Dali, the full name of Dali Bai Autonomous Prefecture, is located in the west of central Yunnan Province, with Erhai Lake in the east and Diancang Mountain in the west. The climate here is mild, the land is fertile and the scenery is beautiful. It is one of the earliest areas in the southwest frontier of China. As early as 4000 years ago, there were activities of primitive residents in Dali. Dali has the reputation of "wind, flowers, snow and moon", that is, Xiaguan wind, Shangguan flower, Cangshan snow and Erhai moon. It is 2090 meters above sea level, adjacent to Chuxiong Prefecture in the east, Pu 'er City and Lincang City in the south, Baoshan City and Nujiang Prefecture in the west and Lijiang City in the north. The capital of the Autonomous Prefecture is located in Xiaguan, Dali, 338 kilometers away from Kunming. The total area of the autonomous prefecture is 29,459 square kilometers. The mountainous area accounts for 83.7% of the total area, and the dam area accounts for 16.3%. The maximum horizontal distance from east to west is more than 320 kilometers, and the maximum vertical distance from north to south is more than 270 kilometers.

Dali Prefecture is located at the junction of Yunnan-Guizhou Plateau and Hengduan Mountains, with high terrain in the northwest and low terrain in the southeast. The landform is complex and changeable, and the west of Diancang Mountain is an alpine canyon area. East of Diancang Mountain and west of Xiangyun are steep slopes of Zhongshan. The mountains in the territory mainly belong to Yunling Mountain and Nvshan Mountain, and Diancang Mountain is located in the middle of the state, like an arched screen, towering and straight. Xueban Mountain at the junction of Jianchuan County in the north and Lanping Bai Autonomous County in Nujiang Prefecture is the highest mountain in the state, with an altitude of 4,295 meters. The lowest point is the Hongqi Dam on the Nujiang River in Yunlong County, with an altitude of 730 meters. There are many lakes in the state, with 8 watersheds (dams) 18, with an area of over 1.5 square kilometers and a total area of 7 1.49 square kilometers. It accounts for 6.6% of the total area of the state. Most of the basins are linear basins, distributed in belts, and arranged into six belts from west to east. The Quaternary mountain glacier site is located in the high mountain area west of Erhai Lake and north of Yongping. Diancang Mountain in Dali is the name of the last ice age in China.

White wedding

Bai Wedding Someone once said in a word that attending the wedding of Bai people in Dali area can not only taste the famous special food and delicacies of Bai people, but also see colorful national costumes and experience a rare and interesting unique national customs. The marriage of Bai nationality is monogamous. In the past, most marriages were arranged by parents, and the man had to pay an expensive bride price, and it cost a lot of money to hold a wedding. Although it has been greatly improved with the development of the times, it still retains the traditional and ancient customs. After a man and a woman are freely in love or introduced, and have been engaged to determine the relationship, when they get married, the man should ask someone to set up a colorful shed before the wedding day. And the night before the wedding, people who can sing and act in the village should be invited to sing (commonly known as bench play, that is, one person plays the piano, several people play different roles as singers or ask people to sing tunes to congratulate (that is, suona accompaniment), Big Ben Zhong Xian and so on. People eat, drink and taste fruits and tea prepared by their hosts. Drinking and singing until midnight, all the people present, men, women and children, ate a bowl of Yuanxiao to celebrate this happy reunion in advance. The next day, a happy day, the guests began to hold a banquet in the morning. When the guests began to taste fruit wine and enjoy delicious food, the groom, accompanied by the accompanying Lang, stepped on the music of "Longteng" played by suona and toasted the guests table by table. This kind of respect requires both hands to kneel on the tray to toast and drink (only a plate or a bowl of tea). In some places, the groom does not go to the wedding, and the accompanying lang and daughter are led by the matchmaker to attend the wedding in the sound of suona. At the door of the woman's house, the suona player had to play cheerful and enthusiastic music such as "Bees Crossing the River", "Line-up" and "Wedding Reception" for six times before several elderly male and female relatives came out to welcome the newcomers. However, interestingly, in some places, wedding guests were just about to enter the door when they were stopped by several old people in the woman's house, using several pairs (that is, couplets) or asking some unexpected questions, such as: "Where are you from?" "What did you meet on the road?" Let the matchmaker or groom answer. People call this custom "road test". This kind of question and answer should not only be resourceful, but also pay attention to decision-making. It is witty, interesting and knowledgeable. If either party can't respond immediately; It often causes a hearty and pleasant laugh. In some places, the groom had to attend the wedding, and he also met a "road test". People call it "uncle test" or "groom test". Dali Shuanglang

