The tiny temple islet of Xiaoputuo on Erhai Lake beneath towering white clouds

Postcards from Dali

Real photographs from the region we travel — lake and mountain, town and field, table and craft.

Erhai Lake with white sea-flowers, a red pavilion and the Cangshan range
Erhai & the Cangshan range
A smiling Bai farmer carrying golden rice under a blue sky
Rice harvest
The Three Pagodas mirrored in their reflecting pool
The Three Pagodas
The Erhai shore at Caicun with green reeds and distant mountains
Caicun shore
Calm water and the distant shore from Nanzhao Fengqing Island
Nanzhao Fengqing Island
A table spread of traditional Bai dishes in Dali
A Bai table
Indigo tie-dye cloth hanging over a Bai courtyard in Zhoucheng
Zhoucheng tie-dye
The gate tower of Dali Old Town lit at night
Old town by night
Hydrangeas and a white house on the Shuanglang waterfront
Shuanglang
A wooden boat on Erhai beneath towering summer clouds
Cloud harvest on Erhai
The wooden corner tower of Xizhou old town
Xizhou corner tower
A red-earth lane between old houses in Nuodeng
Nuodeng
A lakeside breakfast of bamboo steamers facing Erhai
Breakfast by the water
Sunrise over Erhai from Longkan Dock
Sunrise at Longkan
Aerial view of a Bai village among patchwork fields
Fields of the plain
Lanterns glowing along a Shaxi street at dusk
Shaxi at dusk
A weathered lone tree over the deep blue water of Erhai
The lone tree
The red gate tower of Weishan Old Town
Weishan
A towering torch showering sparks on the night of the Torch Festival
Torch Festival night
A flower swing in a lakeside garden at sunset
The flower swing
Xingsheng Bridge reflected in the river at night
Xingsheng Bridge