Features

Sometime during Nanzhao period, the Dali region became a Buddhist kingdom. But when and how did Buddhism actually arrive in Dali? On this topic central to understanding the Nanzhao and the Dali Kingdom, historians remain divided, reflecting not only the scarcity of historic material, but perhaps also political considerations. 

The Bai are of China's officially recognized 56 ethnic groups, living predominantly in Yunnan's Dali Bai Autonomous Region.

In the Dali region, almost every village has a temple and almost every temple has a statue of Guanyin, the 'Goddess of Mercy'. Indeed, besides Benzhu worship, veneration of Guanyin is one of the striking aspects of Bai religious life.

"Cangshan Red Plum" is a Bai opera 白剧 created by the Dali Bai Opera Troupe 大理州白剧团 in 1976.

Set in 1969 it depicts the struggle to bring schistosomiasis, a disease caused by parasitic worms, under control against the backdrop of the Cultural Revolution.

The Chinese spoken in Dali 大理话 is a subform of the Yunnan Dialect 云南话. It has a few special expressions, particularly for forming questions.

The research notes of western explorers are the earliest extant documents on the Bai language, the Chinese being not terribly interest in linguistic research at the time. While linguistics was quite immature at the time, their notes remain valuable for understanding the Bai language.