Northwest Yunnan Shangri-La Ecotourism Travel Zone locates in the part stretching southeast of Qinghai Tibet Plateau. It is the intersection of East Asia, South Asia, and the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau. It mainly includes Dali Bai Autonomous Prefecture, Lijiang City, Diqing Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, and Nujiang Lisu Autonomous Prefecture. This region occupies a size of 89,200 square kilometers. Its total population is 5. 27 million, of which 67. 3% are ethnic population.

This region boasts the most abundant tourism resources in Yunnan province. It has all the world heritages in Yunnan: one world natural heritage(the Three Parallel Rivers), one World Cultural Heritage Lijiang Ancient City), and one Heritage Lijiang Ancient Dongba Documentation). In addition, it has three national-level scenic areas, three national historical cities, four nature reserves under state protection, four national-level forests, and 22 relics under state protection.

Dali Bai Autonomous Prefecture, Lijiang City, Diqing Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, and Nujiang Lisu Autonomous Prefecture have worked together to accelerate their tourism development with a focus on world natural and cultural heritage sites, famous historical and cultural cities, ethnic customs, and natural landscape. Efforts are jointly made to promote selected eco-tour attractions with distinct ethnic customs, to enhance the Shangri-La ecotourism area in the northwest of Yunnan into a world-renowned place and a key zone in China, and to develop Dali, Lijiang, and Diqing into international tourist areas and distributing centers connecting Tibet and Sichuan.

Dali City

Dali city is the political, economic, and cultural center of the Dali Bai Autonomous Prefecture. Located in the middle of West Yunnan, it is 376 kilometers from Kunming in the east, and 580 kilometers from the Sino-Myanmar border in the west. 

Dali Bai Autonomous Prefecture, at the juncture of the Yunnan-Guizhou Plateau and the Hengduan Mountain ranges, is high in the northwest and low in the southeast with a varied topography. West of the Cangshan Mountain is high mountains and valleys, while east of the mountain and west of Xiangyun County is mid-mountain steep slopes. The Cangshan Mountain is the naming place of the "Dali Ice Age", the last one in China. Over 160 streams run through the whole prefecture like wings.

There are 8 lakes in this area, namely, the Erhai Lake, Cibi Lake, West Lake, East Lake, Sword Lake, Haixi Lake, and Qinghai Lake. Among them, the Erhai Lake, the second biggest freshwater lake in Yunnan, is reputed as the "Pearl of the Plateau". Bai people inhabit compact communities in Dali, "a land of letters" with a long history and rich culture. Ancestors of the Bai lived around Erhai Lake 4,000 years ago. Dali was in contact with the Central Plains since it was set up as a county, and became a transit station between Myanmar, India, and the Central Government.

Photo Resource: Internet

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