Cangshan Mountains

苍山

Cangshan MountainsAttraction

Cangshan (苍山) is the high mountain range located just to the west of Dali Old Town , Erhai Lake and Xizhou. It is a popular local recreation area for the people of and visitors to the greater Dali region. With 19 peaks lined up from south to north, Cangshan Mountain is full of beautiful landscapes and amazing scenic sites that shouldn’t be missed. At the same time, it is also an established place for geological research as well as wild animal watching. The highest summit, Malong with 4,122 m, but the mountain range includes another 18 peaks all over 3,500 m. The mountain is noted for its very rich, diverse flora, first scientifically documented by Pierre Jean Marie Delavay in 1882. Cangshan Mountain can also be hiked up but would be too big and too far to explore for most visitors during a short visiting time. To reach higher elevations conveniently, 3 different cable cars and ropeways have been built along the range.

In 1991, construction began on a paved walkway running north and south from the top chairlift station near ancient Dali. This walkway passes several waterfalls, and overlooks Erhai Lake and the ancient city itself. This walkway is named “Jade-Cloud Road” after the cloud formations that appear over the Cangshan peaks. Construction was completed a year later and in 2004 a new project was launched to widen the walkway and increase its length. At the chairlift station on the mountainside a temple complex as well as a small travellers’ inn can be found.

The Gantong Cable Car (感通索道)

The Gantong Cable Car is located under the Malong Peak (on the lower left side of above map), which is the highest elevation of the Cangshan range. It starts at Gantong Temple at the foot of the range and leads up to Qingbi Stream, which also marks the southern end of the Yudai Path (玉带路 ), which follows the mountain range to the north just above Dali Old Town.

The carriages are closed by fixed doors, 6 persons per carriage

Operating hours: 8:00A.M. – 17:00P.M.

Price: 110 RMB / whole way ticket（Round trip tickets + direct train tickets between Dali ancient town and the scenic area）

The Ximatan Cable Car (洗马潭索道), also known as Tianlong Cable Car (天龙索道)

The newest of the three ropeways goes almost all the way up to Yuju Peak with 4097 m. From the lower station at 2052 m it takes its passengers in closed carriages up to 3966 m. It is considered to be one of the cableways with the largest elevation gap in the world. Still, there is a middle station at which one can get off and embark for getting to the top (so it can be used for connecting hikes). At the top, the beautiful Ximatan Lake can be visited. The best views up here are usually between mid-April and end of May. Azalea flowers are blooming everywhere then.

Operating hours: 8:00A.M. – 17:00P.M.

Price: 320 RMB / whole way ticket（Round trip tickets + direct train tickets between Dali ancient town and the scenic area）

Zhonghe Cable Car (中和索道)

This is the oldest and the northernmost cable car at the Cangshan Mountain Range. From Dali’s central Sanyue Street, it goes up to Zhonghe Temple, located below Zhonghe Peak. People like to take this cable car to reach the Taoist Zhonghe Temple, to sit in the gallery and enjoy a bird’s eye view of Erhai Lake and Dali. The paved Yudai Path also passes the upper station of this ropeway.

The carriages are open, 2 persons per carriage

Operating hours: 8:00A.M – 17:00P.M.

Price: 100 RMB /whole way ticket （Round trip tickets）

Important Information

These three cableways are unfortunately separately run by different companies, so tickets bought for one cable car cannot be used on another one. This is particularly important to know if you like to combine a visit to the Cangshan Mountains with a cable car ride and a hike to another cable car.
Make sure to reach the upper cable car stations on time as at 17:00p.m. the operations end. Staying overnight in Cangshan mountain is possible but need to be well prepared. Reports of missing trekkers can be heard of almost every year.

Planning go up the Cangshan while in Dali? Contact us for more information, hiking guides and transfer services!

Image source： QU Ma Hei ; Cat Adventure ; A name

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