There's nothing better than a weekend getaway, which is just what my friends and I got on our weekend excursion to Dali. A famous tourist attraction in Yunnan, Dali has a beautiful old town with a large city wall enclosing the quaint buildings that showcase ancient Chinese architecture. The city also has huge mountains on one side and a large lake on the other. All around it's just a great place to relax and spend some time away from the bustling city of Kunming.
An alleyway with all kinds of fun shoes and accessories for sale
Old Town Dali with the mountains in the background
Dali has beautiful mountains surrounding it
Old Chinese Architecture
Performing our very own Dragon Dance! Weaving around while our Chinese friends played their musical instruments for us in the background
The joy on his face is priceless
Denise was a great dragon dance leader!
Cormorant Fishing
Cormorant fishing, an ancient Chinese method of fishing, is one of the most popular things to do in Dali. Cormorants are a type of bird that belong to the pelican family; in this mode of fishing, the birds are used by Chinese fisherman to catch fish.
A fisherman has several cormorants in his boat, and he rows out onto the water. After choosing a location, the fisherman pushes the birds out of the boat. They are trained to dive in the water and look for fish. The cormorants are tethered with rings round the base of their necks, so when they dive and see a fish, they catch the fish by swallowing it whole, but the ring around their neck inhibits them from eating the fish. When the fish is in their mouth, they return to the surface and fisherman brings the cormorant back to the boat. The bird then disgorges the fish, and the fisherman adds it to the bounty, The cormorant is rewarded by removing the ring and feeding it a small fish.
It is so interesting to watch, knowing that many ancient Chinese fisherman used this technique to catch fish for a living. I was amazed at the size of the fish they caught too - maybe 12 inches long! (and that's not a fisherman's tale either, haha!) Here are a few photos from our cormorant fishing experience:
Isn't she precious? She rowed our boat out to the fishing area.
Typical Chinese tourists... they thought the four American girls were more interesting than the cormorant fishing, haha.
The cormorant disgorging the fish it just caught
The birds holding the fish they caught in the air.
So proud of the day's catch
Erin, Jill, Denise & I with our great tour guide
Holding the cormorant -- SO scared I had to close my eyes!! Its feet and claws were digging into my hands, and it was so heavy!
Beautiful
