A Solo Trip to Dali | Two-Day Itinerary Avoiding Pitfalls & Recommendation Guide

First of all, Dali is truly beautiful! I highly recommend everyone to visit! I arrived in Dali on the afternoon of May 12th and spent the whole two days of May 13th and 14th sightseeing. I stayed in a guesthouse in Xiajiyi Village, which is right by the Erhai Lake, and it's also very convenient to get to Dali Ancient Town. Choosing a suitable guesthouse allows you to see the lake and sunrise as soon as you step outside On the first day, I visited Dali Ancient Town and the Chongsheng Temple Three Pagodas, and on the second day, I went to Xizhou Ancient Town and cycled around Erhai Lake. Below, I will focus on sharing my recommendations and tips to avoid pitfalls 1️⃣ Xizhou Ancient Town: Highly recommended! Although the ancient town is not very large, it has many authentic ancient buildings, which are great for casual strolling (aside from the specific commercial streets). Sometimes, the small alleys you wander into can give you unexpected surprises, and there's much less commercial atmosphere than in Dali Ancient Town If you want to eat, there is a narrow street behind Sifang Street where many locals go to shop, and the prices are much more affordable than on the tourist streets Outside of Zhuanjiao Alley, there are fields of wheat and rice that are planted in rotation. When I was there, there were golden wheat fields, which seem to have been harvested in the last couple of days 2️⃣ Chongsheng Temple: Recommended! Although the ticket is 75 yuan, the scenery inside is really nice, and you can feel the beauty of the Cangshan Mountain where it is located, giving you a sense of being in a fairyland 3️⃣ Cycling around Erhai Lake: I must remind everyone that the road around Erhai Lake is completely closed to traffic, and electric bikes are not allowed in. There are only shared electric bikes available inside (15 yuan/hour). If you rent an electric bike from your guesthouse for the whole day, you can only park it outside the lake road and walk in. Moreover, the villages close to Erhai Lake do not offer free parking, and the villagers will usually charge you 3-5 yuan for parking your electric bike, which is a bit of a rip-off, so it's best to be prepared Also, there is no need to visit the S-curve, bridges, and other spots recommended online, as the scenery is quite ordinary, and there are many vendors which can negatively affect the experience I recommend going to Xizhou Ancient Town, then taking a bus or tricycle to Haidong, and then scanning a shared electric bike to ride along the coast to the bridge. There are many beautiful sceneries along the way, and you can stop and go, take photos, and outshine various popular spots 4️⃣ Dali Ancient Town: It is quite commercialized, but still acceptable. There are many interesting shops, and at 9 pm in front of the Grand Marshal's Mansion, there is a characteristic 'bonfire' party where you can join in the square dance, and many people participate 5️⃣ Sunscreen! Sunscreen! Sunscreen! Dali is really sunny, and if you don't apply sunscreen properly, you can get 8 shades darker in a day (my painful lesson!) 6️⃣ Renting an electric bike: The rented electric bikes cannot enter the lakeside road, but they are a good option for getting from your guesthouse to Dali Ancient Town or even cycling to Xizhou Ancient Town I rented a 50 yuan per day bike, and I cycled to and from Xizhou Ancient Town, which was also a nice experience Overall, Dali's scenery is truly beautiful, and the experience is very good. If you travel to Yunnan, don't miss it!