Dali

Huang Yushi <huangyushi[dot]hys[at]gmail[dot]com>

Published: Saturday 11 November 2006 - Updated: Saturday 11 November 2006 - Current version: 1

In Chinese: 大理.

A kingdom in the highlands of Yunnan in south-west China (Chapter 1). Had a densely populated city by the same name, with streets that were paved with hornfels (see Culture and Lifestyle -> Architectural Features and Furniture) and bustling shops (Chapter 6). Weaker than Tufan in terms of military might (Chapter 10).

06 dali

Places of interest in Dali included:

(1) The Imperial Palace complex of Dali (Chapter 6)

  • Located at the end of a straight and wide street.
  • Had numerous buildings whose yellow glass tiles shone like gold in the sun.
  • Accessed through a memorial archway inscribed with 'The Path of Holiness Wide and Benevolent' (Sheng4 Dao4 Guang3 Ci2 圣道广慈) in large gold characters.
  • The main door bore a plaque inscribed with 'The Palace of Holiness and Benevolence' (Sheng4 Ci2 Gong1 圣慈宫) in gold characters.

(2) The Palace of the Prince of the Southern Garrison (Chapter 6)

  • Located 2 li (1 km) to the east of the Imperial Palace complex.
  • Had a banner on each side of the main door, with the words 'Guarding the South' (Zhen4 Nan2 镇南) on one and 'Securing the Country' (Bao3 Guo2 保国) on the other.
  • Attendants served guests tea by carrying the cup-laden trays above their heads.

(3) The Imperial Academy (Han4 Lin2 Yuan4 翰林院) (Chapter 8)

  • Institution in which imperial edicts were written up, among others, and sent forth.