At the Foot of Mount Cang，We Encounter Erhai

Although Erhai sounds like a sea， it is indeed a lake. Since people there cannot enjoy the fascinating view of sea， they named their beloved lake as sea instead. The so called sea is not a real sea， while the lake looks just dont like a common lake—Erhai lake is wide like a sea of wide， but still hold the specific feature of lakes： the static shadow of the trees and mounts around it can be completely cast onto the surface of it. A scene of two kinds of style and flavor may be rather impressive for ones who have visited this very place. The most delightful and comfortable experience lies in the elegance and seclusion-like feeling Erhai lake brings to us， just like we are far away from the worries in life.

Erhai Lake located in Dali， which is the second largest freshwater lake in Yunnan Province. Erhai Lake starts from Eryuan in the North， 42.58 km in length and 9.0 km in width. The total area of Erhai lake is 256.5 square kilometers， with an average depth of 10 meters， It is said that the max-imam depth of it can be 20 meters below the horizon. Erhai has two outlets： One is near the XiaGuang Town， and outflow through the xier River； The other mouth is lead into the Bin River. Erhai is among the four splendid scenes that consist of the house-hold name interesting place in Dali called “Fenghuaxueyue”. There is another version of story about why “Erhai”is so called， as people who have a look of the whole scene of Erhai will not deny the truth that it just looks like the shape of an ear as well.

Erhai Lake is the “Mother Lake” of the Bai nationality， Bai ancestors deemed Erhai as the “the golden moon”. Actually， it is a freshwater lakes with superior geographical advantages， significant comprehensive function， decorous history culture. It ensures a good environment for the all around development of Dali city， no matter in political， economic， or cultural aspect.

Lots of green mounts are in the west to the Erhai lake which lies in a row looks like a natural screens. On the east side of Erhai， it was surrounded by a famous mount called Yuan mountain， the beautiful view of this combination is really attractive. “The shining surface of the Erhai lake serves just like a mirror， mountains around it are nothing else but a jade-colored screen which is well known as the” silver Erhai“ and the” Pearl of the plateau “From ancient time till now， numerous learners and gurus have written rhyme poems to praise the fascinating outlook of Erhai Lake. When you pay a visit to Erhai lake， you will find that the islands， rocks， lakes， sand， trees， even the local cottage has their own style of attraction. Erhai is long in its Northern and Southern part， whereas narrow in western and eastern part like a crescent moon. It lies quietly in these green mountains and the damp of Dali city. Besides， the Village around Erhai lake also worth your time to have a look at.

Dali City

Dali is located in the central west part of Yunnan province， east to Chuxiong city， and near Puer Lincang area in the south. In addition， it connects Lijiang area in the north. As we all know that Yunnan is one of the earliest birthplace for traditional Chinese culture， among which Dali has account for the“cradle for literature”for really a long long time. Dating back to Tang and Song Dynasty， Dali has been the political， economic and cultural center of Yunnan since then. Low latitude plateau together with minimum temperature difference when season varies， clearly separated wet and dry season and its prevailing low latitude plateau climate， it has long been deemed as the best place to enjoy the gorgeous natural scenery. The butterfly spring， Erhai Lake and Chongsheng temple serve as the representatives for Dali city.

The Dali area was formerly known as Jumie. The old town was the medieval capital of both the Bai kingdom Nan-zhao （fl. 8th and 9th centuries） and the Kingdom of Dali（937-1253）. That city was razed and its records burnt during its conquest by Chinas Mongolian Yuan Dynasty. The present old town was organized in the late 14th century under the Hongwu Emperor of the Ming Dynasty. The area became significantly Muslim （Hui） under the Yuan and Ming and was the center of the Panthay Rebellion against the Qing from 1856-1863. It was severely damaged during a massive earthquake in 1925.

Rail and then air transport have permitted the area （particularly Dali Old Town） to become accessible to tourists in the 20th century. It is now one of Chinas official tourist cities and， along with nearby Lijiang， one of the most popular. To preserve the appeal of the old town， industrial development is restricted to areas such as Xiaguan while building codes mandate new construction the old town and surrounding countryside must conform to the traditional Chinese style， with tiled roofs and brick， plaster， or white-washed walls.

Existing Dali city is recovered on the basis of the construction completed in early Ming Dynasty which was then known as Yang Jumie City. The forbidden city was of square style with four doors open， and Acropolis were built under watching tower. In the north and south direction， there are three streams served as natural barrier. Besides the forbidden city for the downtown Dali， the outer layer of the wall is constructed by bricks. Five Avenue are there across the Dali city from north to south， and from west to east there are eight streets in between， the whole city was designed like the checker board. Long streets cover quiet lanes， from west to the east. Tile colored roof which filled in the whole city and the cobblestone walls expressed the simplicity， chic and elegantthe features of this ancient city.

