Dali is situated in the southwest of Yunnan and at the intersection of the Yunnan-Burma Highway and Yunnan-Tibetan Highway. Dali municipality covers an area of 1,457 square km. and is inhabited by 400 thousand people, composed of the Bai, Han, Hui, Yi, Lisu and other nationalities, among whom the Bai nationality makes up 64% of the total.

Dali, a historically and culturally famous city of China, is renowned for her historical interest. During the Tang and Song Dynasties, it was the capital of Nanzhao and Dali Kingdoms, the political, economic and cultural centre of Yunnan, an important gateway of cultural exchange and trading with southeastern Asian countries, and an important pass of the ancient "Silk Route of the South". It has long enjoyed the reputation of "a land of letters".

Dali is now a major tourist destination, 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.

As "a land of letters", Dali was the cradle of the Bai culture. In the long history of the past, the ancestors of the Bais and the Yis had created the brilliant Erhai Culture and left numerous illuminating historical and cultural relics. Within the boundaries of Dali, there are many ancient pagodas, steles, places of historical interest and frescoes. The ancient Dali City is still standing there elegantly and toweringly.

Cangshan Mountain and Erhai Lake are the best scenic spots in Dali, which are reputed as the "Snow-covered Cangshan Mountains and Jade-Green Erhai Lake". Cangshan Mountain stands erect like a huge screen. Its snowcapped pinnacles and the streams in between under fleecy clouds make a beautiful picture. The placid and crystal clear Erhai Lake comprises the following famous scenic spots: the Three Islets, the Four Sand Bars, the Five Miniature Lakes and the Nine Curvatures. The magnificent Three Pagodas, the Lofty Cangshan Mountain and the Colorful Butterfly Spring add lustre to what is already beautiful. The Wind, Flowers, Snows and the Moon make a perfect natural picture that renders this ancient city even more attractive. So, people adorn it as "A Corner of Mother Nature" and "Switzerland in the East."

Dali today is full of vitality and prosperity in both the urban and rural areas. With the development in machinery, electricity, textile, chemicals, papermaking, tea processing, marble products and so on, it has now become an industrial base in the west of Yunnan Province. The mainstay in the economy of the city is the production of cigarettes, tea, marble articles, clothing, cement and electric power. In sum, both in the city and around the countryside, Dali has become wealthy and prosperous, indeed a land of "fish and rice" in the west of Yunnan.