Nanzhao Customs Island, Dali: Route, Traps and Erhai’s Other Islands

Nanzhao Customs Island (南诏风情岛), often shortened to Nanzhao Island, is a small limestone island a few minutes by boat off Shuanglang, on the north-east shore of Erhai Lake in Dali. It’s worth a slow two-hour walk as part of a Shuanglang stay, but not a trip of its own from Dali Old Town. Most of what’s on it was built for a 1999 theme park, so go for the shore path and the lake views, and don’t buy anything on the island.

Below we cover how our guests rated the island, the route we use, the sales pitches to walk away from, and how it compares with Erhai’s other islands. By the end you’ll know whether to go, and how to visit without paying for more than the ticket.

Prices, times and drive times are from our own records; boat times change with demand, so confirm the day before.

1. What Is Nanzhao Customs Island?

Nanzhao Customs Island is one of the three main islands of Erhai Lake, off Shuanglang on the north-east shore. The Dali Cangshan UNESCO Global Geopark describes it as a limestone block 500 metres long and 100–250 metres wide. Two crossing faults cut it out and left it shaped like a weaving shuttle. Jinsuo Island, 1.8 km long, is bigger; Little Putuo is far smaller.

You’ll see the island sold under several names. Erhai cruise tickets call it Nanzhao Folk Island, Trip.com lists it as Nanzhao Style Island, older guides use Nanzhao Love Island, and the pinyin is Nanzhao Fengqing Dao. They all mean 南诏风情岛. It is NOT Yuji Island, the peninsula inside Shuanglang town that some guides mix it up with (see section 7).

Nanzhao Customs Island became a Nanzhao Kingdom theme park in 1999, GoKunming reported. The palace, statues and squares you’ll walk past were built for that park, modelled on Nanzhao and Dali Kingdom art. They are NOT remains of a Nanzhao royal retreat, whatever some listings say.

2. Is It Worth Visiting?

Yes, if you’re already in Shuanglang and treat it as a slow walk with lake views. No, as a special trip or a beach-island escape. Our guests’ feedback splits along the same line. Some of our Dali itineraries include Nanzhao Customs Island; others take guests to Jinsuo Island instead (section 7).

Guests who liked it found it far quieter than Shuanglang’s main street. They took the shore boardwalk slowly and sat in the free old Bai houses on the island, where the courtyards have tables, swings and books facing the lake. Those curious about history enjoyed the palace guide’s account of Bai culture and the Nanzhao and Dali kingdoms.

“We stayed two nights in Shuanglang and didn’t expect much. In the end the visit went well beyond what we’d hoped: the history talk, the scenery and the old houses all did.” — Guest from Singapore

“We’d planned an hour to walk round and stayed a full three. Sitting in the Erhai breeze and reading the history, we slowed down, and that’s when the trip started to feel easy.” — Guest from Malaysia

Guests who came away disappointed had three complaints. ¥70 felt steep for a short boat ride and a small island. Most of what’s there is built rather than natural. And the palace talk ends in a sales pitch (section 6).

Skip it on a short Dali trip: from Dali Old Town, the drive there and back plus the visit takes more than four hours. Skip it too if you came for Nanzhao history, because the island’s Nanzhao theme is modern. The tallest of the Three Pagodas and the grottoes at Shibaoshan date back to Nanzhao times.

3. Our Route Around the Island

We walk the island clockwise from the pier: no doubling back, and the climbing is spread evenly. The times below assume a 9:00 AM start, on days when morning sailings run (boats and tickets are in section 4).

Pier and the Shayimu bronzes

The bronze group at the landing tells the founding myth behind the Nanzhao rulers. Shayi, a woman fishing in the lake, touched a floating log that was a dragon in disguise and later bore ten sons, a story from the Book of the Later Han. Take your photos here first, while the light is clear.

