Dali is in Yunnan Province, some 400 km West of the capital Kunming, and nestles in the foothills of the Diancang Mountains and the shores of Erhao Lake. It's sprung up as being on the backpacker route, and is worth a short trip, although there are signs of greedy commercialism getting in the way of its scenic charms. Approaching Dali one notices the three Pagodas-- one of which is obviously somewhat askew due to an earthquake 100 years ago. It's a neat place to relax for a couple of days and take in the various cheap bars and coffee shops, but we found it getting a bit too much in terms of sales hassles, and although we enjoyed the stay, it's not as charming as Lijiang. There are a variety of small hostels and hotels to stay at, no problems with just turning up, but really apart from a rather distressing butterfly farm (yeah, great souvenirs of pinned and framed butterflies are just what we wanted) and a trip to the lake, there isn't really a great deal to do expect chill out and catch up on some DVD's you haven't seen in a bar with a few bottles of local Dali beer. It is worth renting bikes from the main village area and pedal down around the lake, but as we said Dali's charms quickly fade and it's time to move on. Good for a two day chill out, then move on.