History of Dali

Dali was the capital of the Tang Dynasty (618-907) Nanzhao Kingdom and Song Dynasty (960-1279) Dali Kingdom. It has been the gateway to cultural, commercial and trade exchanges between China, Southeastern Asian countries and South Asian countries for millennia. It was from Dali, where the southwestern Silk Road and the Tea-Horse Trail join, that Shu brocade from Sichuan Province and Pu'er Tea from Yunnan Province were exported to India and Afghanistan. Since then it has maintained its reputation as ancient capital at the crossroads of Asian culture. The journals of Italian traveler Marco Polo and famous Ming Dynasty geographer and explorer Xu Xiake include vivid descriptions of Dali's glory, and it is still possible to find cultural mementoes of India in Dali.

In ancient times, Dali was famous for mountain products, medicinal materials and fine linens. Nowadays, it is known as the transportation hub and distribution center of western Yunnan. To its north are Sichuan, Tibet and India, and to its south are Myanmar and Laos. The roads traveled by the many caravans passing through Dali centuries ago have been replaced by a transportation network of railways, highways, air routes and canals.