Lake Dali: at the foot of "The Hump"
- Sara Cavalieri
- Sep 3
- 3 min read
Updated: Sep 26
The next stop on my journey to retrace my grandpa's footsteps during World War II in China brought me to Lake Dali, which he referred to as "Tali" (Wade-Giles name) in his notes and photos.
We took the high-speed train from Kunming, which took about 2.5 hours, and my first impression was that the lake looked huge!
It was also the first time I got to see the beginnings of the famous Hump mountains, and they sure looked ominous.
Looking out the car window, I tried to imagine the view of a C-47 cutting across this sky getting ready to land in Kunming or nearby Yunnanyi.
The next day, we went for a bike ride along the shores of Erhai Lake for gorgeous views, as well as plenty of giggles upon seeing these "Snoopy-like" scooters for those who didn't want to pedal.
Our guide showed me the spot where President Xi once visited, during which he stressed the importance of preserving this precious resource.
The next day, we made a pilgrimage to Jizu Mountain, one of the holiest sites in Buddhism.
My grandpa had told me about all the crazy monkeys in this region, and at one point I was eating an apple when one of them charged at me.
I ended up throwing it his way to save myself!
To get to the peak, we took a cable car then climbed the last bit of the way, all the way to about 10,600 feet.
I don't know for sure if my grandpa came here, but he did have a picture of a pagoda in his files!
It was mostly cloudy at the top, but for a second the clouds opened up to reveal a number of other nearby mountains.
Still, one of the markers for Hump pilots in the region that I've read about was Mount Tali, which stood about 14,000 feet.
Jizu already felt so high at 10,600; I couldn't imagine climbing another 3,000!
My favorite part about Dali though was wandering through the Old Town, which bustled with Chinese tourists and loads of many small shops.
My grandpa came here on a 2-day pass in November 1944 and bought a lot of items we still have in our family today.
I stopped for a quick margarita, then tried Chinese ice cream, watched a local performance, and met an adorable friend.
The South Gate of Dali was gorgeous at night.
My grandpa also had a photo of the Five Glory Tower.
The old version doesn't exist anymore, but it was still wonderful to see the new one and compare!
Perhaps the most stunning discovery happened by chance though; our guide had brought us to a picturesque Catholic Church built between 1927 to 1932 by French missionaries.
Unlike other churches though, the "Holy Three Church" was built in the traditional Bai ethnicity architecture.
We sat for about an hour having a delicious coffee in the grounds, all the while I thought to myself that it looked so familiar.
It wasn't until I came back to the hotel room later that night that I started looking through my files--and then I found it.
He had indeed come here!
And I had to go back.
Words can't describe the feeling of knowing he was standing right there when war was raging.
My trip to Dali was the best--full of unexpected twists and turns and beautiful landscapes.
I know my grandpa enjoyed shopping there during his quick trip on a short break from the war in 1944, and during my visit, I made sure to buy plenty of souvenirs, too.
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