorial Hall of Chairman Mao, and the Statue of Nie Er in the Nie Er Tomb on the Western Mountain of Kunming .

The marble of Dali is also used to ornament the Jianchuan woodwork of window sills and door jambs of Bai houses, where smaller pieces of finely-worked marble are inlaid, some with intricate carvings.

In spite of the sheer density of the area's two basic building materials, Jianchuan wood and Dali marble, the end result as seen in the construction of a typical Bai house is one of delicacy, elegance, and balance. The technique which produces this effect - the upturned eaves, the painted roof and pillars, the system of double brackets that support the roof atop the pillars - combined with the interior artistic enhancements such as wash paintings where flowers are a favorite motif, are features that make the typical Bai house one of the most interesting examples of vernacular architecture in all of southwest China.

Handicrafts

In both Jianchuan and Dali, cottage industries have sprung up where smaller works of art, carved either of the wood of Jianchuan or of the marble of Dali, are available to tourists who wish to remember their visit to the area with an exquisite example of the area's fine handicraft tradition. Other smaller handicraft items use carved marble as inlays. A multitude of these wood and marble handicraft items, including Chinese fans, small pots, and vases, are sold in the shops and booths that line the streets of Dali Ancient City.

A devotion to flowers

The Bai people are especially fond of flowers. Most Bai people have large flower beds in their yards, and on the 14th of February of the lunar calendar the Flower Festival is celebrated, where people place a myriad of potted plants, all in bloom, in front of the house to create a "flower hill". So fond are the Bai of flowers that "Golden Flower" is a typical Bai name for a girl, and Dali city itself is called the "Hometown of Golden Flowers".

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Edition HistoryEdit How to get there:

From the heart of new Dali city, or Xiaguan, one can take bus no. 4 or bus no. 8 to Dali Ancient City, which takes about a half hour.

Edition HistoryEdit Tips:

Dali Ancient City, that is, its old-town center, is best seen on foot. The city's many highlights as well as its general atmospherics simply require a tour on foot – anything else would be unthinkable!