About

Transportation

Dali lies at the junction of the Yunnan-Burma Highway (320 National Highway) and the Yunnan-Tibet Highway (214 National Highway), which connects to other regions of western Yunnan Province. In addition, the Dali-Kunming Freeway has been open. Increasingly modern transportation system makes it easier than ever for people living ere to communicate with the outside world.

Air

Airport Code: DLU

Location: Dali Airport is located in the junction of Fengyi Town and Haidong Town, Dali City, Dali Bai Autonomous Prefecture, Yunnan Province, southeast of China. As a vital tourist airport, it is about 13 kilometers (about 8 miles) from Dali City, 5 kilometers (about 3 miles) from Erhai and 30 kilometers (about 18.5 miles) from Dali Ancient City.

Brief Intro: Established in 1995, the airport covers an area of 416 acres including a 4200 square meters (1 acre) terminal building and a 19,550 square meters (4.8 acres) apron, which can handle planes such as the Boeing 737. The apron has 4 parking positions and the runway is 2600 meters (1.6 miles) long. This is the first high altitude airport in China with a complex geographic situation.

At present, flights using this airport connect the city with many destinations such as Beijing, Shanghai, Kunming, Xishuangbanna, Tianjin, Chengdu, Chongqing, Guiyang and Guangzhou. Many flights, such as to Guangzhou and Kunming, are operated daily.

Airport Transportation
Airport shuttle bus connect airport and Dali City.  We recommend leaving for the airport from downtown two hours ahead of departure time. Airport check-in services will close 30 minutes before a flight departs.

Train

Located at No.261 on Weishan Road, Dali Railway Station is about 12 miles (19 km) from Dali Ancient City. Passengers can take city bus no.8 from the ancient town to the station. Other buses leading here include  1, 2 (branch line)5, 7, 10, 13, 16, 21, and Sightseeing Line.

Trains run to Kunming, Lijiang and some other nearby places. Those to Kunming takes about 5.5-8 hours; ticket fare for a soft sleeper is CNY 149.5 and for a hard sleeper is CNY 97.5. Those to Lijiang, most of which originally depart from Kunming, takes 1.5-2.5 hours; ticket fare for a soft sleeper is CNY 105.5 and for a hard sleeper is CNY 69.5.

Long-distance Bus Stations

Located at No.21, Jianshe Road, Xiaguan, the Dali Bus Station is the largest bus station in the city. It operates bus lines to Kunming and Lijiang, as well as cities in other provinces, such as Panzhihua in Sichuan and Putian in Fujian. Most comfortable express buses depart from this station. Bus No.2 stops in this station.

Urban Transportation

City-Bus

There are dozens of public buses running to every corner of the city. Most of them are self-serviced that require exact change. Visitors can take them to some of the scenic spots. For example, visitors can take the No. 6 to Erhai Park or the No. 8 to the Ancient City. The ticket price from Xiaguan to the Ancient City is CNY 1.5. In addition, autobuses can shuttle visitors between various spots. For instance, it costs about CNY4 from Butterfly Spring to the Ancient City by autobus. Visitors can also appreciate the beautiful scenery of Cangshan Mountain by cable car or on horseback.

Generally speaking, getting to the scenic spots by city-buses is very convenient and enjoyable.

Taxi For people who want to get to their destination as fast as possible, taxi is a wise choice. Taxis here are of different brands and the charging standard varies a little: most cars charge CNY5 for the first 3km (2km) and CNY1.4 for every succeeding kilometer (0.6mi); the starting rate of Santana cars is CNY6 for the first 3km (2mi) and it costs CNY1.6 per additional kilometer (0.6mi). Anyway, local taxi drivers usually don’t charge by meter, especially when you take a cab at the airport, railway station, long-distance bus station or scenic spots. Therefore, you’d better ask the rate before boarding or negotiate a reasonable price. Hereunder is the fare for your reference:
Railway Station – Ancient City: about CNY50
Airport – Ancient City: CNY80-90
Airport – Xiaguan Area: CNY50
Ancient City – Shuanglang: CNY150-200