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<\/a>This was taken from one of the buildings at Chongsheng Temple.\u00a0 It shows one of the nearby villages.<\/p>\n\u00a0Rice and corn are common crops as seen in this photo taken while walking \u00a0between Taoyuan & Zhoucheng.\u00a0 The old city of Dali is laid out on a rectangular grid on fairly flat land and is reasonably easy to get around without becoming lost, although that has happened too. It has four city gates and the remains of some city walls.\u00a0<\/p>\n Some areas have been gentrified while others look pretty untouched.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u00a0 This is an interesting part of town.\u00a0 Buildings which seem abandoned sit beside alternative type shops and businesses.<\/p>\n It is still quite common in many parts of China to see people carrying items\u00a0 using the pole over the shoulder method.<\/p>\n Dali is well known for its pagodas and Chongsheng Temple which was rebuilt in recent times.\u00a0<\/p>\n Three Pagodas<\/p>\n One of the many temples at Chongsheng Temple complex.\u00a0 It took me about 5-6 hours to walk around it all.<\/p>\n Like Lijiang, silver is a common with silversmiths hammering away at the front of shops in addition to numerous shops selling clothing and nick knacks made from fabric.<\/p>\n Batik made from indigo in the traditional blue and white as well as other colours is \u00a0very common. I have seen the material being knotted and some dye vats but no dying yet.<\/p>\n Knotting the material to reist dye and provide the decoration.<\/p>\n Dye vats<\/p>\n Dyed material with the knots still in.<\/p>\n Racks for hanging dyed material.\u00a0 I’m not convinced much dying stil happens at that place.<\/p>\n As in Lijiang, local shopkeepers are required to wear ethnic dress, even if it\u2019s only a vest.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u00a0Or these two are\u00a0providing photo opportunities, for a price.<\/p>\n \u00a0However, many others seem to wear ethnic clothing as a matter of course, especially in the local villages.\u00a0 Unfortunately, my visits to the villages have coincided with rain & it\u2019s a bit hard to see much when people are obscured by umbrellas and sometimes raincoats.\u00a0 The women in this area, unlike Lijiang & Lugu Lake\u00a0\u00a0wear pants instead of skirts.\u00a0\u00a0 Much more practical. Almost all at the market were wearing gumboots of various styles.<\/p>\n \u00a0I took these photos at Shaping market after the rain abated\u00a0 for a while<\/p>\n Many of the restaurants have their ingredient options; plant and animal, alive and dead, laid out at the entrance and you choose what you want.<\/p>\n \u00a0 I have yet to try that.\u00a0 Now I know how it\u2019s done I\u2019ll do the usual pointing and see what I end up with. When I was in need of food from one of those places the cook was cooking fried rice so I ordered that as a safe option.\u00a0 It tasted better than fried rice I\u2019ve had other places.<\/p>\n These women and kids were dancing outide the South Gate the night I arrived.\u00a0 The next night there were more of them and they wwre dressed in ethnic costume.<\/p>\n This sheep is a photo opportunity for a price.\u00a0 It’s the only sheep I’ve seen in China and its fleece is unusual to say the least.\u00a0 Look under its stomach to see something even more unusual.\u00a0 I’ve seen more than sheep urine in the streets of China, but Dali must have restrictions.<\/p>\n This tree was photographed in Shaping where I had trouble getting any decent photos of people because of the rain, rather than lack of interesting opportunities.\u00a0 It and the trees around it had lots of lichen.\u00a0 It is not the first tree I’ve seen doubling as a power pole.<\/p>\n<\/a>Old Dali and modern Dali (Xioguan) sit beside a large freshwater lake.<\/p>\n<\/a>The South Gate from inside Old Dali<\/p>\n<\/a>The interior of the gate.<\/p>\n<\/a>The interior of the Wenhua Tower<\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a>More commonly this outfit is seen in \u00a0the colour of red and pink.\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a>The fish are having something done to their water and\u00a0meat is hanging above<\/p>\n<\/a>Colourful array\u00a0of vegies and edible flowers<\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n