Dali services
Unless otherwise noted, only Chinese is spoken at these places – no English.
- Minivan Driver
- Bank
- Hospital
- Dentist
- Bike rental
- Bike repair
- Trains
- Plane tickets
- Photocopies / Printing
- Vet
- Electrician
- Picture framing
Minivan Driver
Zhang Long (张龙)
About: Known him for years; completely honest, reliable, friendly and a good (safe) driver. He can do day trips around Dali, or longer distances (Dali > Shaxi, one way three hour trip, RMB 250, maximum six people).
Contact: Tel. 13887257460
Bank
Bank of China
Location: 333 Fuxing Road, Dali Old Town (on the big pedestrian road between Renmin Road and Foreigners’ Street)
云南省大理州中国银行大理州分行南诏支行(大理古城) 复兴路333号 671003
Contact: Tel. 0872-2670171
Hospital
Dali College Affiliated Hospital (Fushu Yiyuan) 大理学院附属医院
Location: Take the number 4 bus from Dali old town into Xiaguan, and get off at the Zhou Zhi Yao Chang (州制药厂) stop. Walk back toward the intersection, then turn left (west) on to Jia Shi Bo avenue (嘉士伯大道), walk about 300 metres and you’ll see it on the right (north) side. Alternatively, just take a taxi and ask for “fushu yiyuan”.
下关嘉士伯大道32号
About: If you are sick enough to need to see a doctor, this is the best bet. Minimal queues and you should be able to track down someone who speaks English. As with all Chinese hospitals, you have to choose the department that most fits your complaint. If it’s urgent, there’s an emergency department where you’ll get seen immediately.
Contact: Tel. 0872-2201123
Dentist
Bright Dental Clinic 博爱牙科
Location: In the alley next to Bakery 88.
大理古城洋人街中心广场61号
About: Run by Congxiu Yang (杨丛秀）, who offers teeth cleaning, fillings, all the usual, and she speaks ok English. So far she’s had glowing reviews from everyone. You need to book an appointment.
Contact: Tel. 13577284693 Email: angel_yang05@sina.com
Bike rental
Qike Dali Bike 骑客 —— 大理车友联盟
Location: The shop next to Black Dragon Cafe
大理古城洋人街中心广场41号
About: Run by Lao Liu (刘磊), an affable bloke who takes part in a lot of bike competitions, this is the best bike shop we’ve found so far (and they happen to be our neighbours, which is lucky). Bike rental ranges from RMB 40 – 100, he also does bike repair and can get hold of spare parts if you need them.
Contact: Tel. 13577222911, 15125225957
Bike repair
Shunfeng Bikes 顺风车行
Location: Right at the bottom of Renmin road (no.47), just down from the Bookworm – after Wenhua road and before the Erhaimen East Gate.
About: One of those “old man in a shed” bike repair shops. The old man is called Zhou Fuhui (周福会); he’s very good and very cheap.
Contact: Tel. 13987299590, 2676255
Trains
The enquiries number for Dali Train Station is:
Tel: 0872-3146002
About: Please note this is enquiries only, and half the time they don’t bother to pick up the phone – if you want to buy a ticket, you’ll have to trudge over there yourself anyway. The train takes twice as long as the coach, and is more uncomfortable. Really, the only things going for it are that it’s slightly cheaper, you’re less likely to crash, and there’s a different view out the window.
Plane tickets
One way to get tickets is to just book online through Ctrip or eLong and pay by credit card, though this isn’t always a smooth process. If you want to hand over cash to a real person, a lot of travel agents around town now have their computers hooked up so you can buy plane tickets directly from them. Here’s one that’s been recommended to us, next to the south gate:
Contact: Tel. 0872-2670606
Photocopies / Printing
Xinxing Digital Graphic 欣兴数码图文
Location: West side of the Bo’ai road / Yu’er road intersection.
大理古城博爱路129号（博爱路与玉洱路交叉口）
About: The owner is Li Xin (李欣), she worked in Kunming for years before opening up her own place here, so she knows her stuff. Good for business cards (RMB 20 / box of 100, takes 3 days, or RMB 10 same day, but poorer quality), and anything printed you can think of – posters, brochures, etc as well as burning DVDs.
Contact: Tel. 13013367878, 15208725069, 0872-2671465 Email: 565296847@qq.com
If there is anything that this company can’t do (fancy paper, food packaging etc) then this Kunming company, run by Ms. Gu Wenqing (顾文清) is highly recommended:
Mulan Brand Planning Co. 昆明木兰企业策划有限公司
Location: Around the corner from Kundu in Kunming.
昆明市瓦仓街116号怡嘉合510室 邮编：650021 www.mulan607.com.cn
Contact: Tel. 13888940083, 0871-3633719, Email: 6392gu@163.com
Vet
Kang’ai zhi Jia Vet 康爱之家宠物医院 Mrs. Bi (毕医生）
Location: When you go from Dali old town into Xiaguan on the six lane 214 road (which turns into Renmin road) on the number 4 bus, the vets is next to the Zhou Zhi Yao Chang (州制药厂) bus stop.
下关新桥北玉凤楼55号
About: Dogs and cats only. Despite looking very young, she knows her stuff and on top of that really cares about animals (not a given for Chinese vets). Good for innoculations. Note: Make sure you talk to Mrs. Bi and not her husband, he’s nice enough but seems completely clueless.
She no longer does neutering / spaying, and we haven’t found a good place that does. These are not common operations in China, and there is a big risk – we have had friends whose dog died from the operation (performed by a vet in the old town, not Mrs. Bi). If you really want to get the operation done, best to go to Kunming.
Contact: Tel. 0872-2226250 15887302897
Electrician
Mr. Wang Lixiu 王理修
About: Fixed our waffle machine, and it’s worked like a dream since.
Contact: Tel. 13887253728
Picture framing
Yan Yuan Xuan Gallery (yàn yuán xuān huàláng 砚缘轩画廊)
Location: In Xiaguan, same bus stop as the vet’s above (州制药厂 No. 4 bus stop). 下关新桥北州制药厂旁
About: We only know one framer, but they’re very good. They only do Chinese style framing though, a neat black plastic frame and a border of about 3 inches of silk, the picture stuck (glued) in the middle. All the frames we’ve got have ranged in price from 50 to 100 kuai each.
Contact: Tel. 0872-6886302
