A Dali street food vendor. Mike Peters / China Daily

The temple was typically charming, but stood out for its personality: At most Chinese temples, foreigners tend to stand aside as onlookers while locals burn incense and make offerings. Here the monks eagerly invited us to participate, showing us how to join in the rituals and, for a small cash offering, reading our palms afterwards.

We mixed these casual events with plenty of roaming on our own.

One evening walk took us to the studio of Bill Yu, who gives new life to old tree wood with his carvings of figures and faces. On another day we roamed through fields of fresh garlic until we came to Erhai, the huge lake that is the hub of life for Dali's residents. After a quiet morning, we "went tourist", joining a ticket line for a boating trip. That included an encounter with fishermen who put on a show with trained cormorants, "fish eagles" that dove for piscine treats and brought them back to the waiting boats. We had the option of cooking one for our lunch (100 yuan, or $16) once on shore.

In Dali proper, such touristy moments still pack charm, too. At the Dali museum, we enjoyed watching a lady in ornate Bai dress demonstrate how tea is packed into bell-shaped bricks for long storing.

The Three Pagodas, originally built in the ninth century, and the temple behind it are beautiful restorations of very distinctive architecture. The Catholic Church is a fusion of Bai architecture and European church design of a century ago.

There is a festive market open somewhere nearby every day. Regular festivals include July's Torch Festival－a crazy scene in which revelers throw pine resin at the torches, creating little explosions and lively photo ops.

We ended our trip with a couple of nights at Jim's Tibetan Hotel, a funky old favorite packed with delightful antiques and unusually tourist-friendly bathrooms. You can have a quiet Lao or Dali beer on the terrace outside your room, overlooking a pleasant garden, or enjoy the rooftop terrace and bar. Complimentary breakfast includes fresh local yogurt, fruits and huge crepe-style pancakes－the sort of pure, simple delight that makes Dali something special.

About this series

China Daily explores Silk Road destinations every Monday.

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