4 Best Sights in Southwestern China, China

This town sits on the lake's northern shore, and can be most easily reached by boat or by hiring a car and driver. Its market, held every Monday morning, is the most popular in the area.

Wase has a popular area market featuring Bai clothing. The town is on the opposite side of the lake from Dali and can be reached by car or boat. Wase also has some inexpensive places to stay if you want to spend the night in a lake village.

Among the prettiest towns in the area is Xizhou, about 20 km (12 miles) north of Dali. It has managed to preserve a fair amount of its Bai architecture. The daily morning market and occasional festivals of traditional music attract a fair number of tourists from Dali. Minibuses leave from Dali's west gate and cost Y7.

Once one of the starting points of the ancient tea and horses trade route to Tibet, this village has an Old Town featuring the houses of the "tea lords" of yesteryear. The Old Town is hidden away behind the school on a hill and makes for very pleasant investigation for an hour or two. Yiwu's higher altitude also means that it's a great way to get away from the Jinghong heat. All around the area are tea plantations you can stroll in. Several buses to Yiwu leave from Jinghong daily.