Dali

The Kingdom of Dali ruled this part of the world from 937 - 1253. It is a proud city which is in strong contrast to new Dali (15 minute bus ride), which is full of 5 story buildings without any charm. Old Dali is about one square kilometer big and surrounded by about 6m high walls. The architecture is strictly in traditionally Chinese style. The Chinese government decided it is good idea to tear down some of the old buildings and rebuild it with concrete and steal. It is easy to spot the difference. But I guess the thousands of Chinese tourists don't see it because they are to busy taking pictures while making the victory sign in front of everything. But to be fair, the city is cool and gives good insight into the way these people used to live.
We also took a bicycle to go a few hours north, but my pedal fell of after 30 minutes. So we had turn around. At least we were able to visit the nearby lake which is as I recall the 7th biggest lake of China. A nice place.