The world famous Three Pagodas are made of brick and covered with white mud. As its name implies， the Three Pagodas comprise three independent pagodas forming a symmetric triangle. The elegant， balanced and stately style is unique in Chinas ancient Buddhist architectures， which makes it a mustsee in the tour of Dali. The Three Pagodas， visible from miles away， has been a landmark of Dali City and selected as a national treasure meriting preservation in China.

The main pagoda， known as Qianxun Pagoda （pinyin Qian Xun Ta）， reportedly built during 823-840 AD， is 69.6 meters （227 feet） high and is one of the tallest pagodas in Chinas history. The central pagoda is square shaped and composed of sixteen stories； each story has multiple tiers of upturned eaves. There is a carved shrine containing a white marble sitting Buddha statue at the center of each facade of every story. The body of the pagoda is hollow from the first to the eighth story， surrounded with 3.3 meters （10 feet） thick walls. In 1978， more than 700 Buddhist antiques， including sculptures made of gold， silver， wood or crystal and documents， were found in the body during a major repairing work. The designers of the pagoda are supposed to have come from Changan （present-day Xian）， the capital of Tang Dynasty at that time and the location of another pagoda， Small Wild Goose Pagoda， which shares the similar style but is one hundred years older.

The other two sibling pagodas， built about one hundred years later， stand to the northwest and southwest of Qianxun Pagoda. They are 42.19 meters （140 feet） high. Different from Qianxun Pagoda， they are solid and octagonal with ten stories. The center of each side of every story is decorated with a shrine containing a Buddha statue.

There is a lake behind them. Named Juying Chi （Reflection pond）， the pond is known to be able to reflect images of the Three Pagodas.

Small Putuo Island

In the eastern part of the Erhai Lake， there is a small island which is said to be the one in the legend that had been dropped there by Avalokiteshvara to serve as a seal to guard the safety of the villages around and the fishermen who lean on fishing to earn their livings. Thus the local residents built up tempt for Avalokiteshvara and name it as Avalokiteshvara Pavillion to commemorate this beloved god. Later on， the local fishermen also named a small town located in the eastern part of the Erhai Lake after as Haiying village and called this island as small Putuo which suggested that it is the very place where Avalokiteshvara has practiced Buddhism.

Small Putuo was built in the Ming Dynasty， and had been rejuvenated as a two storey pavilion building in 1982. On the first layer， people can worship Tathagata Buddha， and on the second worship access to Avalokiteshvara are available for visitors. Small Putuo is located in a place named as Xiaguang which is on the same line with Shuanglang and Butterfly Spring tourism hot line that is famous among visitors. Once there are cruise ships come， they will be invited to land on the small Putuo island to enjoy the gorgeous lake scenery there. The best time to visit small Putuo is around the sunrise. At this time， the sea will be crept by mist， and the image of small Putuo island may flicks， like the palace on the moon. And the fog surging around， may looks like a white veil. This is a wellknown scene of small Putuo island that is waiting for you to have a look at.

On the east bank of the small Putuo Island there is a natural harbor which is called as Bai Shiqu. Around this harbor， the fishermen there integrated a fishing village—Haiyin village. Hai Yin Village is on the east side of the jade mountain， and located to the west of Erhai. The population here is more than 400 families which includes over two thousand people， all of them are of bai nationality. Since there are only 60 acres of arable land， the villagers have no other choice but to engage in shipping， construction and transacting sand and fishes to make their ends meet.

Bai people have well maintained their traditional customs. Villagers are good at swimming， from the village to the Putuo island will not take much time of the native people to pass through swimming. In the old days when there is no such things as motor boats， Erhai fishermen had sailed the sailing ship which is bigger in size， together with the smallsized paddling boat. The nearby Haiyin village is very typical and traditional fishing village. Although all the houses there are made by white walls and blue tile， the typical Bai style houses for dwelling， people there seems to live on their own ship instead of the houses on the bank. The harbor before the village is filled with various kinds of large and small ships and boats which are fully equipped by chairs， beds， stove pots， bowls and everything else that is need to meet the basic need of living. If the ship will sail for a long journey， there may even have chicken feed on the deck. Actually， fishermen rarely have any time to live in their bright houses on the bank， they sailing on the lake all the year round， the ship is the floating home for them. Every traditional festival， the small Putuo became their worshiping place to thank for the god of fishing， and also a good place for leisure and entertainment. The green mountains together with Erhai lake constitute the fabulous scene which looks just like an old man has a silver white plate in his hand， later on you will feel enlightened by it……