San Ta Si Gongyuan

About 2km (1 1/4 miles) northwest of town at the foot of the Cang Shan, Dali's most famous landmark has unfortunately become a massive tourist trap. Apart from the pagodas, a new temple and a museum have been added to the rear of the park but there is very little of interest inside them; nonetheless, in 5 years, ticket prices have increased from ¥10 to ¥121. The monastery itself was destroyed in the Qing dynasty, and what you see today dates only from 1999. The central pagoda, the statuesque 16-story, 69m-high (226-ft.) Qianxun Ta, resembling Xi'an's Small Goose Pagoda, was built first between 824 and 859 and is a hollow square brick structure with graceful eaves. A popular photo op is from a small lake in the northeast corner of the park that captures the reflections of all three pagodas in a stunning tableau. Apart from that one particular vista, the rest of the site is overrated.

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