Dali

Cangshan

Mt. Cangshan is made of 19 peaks and make up the highest peaks of the Yunling Mountain Range. All are 3,500 meters (11,483 feet) above the sea level and at 4,122-meter (13,524-feet), Malong Peak is the highest.

Cangshan Mountain enjoys great reputation for its snow, clouds, springs and marble. The unmelted snow on Mt. Cangshan is top of the Four Famous Scenes (wind, flowers, snow and moon) in Dali. The snow is so dazzling and splendent when the sun rises, especially in March. On a moonlight night, the snow reflecting off the mountain makes one feel that they are in a crystal world.

The clouds here changes often - sometimes the clouds are thin as silk, sometimes they are as dark as ink. The most magical and beautiful clouds look like Yudai Cloud (a jade belt) and Wangfu Cloud (a woman who expects to see her husband).

The springs here are also famous. Besides the eighteen streams, there are still many lakes over the altitude of over 3,800 meters (12,467 feet). The lakefronts are densely covered with forests, which include valuable medicine materials, rare species of trees and many kinds of flowers.

Chongshengsi Temple

There is a dragon pond with 7m in width, 3.7m in radius, 0.6m in depth, under the just centre of the Chongshengsi Temple Gate’s enclosure. Over the pond, there is a huge carved dragon’s head. The sluggish holy water from the mouth of the dragon gives a sense of the seething of cloud and water, which adds Chongshengsi Temple to some mystic Buddhist atmosphere.

On the 4.5-meter-high 2-storeyed platform, the Gate is the copy of five-drop-tile gate tower of Qing Dynasty, with five openings, three of which are doors and its magnificent curved eaves, girders and ridges. It is mainly painted with the color of “golden (yellow)”. The three doors signify the three Buddhist “disengagement doors”, namely “Buddhism”, “No-image Door” and “No-action Door”, which mean that once people enter the “Buddhism”, they would be disengaged from the secular world and all is vanity.

Along the both sides of the Gate, stand two 4-meter high sculptured fierce-looking gods. Before the Gate, there are a couple of bronzy lions. Inside the Gate of Chongshengsi Temple, there is a 3.1-meter-in-diameter oxhide drum, the biggest one in the Buddhist temples all over China, on the left side. On the right, there is a bell tower, in which there is a bronzy bell. Morning bell and evening drum express the spirit of the cultivation of the monks and an obvious feature of the temple. And the bell and the drum are also musical instruments in Buddhism and the basis of daily life of monks and nuns.

Ear-shaped Lake

Erhai Lake is the largest highland lake next to Dianchi and one of the seven biggest fresh water lakes in China. It means, 'sea shaped like an ear', in Chinese. Implying that the lake is ear shaped and as large as a sea, hence it was so named. The lake covers an area of 250 square kilometers and is located about two kilometers east of Dali. It is like a crescent lying between Cangshan and Dali city as seen from Cangshan Mount. In a sunny day, the crystal waters of Erhai Lake and the snow mantled Cangshan Mount radiate with each other. Thus the scene was commonly described as 'Silver Cangshan and Jade Erhai'.

To give the people and tourists alike the convenience of watching the lake, Erhai Lake Park was built. In spring, the place is transformed into a wonderland of flowers like camellias, azaleas and primrose, and abundant exotic trees.

Three Pagodas

Three pagodas, about 1 kilometer (0.6 mile) northwest of the ancient city of Dali, occupying a scenic location at the foot of Mt. Cangshan facing Erhai Lake, has a history of over 1,800 years. It is a symbol of the history of Dali City, and a record of the development of Buddhism in the area. As its name implies, Three Pagodas are made of three ancient independent pagodas forming a symmetrical triangle.

The middle pagoda, Qianxun Pagoda, 69.13 meters (227 feet) high, is one of the highest pagodas of the Tang Dynasty (618 - 907), while the other lower two stand to the north and south sides of it. Qianxun Pagoda, now empty, previously could be climbed by ladder from the inside. However the ladder is now broken, and travelers now have no opportunity to climb up.

Many sculptures of Buddha made of gold, silver, wood or crystal, Buddhist readings, and more than 600 various medicinal ingredients were found in Qianxun Pagoda, playing an important role in explaining the ancient history of Dali City.