Recently, Dali Prefectural Government and Ctrip Group jointly held a culture and tourism investment promotion conference and Dali Dream Life Fair under the theme of “Hello, Dali”. Chen Zhenyong, governor of Dali Prefectural Government, gave a speech at the conference to introduce Dali.

He said that ”In Dali, there is endless scenery to view, tales to tell, and romance to enjoy. If you come to Dali alone, there is romantic encounter,poetry and hope for you. If you come to Dali as a couple, the everlasting Cangshan and Erhai will bear witness to your ardent love. If you come to Dali with your family, you can stroll among the idyllic Cangshan Mountain and Erhai Lake. If you come to Dali with your business partners, you can take the window of opportunity to realize your entrepreneurial dream. ”

The full text is as follows.

Come and Live an Ideal life in Dali

By Chen Zhenyong- Deputy Party Secretary of CPC Dali Prefectural Committee and Governor of Dali Bai Autonomous Prefecture

February 19, 2023

Dali is hold dear to many people’s heart as a romantic and poetic place. Today, we, together with Ctrip Group, held this culture and tourism investment promotion conference and Dali Dream Life Fair under the theme of ”Hello, Dali”. This is an opportunity for us to introduce to you the culture and tourism and way of life of Dali and expound the close bond between Shanghai and Yunnan. Let me begin, on behalf of the CPC Dali Prefectural Committee and the Government of Dali Bai Autonomous Prefecture, by extending a warm welcome and heartfelt thanks to you all!

First of all, Dali is a place worth exploring with its idyllic lifestyle and intriguing charm. After the pandemic, we have come to understand what life truly means, what our immediate needs are and what it is that we truly long for. Dali holds the answer to all these questions. When you go to Dali, what you are truly after is to live another way of life. This is a paradise on earth and a place you can “Meet Yourself”. Dali offers a way of life to slow down your pace, to return to the nature, to find your inner self, and to experience romantic love. There is more to Dali than the picturesque scenery meeting your eyes. It’s more about obtaining a new state of mind; about searching for the substance than following the trend. This indulgence in life itself will lead to new doors opening up to dreams of your heart. This way of life in Dali is one worth pursuing, experiencing, and recalling. This is where home looks like.

Secondly, Dali is a romantic place that abounds with tales of love. The everlasting Cangshan Mountain and Erhai Lake are the perfect witnesses to your ardent love. ”Five Golden Flowers”, a movie about the love story among couples of Bai people, brought fame to Dali. The martial art novel ”Tian Long Ba Bu” gained Dali fine reputation both home and abroad. The latest TV series ”Meet Yourself” which is set in Dali, went viral online. Stories may differ, but they all struck a chord in our heart. Historical legends keep rolling out in the Ancient cities of Dali, Weishan, and Jianchuan and the ancients towns of Shaxi. Idyllic life continues in Shuanglang Art Town and and Xizhou Ancient Town. Touching love stories occur at March Fair, Butterfly Spring Park and Longkan Dock right now. Romance is everywhere in Dali. This is a perfect place for you to express your love to family members, friends and beloved ones, a place to embrace love and friendship. Your own love story might as well just be waiting for you at Erhai Lake, or they are taking place right now, so pack up and head for Dali.

Cang Shan Mountain and Erhai Lake (Photo shot by Zhang Kun)

Thirdly, Dali is a picturesque place to live a quality and idyllic life. With an average annual temperature of 16.1°C, Dali is on the top of the list of places to visit and rest for many people. Cangshan Mountain, a thousand-year old painting drawn with no ink and Erhai Lake, an everlasting melody played with no strings, highlight the natural beauty of Dali. Life here is pleasant and relaxed day in and day out. The crystal air, blue skies, green mountain and clear water here are as refreshing as can be and fill your heart with happiness and joy. A ride along the Erhai Ecological Corridor provides you with a chance for encountering seagulls, water birds and sea weed flowers, an perfect way to relax. A walk through the alleys and you will have the chance to binge on rosy flower cakes, cheesy milk fans, crispy Xizhou pizza and spicy and sour fish, as well as various local snacks. When tired, you can relax yourself in any hotel room that either perches in hills or sits close to waters. You can also enjoy the idyllic everyday life here if you own a house in Dali at the foot of Cangshan Mountain and the bank of Erhai Lake, leaving the hustle and bustle of urban life behind by enjoying a cup of tea, coffee or wine.

Reflection of the Three Pagodas (Photo shot by Jiang, Hongqi)

Fourthly, Dali pursues the development of green industry which offers superb window of opportunity and platform. Green industry is the future of economic development and a hot spot for investment. Dali adheres to a road of high quality green development. We strive for the accelerated modernization, upgrading and development of four hundred-billion yuan level industries including culture and tourism, modern logistics, advanced manufacturing, and featured modern high plateau agriculture, four fifty-billion yuan level industries of digital economy, green energy, new materials, and health care, five ten-billion yuan level industries of bio-pharmaceutical, environmental protection, finance services, tobacco and real estate. We pooled the first 2 billion yuan industrial development fund to both consolidate the leading position of traditional industries and create new competitive edge. Meanwhile, we are not afraid to blaze new trails. We invest over 100 billion yuan to push ahead the development of four industrial chains of silicon photovoltaic, green energy batteries, advanced processing of aluminum and bio-pharmaceutical. We work to step up the development of two hundred-billion yuan level industrial parks of Dali National Level Economic Development Zone and Xiangyun Provincial Level Economic Development Zone and five featured industrial parks including Heqing Green Aluminum Industrial Park. If you invest in Dali, you will be investing in the whole industrial chain of green energy, an industry of the future.

Last but not least, Dali has the advantage of geological location which comes with hope and future. Dali serves as an important transit hub connecting China’s southwest with Southern Asia and South-eastern Asia. With the opening of the west line of the Pan-Asia Railway and the operation of the new route connecting China, Myanmar and the Indian Ocean, countries including Myanmar, Thailand, Cambodia and India are linked by the 1,200 km land route which ends at Kyaukpyu Harbour in Myanmar. This route saved 10,000 nautical miles by bypassing the Malacca Strait and connecting straightly with the Indian Ocean which leads to a market of 2.5 billion people in Central Asia, Africa and Europe. Dali has a total installed capacity of 16.53 million kilowatts and over 30 million kilowatts of clean energy installed capacity. Green electricity accounts for 100%. If you choose to invest in Dali, you will enjoy both the national and provincial policy support, vast domestic and international market, matured supporting Industrial Parks, and low cost of electricity. All of these tally with the national strategy of achieving the goal of peaking and neutralization of carbon dioxide emission.

Although parted by endless mountains and rivers, Shanghai has always been a true friend of Dali. Since the establishment of our relationship of paired assistance, Shanghai has made substantive contribution to the cause of poverty alleviation and rural revitalization in Dali by providing substantial amount of money and personnel assistance to Dali. To thank the kindness and friendship of Shanghai people, we will offer a thousand yuan subsidy for tourists who spend three days in a row in Dali and a 30 million yuan air travel subsidy, so that more friends from Shanghai can enjoy the idyllic life in Dali.

In Dali, there is endless scenery to view, tales to tell, and romance to enjoy. If you come to Dali alone, there are romantic encounter,poetry and hope for you. If you come to Dali as a couple, the everlasting Cangshan and Erhai will bear witness to your ardent love. If you come to Dali with your family, you can stroll among the idyllic Cangshan Mountain and Erhai Lake. If you come to Dali with your business partners, you can take the window of opportunity to realize your entrepreneurial dream.

There is always something including a warm welcome waiting for you in Dali!

Thank you!