Dali ended up being my favorite stop in my month long trip through China and I think that was largely thanks to my stay at Yaya Gallery. I had tried using Couchsurfing to stay with locals, but the only person who replied was someone who told me she couldn't host me. Instead, I could stay with her friends. Her friends owned large house just next to Erhai Lake in Dali which they had converted into an art gallery. This gallery is unique for letting young students and hitch hikers, poor backpackers like me, stay for free. During my time in Dali, I slept on the floor with about ten others, but I stayed for free, with free and delicious gourmet meals. But I didn't stay to take advantage. I stayed because those staying and working at the Yaya Gallery were some of the most friendly, hospitable and kind people I met in China, or anywhere. No one spoke much English and, as with the rest of my trip, I communicated largely through cellphone apps. They showed me some beautiful spots along Erhai Lake, taught me a few Chinese recipes and told me where I should go in Dali. I, in turn, taught them some swing dance steps, and answered their bombardment of questions.
The day after I arrived, another traveler, Li, from Chengdu, in Sichuan, invited me along to see the famous temple complex of Dali, including the three iconic pagodas. The fee was an outrageous and unreasonable amount but the Yaya Gallery owners told Li of a way he could sneak in through the back, under a barbed wire fence. More for the thrill of sneaking in, than to avoid the price (though I'm not sure I would have paid the price anyway; I might have just not gone in), I followed along. We circled around to the back where there were no tourists or workers and found the gap that our hosts had mentioned. He slithered under first and I followed, before continuing through a small grove of pines until we found a path. The temples and pagodas, were beautiful.
The other travelers staying at the gallery were all curious about the laowei (foreigner) staying with them and often initiated conversations. One girl, Anjing and I started talking and we agreed to visit a village on the opposite side of Erhai lake. So the next morning we took a bus about an hour, around the lake. I don't remember the name of this village, but I liked it. The buildings weren't the beautiful historical houses of Lijiang, or even the old section of Dali, but they were old, and the town had a less touristy atmosphere. The buildings were un-restored and decrepit and one was much harder pressed to find souvenir shops or western cafes. Actually, nearly a third of the buildings seemed like construction projects or personal homes- either mud and rock slums or the rich's vacation houses. We spent the day meandering through the tangle of dusty streets and gazing out over the serine waters of Erhai.