Ximatan Grand Cable Car

The Ximatan Ropeway (Ximatan Dasuodao) is the longest and highest of Cangshan Mountain's cable cars, carrying visitors from a base station near the Tianlong Babu Film City on the outskirts of Dali Old Town all the way up to the Ximatan alpine lake at roughly four thousand meters above sea level. For travelers looking to experience the high reaches of the Cangshan range without a demanding hike, it is the single most direct route, and the views along the way are among the most dramatic in the Dali area.

The cable car rises through multiple vegetation zones in a single ride, passing first through the dense pine and broadleaf forest of the lower slopes, then the bamboo and rhododendron groves of the middle mountain, and finally the alpine meadow and granite outcrops near the summit. On a clear day, passengers can look out over the entire Erhai basin — the lake, the old town, the villages of the east bank, and the successive ridgelines of Cangshan receding into the distance. The mountain weather can shift quickly, and the transition from sunshine to fog and back is part of the experience.

At the upper station, a short staircase leads up to Ximatan ("Horse-Washing Pool"), a small alpine tarn set in a glacial cirque. According to legend, Kublai Khan's horses were washed here during the Mongol conquest of the Dali kingdom in the thirteenth century, giving the lake its name. The setting is quiet and austere, with granite slabs, low alpine plants, and the constant wind that gives Cangshan its character.

Visitors should plan for a significant altitude gain in a short time. Those with heart or lung conditions, or anyone who has just arrived from sea level, should consider a more gradual acclimatization before attempting the summit. Warm layers, sun protection, and water are essential even in summer, since conditions at the top can be dramatically colder and windier than in Dali Old Town below.