Dali is one of Yunnan's most popular tourist destinations, both for its historic sites and the "Foreigners' Street" that features western-style food, music, and English-speaking business owners, making it popular among both western and Chinese tourists.

Cangshan Mountain, also known as Diancangshan, is located at the southern end of the Yunling Mountains and forms a trailing section of the Hengduan (transversely faulted) Mountains. Cangshan is always jade-green, hence the name. Cangshan Mountain stretches from Shangguan (Upper Pass) in the north to Xiaguan (Lower Pass) in the south, and touches the limpid water of Erhai Lake in the east and reaches the turbulent Heihuijiang River in the west. It measures 42 kilometers from south to north and 20 kilometers from east to west. The mountain range comprises 19 peaks and 18 brooks.

The names of the peaks are as follows: Yunlong Peak, Canglang Peak, Wutai Peak, Lianhua Peak, Baiyun Peak, Heyun Peak, Sanyang Peak, Lanfeng Peak, Xueren Peak, Yingyue Peak, Xiaocen Peak, Zhonghe Peak, Longquan Peak, Yuju Peak, Malong Peak, Shengying Peak, Foding Peak, Ma'er Peak and Xieyang Peak. Malong Peak is the highest, measuring 4,122 meters above sea level, while the rest of the peaks average over 3,500 meters in elevation, and are covered with snow throughout the year.

There are 18 brooks among the peaks. They rush down torrentially into Erhai Lake. From north to south, the 18 brooks are respectively named the Xiayi, Wanhua, Yang, Mangyong, Jing, Lingquan, Baishi, Shuangynan, Yinxian, Mei, Tao, Zhong, Luyu, Long, Qingbi, Mocan, Tingming and Yuangnan Brooks.

The vegetation over Cangshan Mountain has a distinctive distribution and it is a treasure house of more than 3,000 species of plants, mainly consisting of evergreen coniferous trees, shrubs and grasses. In spring and summer, azaleas, camellias and rhododendrons bloom in profusion over an infinite expanse.

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Erhai Lake, also known as Yeyu Pond, Xi'er River and Kunmi River in old times, is named after its shape and expanse. "Er" in Chinese means a human ear and "Hai" means a sea, hence its name Erhai. It is one of the seven biggest fresh water lakes in China and the largest highland lake next to Dianchi Lake (in Kunming). So it was called "Plateau Pearl". The dimension is 41.5 kilometers by 6.9 kilometers. It starts from Jiangwei of Eryuan county in the north and ends at Xiaguan in the south. The total storage capacity is 3 billion cubic meters and its elevation 1,972 meters.

Erhai Lake is a barrier lake formed after a fault foundering of the earth's crust. It originates in Heigushan Mountain of Er'yuan. The water mainly comes from the Miju River and Luoshi River in Er'yuan county, the 18 brooks of Cangshan in the west, and the Boluo River, Fengwei Brook, Yulong Gully and Shitou Brook in the southeast, which converge into a mighty torrent and then flow into Erhai Lake. After that, it again flows into the Lancangjiang River by passing through Tianshengqiao (Natural Bridge) of Xiaguan, where a multistage power station of medium size stand, and the Yangbi River in the west over a distance of more than 20 kilometers.

The beautiful scenery and limpid waters of Erhai Lake are charming and attractive. On the boundless expanse of the lake, there are steamers, sailing boats, flying birds, the Three Islets, the Four Sand Bars, the Five Miniature Lakes and the Nine Curvatures, with their reflections in the placid water, accompanied by Bai girls in bright-colored costumes on the shore or in fishing boats singing the praises of their life. The picturesque scenery makes you feel relaxed and happy.

The white snow over the green Cangshan Mountain and the limpid water of Erhai Lake have earned Dali the fame of "Jade Erhai and Silver Cangshan." During a clear night, the moon is mirrored in the lake and people call it the "Erhai Moon" which is one of the four best sights of Dali. It would be a great pity if people travelling to Dali do not go for a boat ride in the lake, just like people travelling to Kunming without having a glance at the scenery of Xishan (the Western Hills).

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Jinsuodao (Golden Shuttle Island), also called the Island of the Sea, lies in the southeast part of Erhai Lake and stands far apart opposite the Erhai Park at a distance. Lying 13 kilometers away from Xiaguan Harbor, it is one of the scenic spots for a boat ride in the lake. The island is 1,500 meters in length and 20 meters to 500 meters in width. The west is wide and the middle is narrow, so it looks like a shuttle or floating calabash, hence its name. The island is full of caverns and precipitous cliffs. The "Annals of Yunnan" by Fan Zhuo, a historian, recorded that: "The island lies in the centre of the lake, and is embraced by water on the four sides. It was cool and comfortable in summer, and was a summer resort of the royal family of Nanzhao Kingdom."

The island is inhabited by the Bai people whose professions are fishing and water transportation. Rocks are used in building their walls and grey-colored bricks are dominantly used in building their houses. In front of the gate there is a screen wall. The courtyard, decorated with trees and flowers, gives a graceful atmosphere. The island commands a wide view of the lake with Cangshan Mountain as the beautiful background. It is on the island that one can taste the flavor of "fresh fish cooked in fresh water" in the style of the Bai nationality.

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Erhai Lake Villages: A total of 17 villages are spread along the Western shore of the Erhai Lake between Xiaguan and Xizhou. Take a tour by bike by riding east from Dali Old Town until you reach the lake in Caicun Village and then north beside the lake shore taking local paths and roads. It is a great opportunity to see village life at its best, meet locals, see the Banyan trees in each village square and admire local architecture. There are three Qing Dynasty (1644-1911) bridges along the route.

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Butterfly Spring: It is a shallow pool that periodically swarms with countless butterflies. Otherwise the site includes a fairly nice park, a small butterfly breeding center and an utterly bizarre exhibition hall with various pictures made from hundreds of dead butterflies of different colors which were presumably raised and killed on-site. (Local guide informed that butterfly no more because of pollution - September 2009).

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