After the wedding guests come in, four or six little boys will offer them bitter tea, sweet tea and sugar tea one by one. Then, the matchmaker (or groom) will pay a visit to the bride's parents, sister-in-law and elders and propose a toast to show his affection for his sister-in-law, friendship with his partner, care and care for his elders, and he doesn't know how to live in the future. If I disagree with my sister-in-law, I will take this opportunity to cry, sing out my grievances with music, and then go out with married people. On the way to the groom's house, in some places, the bride takes a sedan chair or rides a horse and goes on her way to the cheerful and exciting music. Before the wedding procession returned to the man's house, the elders of the man's house had already greeted him at the door. As soon as people enter the door, the new wife will go upstairs to dress up surrounded by bridesmaids and elders. While the bride is getting dressed, the person who is going to give the bride some pointers is already waiting at the necessary position under the stairs leading to the new house. It is said that this bride's custom has been handed down for happiness. Before the bride was dressed up and ready to enter the bridal chamber, I saw two boys aged about 65,438+00 holding torches lit by Song Ming and flying into the bridal chamber from the stairs with people's joy. Then the new wife, surrounded by two bridesmaids, strode into the bridal chamber, and people were scrambling to pinch the bride, laughing and laughing. There is a saddle on the threshold of the bridal chamber, a sieve on the door, and a mirror in it. There is a bow on the mirror, and three arrows are scattered side by side and fired forward. These mascots are to congratulate a couple for their efforts and courage in the future. A symbol of happiness. The moment the bride entered the bridal chamber, she began to hold a ceremony to worship heaven and earth and her parents. In some places, before entering the bridal chamber, there are ceremonies to worship heaven, land and parents. At night, in some places, the new bride consists of two elders of the woman, several bridesmaids and several elders of the man's family, and eats a "witch seat" (that is, the bride seat). After the banquet, some places began to hold "worship ceremony" (that is, worship ceremony) in the cheerful spray. "Worship" means that the new wife worships the man's elders. Everyone who is worshipped by her will get a pair of cloth shoes made by herself. When the older generation takes over the shoes, they will give her a few dollars or a small gift. Finally, the younger generation of the bride and the children of the neighbors worship the bride together, and everyone will get a lucky money or a gift. At this time, the old man is smiling, the young man is in high spirits, and the onlookers often burst into happy laughter in the suona sound; This added a lot of joy and warm atmosphere to the wedding. After the "worship", young people crowded into the bridal chamber together, tasted the fruit brought by the new wife's house, and began to engage in funny activities in the bridal chamber with laughter.

When it comes to the characteristics of Dali catering, three tea, casserole fish and Deng Chuan milk fans should be the first choice. Most of the best restaurants in Dali are concentrated in the ancient city. If you want to taste it, you can go to Renmin Road in the ancient city, where many foreign tourists gather. On Baojia Road, western-style cafes with the characteristics of Bai, Tibetan and other ethnic minorities can be seen everywhere. Many restaurants also sell Chinese and western food, and visitors can taste Yunnan-style dishes and local Bai dishes. Every restaurant here has its own characteristics and different recipes. Among them, Taibailou, which is famous for its "three teas" of Bai nationality and "buttered tea" of Tibetan nationality, is a representative. Drinking tea here and looking around, you will feel as if you are in the United Nations. Of course, the attraction of the ancient city is not only food, but also cafes and restaurants here provide a quiet and relaxed atmosphere, where people can listen to music, drink cold beer and spend a leisurely afternoon. Almost all cafes provide tourist information and reservation services, and some even have bicycles for tourists to rent.

stay

As a famous tourist city, Dali has perfect accommodation conditions, which can meet the needs of tourists at different levels. Accommodation in Dali can be divided into Xiaguan and Dali Ancient City. If you have high accommodation requirements and sufficient funds, you can choose to go to Shimonoseki. Shimonoseki is now the political and economic center of Dali, with relatively complete tourist reception facilities. There are many star-rated hotels here, such as the famous Jinda Hotel, Yaxing Hotel and Manwan Hotel. The retail price of a standard room is usually between 200 and 600 yuan. Please refer to the accommodation recommendation for details. If you are a backpacker or want to experience Dali's national culture, then living in Dali's ancient city is a good choice. There are traditional Bai folk houses in the ancient city of Dali, and many private hotels and guest houses on Huguo Road (foreigner street) in the ancient city are converted from old folk houses, which are antique and have great charm. You can book in advance on the rural travel website. Self-help tourists living here can better experience Dali's national culture, which is meaningless, and the accommodation price in the ancient city is also relatively cheap. The standard room price of middle and low-grade hotels and guest houses is generally between 50- 150 yuan, and the reference price of hotels charged by beds is 10-20 yuan/bed.

Characteristic activity

Dali is the main settlement of the Bai nationality, with strong ethnic customs. Most of the festivals and major events of the Bai nationality are concentrated between March and April every year. March Street and Sanling are surrounded by traditional festivals. Others include: Chicken Festival, which is held at Jizu Mountain in Binchuan from the first day to the fifteenth day of the first lunar month every year;

Just press the Dali encyclopedia. /view/2 163.htm