China Guide
Yunnan
Xiaguan
XIAGUAN, an increasingly industrialized transport hub, lies on the southern shore of Er Hai Lake. It's also confusingly known as Dali Shi (Dali City), and most "Dali" buses from Kunming actually terminate here; for Dali itself, you can either take bus #4, which passes along Jianshe Dong Lu every few minutes and carries you all the way to Bo'ai Lu (30min), or catch a taxi (¥30). The train station is 2km east on Dianyuan Lu along the #5 and #6 bus routes (for Dali, take bus #8). The airport is 15km east of here, for which you'll need a taxi (¥60 to Dali). Long-distance buses stop at a number of depots along Jianshe Dong Lu, though the main bus station is down towards Renmin Lu. There are daily departures to, among other destinations, Baoshan and Liuku to the west, Jizu Shan and Lugu Hu to the northeast via Binchuan, and south to Jinghong in Xishuangbanna, a bumpy 27-hour journey. Plentiful minibuses shuttle between Xiaguan and the villages along the western shore of Er Hai.
There's a basic hotel at the bus station (Price: Under ¥50), with the upmarket Xiaguan Fandian ( 
8072/2125859; Price: ¥200-299), favoured by tour groups and with a CITS desk, about 100m east, and the mid-range Xiaguan Binguan (Price: ¥140-199) on the Jianshe Dong Lu/Renmin Lu corner.