The famous plateau lake in Yunnan Province, Erhai Lake lies peacefully between Mt. Cangshan and downtown Dali. The freshwater lake takes its name from its shape which resembles a human ear, hence the word Er (which means ear in Chinese), hai meaning sea or lake.

Erhai Lake is peaceful and the landscape here is gorgeous, it lies on a fault line surrounded by hills and mountains. The water is so blue and still that it is nicknamed the Plateau Pearl. It is rare to see fishing villages in the highlands, so many visitors are fascinated by the fishing village belonging to the Bai nationality nearby. Looking down from the Cangshan Mountains in the west, the lake resembles a huge silver mirror under the sun.

Cangshan Hill

Cangshan Mountain, also called Diancang Mountain. Mt. Cangshan is the highest mountain in the southern part of the Yunling Range, which is composed of 19 imposing peaks. The peaks stand on the west bank of Erhai Lake like a green screen, among which the highest rockets up to about 4,100 meters (about 13,451 feet), on which the snow lies all the year round. A natural wonder is that between each of the 19 peaks there is a tinkling stream flowing down to irrigate the fields and finally reaching Erhai Lake. It is a unique sight known as Nineteen-Peaks-and-Eighteen-Streams.

Cangshan has beautiful scenery and rich vegetation coverage. The clear brooks flow all year round. Whenever the sun shines after rain in early autumn, you can see clouds like a belt wrapping around Mt. Cangshan and colorfully reflecting the sunshine. With a comfortable climate, Mt. Cangshan is a fairyland for nature. Tourists might find the eight famous flowers of Yunnan Province and various wild animals here. Besides this, Mt. Cangshan is abundant in marble. Marble can be found in many places, but that originating from Mt. Cangshan is the most beautiful and magnificent. Hence such rock is called Dali Shi (stone) in Chinese, Dali City being renowned for it.

Erhai and Cangshan enhance each others beauty.