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中|CHINANETZ

Lake · Yunnan

Erhai Lake and Cangshan

洱海 (Ěrhǎi)

The highland lake and nineteen-peak range of the Bai homeland

Erhai is a highland lake of about 250 square kilometres at around 1,970 metres in western Yunnan, lying between the Cangshan range and the eastern hills of the Dali basin. With the nineteen peaks of Cangshan, rising to 4,122 metres, it frames the old town of Dali and the heartland of the Bai people; the area is a national nature reserve and the Dali Cangshan UNESCO Global Geopark.

  • National nature reserve (Cangshan–Erhai)
  • UNESCO Global Geopark (Dali Cangshan) · 2014
  • National scenic area (Dali) · 1982

Key facts

Lake area
about 250 km²[3]
Lake surface
about 1,966 m above sea level[3]
Highest peak
Malong Peak, 4,122 m[2]
UNESCO Global Geopark
2014[2]
Location
Dali Bai Autonomous Prefecture, Yunnan
1,966–4,122 m above sea level · highest point: Malong Peak, Cangshan

Overview

Erhai, the second-largest lake in Yunnan after Dianchi, stretches about 40 kilometres from north to south and is only a few kilometres wide — its outline, likened to a human ear, gives the lake its name. Along its western shore lies a fertile strip of rice fields and Bai villages between the water and the steep wall of Cangshan, whose nineteen peaks are separated by eighteen streams that run down to the lake. The eastern shore is drier and hillier, with fishing villages such as Shuanglang.

This basin was the centre of the Nanzhao and Dali kingdoms, which ruled much of south-western China from the 8th to the 13th century. The Three Pagodas, the old town of Dali and the courtyard houses of Xizhou belong to the same landscape. The Bai summarise Dali's charms as “wind, flowers, snow and moon”: the wind of Xiaguan, the flowers of Shangguan, the snow of Cangshan and the moon over Erhai.

How the landscape formed

Erhai is a fault lake: the Cangshan range was thrust up along a major fault on the western side of the basin, and the down-dropped block between it and the eastern hills filled with water. Cangshan preserves some of the southernmost evidence of Quaternary glaciation in China — its name is used for the Dali Glaciation, a classic stage in Chinese glacial studies — with cirques and moraines on the high summits. Its rocks include the fine marble that has been quarried here for centuries and is known in Chinese simply as “Dali stone”. The lake drains south through Xiaguan by the Xi'er river to the Mekong.

Highlights

  • Cangshan

    苍山 (Cāngshān)

    The range of nineteen peaks above the western shore, also known as Diancang Mountain; snow lingers on the summits into spring.

  • Malong Peak

    马龙峰 (Mǎlóng Fēng)

    The highest of the nineteen peaks, 4,122 m.

  • Jade Belt Road

    玉带路 (Yùdài Lù)

    A level path cut along the slopes of Cangshan at about 2,600 m, with views over the lake and the Dali plain.

  • Shuanglang

    双廊 (Shuānglǎng)

    A Bai fishing village on the eastern shore, facing Cangshan across the water.

  • Xizhou

    喜洲 (Xǐzhōu)

    A Bai town of merchant courtyard houses on the western plain, surrounded by rice fields.

  • Butterfly Spring

    蝴蝶泉 (Húdié Quán)

    A spring at the foot of Cangshan north of the lake, described by Xu Xiake in 1639 and famous for swarms of butterflies in spring.

Plants and wildlife

Cangshan rises through evergreen broadleaf forest, pine and fir to rhododendron scrub and alpine meadow, and is known for its many rhododendron species and endemic plants. Erhai is a freshwater lake whose native fish fauna has been badly depleted by introduced species and fishing, and whose water quality has been a major concern since algal blooms in the 1990s and 2000s.

Plants

  • Rhododendrons

    杜鹃花 (dùjuānhuā)

    Dozens of species on Cangshan, flowering from spring into early summer.

