Dali

A grid of lanes inside Ming-rebuilt walls, Cangshan's water running in gutters along them. Gate to gate, south to north, is a half-hour walk; Foreigner Street stays busy late at night. On the wall at early morning, roofs fall away towards Erhai.

The central Qianxun Pagoda, sixteen brick storeys, dates from the ninth-century Nanzhao; the two beside it came later, under the Dali kingdom. Juying Pond, south of the temple, mirrors all three, and more people shoot them from there than from below.

An eco-path for bikes and e-scooters follows the west shore, and you hire one and ride. From November to March black-headed gulls fly in from Siberia and settle along the water. The wind picks up in the afternoon, so set out in the morning.

Ride the cable car to about 2,600 metres and a level stone path, the Jade Belt Road, runs a long way along the range's flank. Barely any climbing, with Erhai and the old town below the whole way. On many afternoons cloud wraps the slope.

Bai merchants built big houses side by side in this village. The Yan family compound shows the classic Bai plan: three wings and a white screen wall round a courtyard. Paddies surround it, and once they are flooded for planting, Cangshan shows in the water.

A village known for Bai tie-dye: cloth bound with thread and dipped in indigo to raise a pattern. Several workshops hang blue lengths like washing across their yards and let you bind and dye a handkerchief. Drying is slow, so arrive in the morning, not late.

A former caravan stop for tea and horses, where an old theatre stage and the Ming temple Xingjiao Si face each other across Sideng Square. Every Friday a big market sets up outside, hill people bringing cattle and vegetables. Over two hours from Dali by car.

A Buddhist holy mountain where Kashyapa is said to have entered meditation; Jinding Temple crowns the summit above 3,200 metres. The cable car stops short of the top and stairs finish the climb. Pilgrims go up at dawn, so the summit lodgings fill early.

A rock islet just off Erhai's east shore, filled entirely by one small pavilion to Guanyin. A causeway walks you out to it and a lap takes five minutes. It is a short stop on the loop round the lake.

A fishing village on Erhai's east shore turned into a row of guesthouses facing the lake. It looks west, so at sunset you watch the sun drop behind Cangshan across the water. Roughly an hour's drive round the lake from the old town.

A clear spring at the foot of Cangshan, famed for the legend of butterfly swarms hanging from its trees in spring. The 1959 film Five Golden Flowers made it known nationwide. Wild butterflies are scarce now; the butterfly house next door shows them.

A glacial lake near the top of Cangshan, reached by linked cable cars and far colder than Dali below. In late spring alpine rhododendrons turn its shores red. Even when the valley is clear the wind up top is strong, so bring a warm layer.

A small island in Erhai off Shuanglang, by tradition where the Nanzhao court spent its summers. At its tip an Azhaye Guanyin statue faces the lake. Boats cross quickly from Shuanglang pier, and an hour is ample to circle it.

A small pier on Erhai's west shore near the old town, for watching the sun rise over the lake. Winter brings black-headed gulls down from the far north to circle the pier. Be there before sunrise; book a bike or taxi from the old town the night before.

The spot by Panxi village where the west-shore road of Erhai swings through a wide S. Where the curve ends an old tree leans over the water, the centre of every photo. Many cyclists on the lake road stop here for a rest.

An old walled town south of Dali, known as the cradle of Nanzhao. A grid of lanes runs out from the Gongchen gate tower at its centre, with far fewer tourist shops than Dali's old town. Mornings bring queues of locals at the noodle shops.