  • Ottelia

    海菜花 (hǎicàihuā)

    An aquatic plant with white flowers that grows only in clean water, used as an indicator of lake health.

Wildlife

  • Dali schizothoracine

    大理裂腹鱼 (Dàlǐ lièfùyú)

    An endemic fish of Erhai, now very rare in the lake.

  • Cormorant

    鸬鹚 (lúcí)

    Fishermen on Erhai traditionally used trained cormorants to catch fish.

Culture and legend

The Bai, whose language and white-walled houses distinguish the Dali basin, venerate local tutelary gods (本主) in village temples, and many of their festivals take place on or beside the lake — among them the Third Month Fair, held for centuries at the foot of Cangshan. Buddhism flourished under the Nanzhao and Dali kingdoms, whose rulers built temples on the mountain; Cangshan and Erhai appear together in Bai poetry and song as the emblem of home.

  • Three Pagodas of Chongsheng Temple

    崇圣寺三塔 (Chóngshèng Sì Sān Tǎ)

    Nanzhao and Dali period pagodas at the foot of Cangshan, the tallest dating from the 9th century.

  • Benzhu

    本主 (běnzhǔ)

    The patron deities of Bai villages, worshipped in local temples.

  • Xiaoputuo

    小普陀 (Xiǎo Pǔtuó)

    A tiny rocky island off the eastern shore topped by a small temple to Guanyin.

History

  1. 738

    Nanzhao unites the Erhai basin

    Nanzhao, a kingdom centred on the lake, unified the six principalities of the region with Tang support.

  2. 937

    Kingdom of Dali

    Duan Siping founded the Dali kingdom, which ruled from the lake basin until the Mongol conquest.

  3. 1253

    Mongol conquest

    Kublai Khan's army took Dali, bringing the region under the Yuan.

  4. 1639

    Xu Xiake in Dali

    The Ming geographer described Cangshan, Erhai and Butterfly Spring in his travel diaries.

  5. 2014

    UNESCO Global Geopark

    Dali Cangshan joined the Global Geoparks Network for its glacial and tectonic features.

  6. 2017

    Lake protection campaign

    Local authorities closed or removed many guesthouses and restaurants along the shore and built a buffer zone to reduce pollution.

Through the seasons

  • Spring

    Dry and bright, with snow still on Cangshan in March and the Third Month Fair; strong winds blow through Xiaguan.

  • Summer

    The rainy season brings green fields and cloud on the mountains; temperatures stay mild at this altitude.

  • Autumn

    Clear, settled weather and harvested rice fields; one of the best times for views of the range.

  • Winter

    Sunny days and cold nights; migrating waterbirds, including black-headed gulls, winter on the lake.

Routes and ways in

  1. Erhai shore by bicycle

    A lakeside path and ring road around the lake, usually cycled in sections from Dali old town, Xizhou or Shuanglang.

  2. Jade Belt Road

    A near-level path across the face of Cangshan between the upper cable-car stations, walked in three to five hours.

  3. Cangshan summit area

    A cable car climbs to the high ridge near the summits; the upper slopes are also reached on longer mountain trails with a guide.

Practical notes

  • Dali lies at about 2,000 m, so the sun is strong and evenings cool; the Cangshan ridge above 3,900 m is much colder.
  • The lakeshore is protected: swimming, motorboats and building close to the water are restricted.
  • Hiking on Cangshan away from marked paths is dangerous; visitors have been lost in cloud on the upper slopes.
  • Dali has an airport and a high-speed railway station at Xiaguan with links to Kunming and Lijiang.

Cities to start from

Frequently asked questions

Sources

  1. Yunnan Provincial People's Government — Yunnan Provincial People's Government (retrieved 27 September 2026)
  2. Dali Cangshan UNESCO Global Geopark — UNESCO (retrieved 27 September 2026)
  3. Erhai — Encyclopaedia Britannica (retrieved 27 September 2026)

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