Nanzhao Palace

The palace sits on the island’s high ground, with a Tang-style roof, Tibetan-style walls and Bai colours. Climb to the top for the view over Cangshan and Erhai. This is also where the “free” guided talk ends and the selling starts (section 6).

Taihu-rock cave boardwalk and the shallows

The boardwalk follows the shore past weathered Taihu rocks and small caves. It’s the best-looking stretch of the island, so walk it slowly, then sit at the shallows before the climb.

Benzhu Square, Fuxing Square and the cliff viewpoint

Benzhu Square holds bronze figures of Bai benzhu, the patron deities each Bai village keeps in its own temple. Next to it, Yunnan Fuxing Square (云南福星广场) now stands empty. Its 17.56-metre white-marble Acuoye Guanyin, the island’s best-known landmark, was taken down around 2020, and no official reason has been given. Older photos and listings still show it, so don’t plan your visit around it. If you want to see an Acuoye Guanyin in Dali, the Acuoye Guanyin Pavilion at the Three Pagodas has one.

The cliff viewpoint beyond the squares has open lake on every side, and the pier is a short walk on.

Fitting it into a Shuanglang day

Do the island in the morning, then take the boat back for lunch in Shuanglang: Bai grilled fish or a stone-plate grill. Spend the afternoon in the old town and on Yuji Island with a lakeside café. Finish with a shore walk at sunset: 6:32 PM in mid-November, 8:15 PM in mid-July. Staying the night? Take the island on your checkout morning. → See our Shuanglang guide for where to stay and the sunset chart

4. Getting There, Tickets and Hours

You can only reach the island by boat, and Shuanglang is the departure point.

Getting to Shuanglang

By car, based on our own drive times, Shuanglang is 39 minutes from Xizhou, 45 minutes from Dali Fengyi Airport and 1 hour 5 minutes from Dali Old Town. Cars can’t enter the old town, so your driver drops you at the North or South Gate. Didi works too in daytime, but cars back are scarce after 8 PM. → Book a private car with driver

The Erhai Pearl small boat and tickets

The small Erhai Pearl boat (洱海明珠号) leaves from beside Yuji Bridge (玉几桥), a 10-minute walk north along the shore from Shuanglang’s main Pier Square. In high season it sails at 11:00, 14:00, 15:45 and 17:30. The schedule follows demand: on busy days the boats run more often, on quiet days less.

Every ticket includes the return boat. The online discount moves, so check the price on the day; Trip.com works in English. Over-70s should carry their passport as proof of age. A scheduled sailing allows 40 minutes ashore, and if you want longer, as our route does, you come back on a later boat. The scenic area is open 8:00 AM–5:30 PM; ticket line +86 872 2461040.

5. Best Time to Visit

Go in the morning, and check the wind before you book.

Whatever the season, wear flat, non-slip shoes for the slopes and bring sun protection. The lake breeze feels cool, but Erhai’s sun burns anyway.

6. Traps to Skip on the Island

None of these spoil the visit if you know about them before you land.

The big cruise ship from Shuanglang

From Shuanglang, two kinds of boat go to the island. Take the small Erhai Pearl boat: a short crossing, with the island ticket included. The big Erhai cruise ships also run short loops from Shuanglang via the island, sold as a lake tour. On that run they circle the nearby water with a show on board, and the real point is selling calligraphy and other products.

That verdict covers the Shuanglang–island run only. The full-length grand cruise from Dali Port is a different trip, three hours up the lake with a Bai Three-Course Tea performance, and a good way to reach Shuanglang by water. → See our Erhai Lake cruise guide

The “free” palace talk

This is the trap our guests mention most. A free guide meets you on the boat or on the island and walks you to the Nanzhao Palace. Then the talk turns to teaching you how to tell real cinnabar and “snowflake silver” from fakes, and ends at bead bracelets and silver jewellery. One guest summed it up: ten minutes of history, twenty minutes of spotting fakes, then pure selling. Listen to the history if it interests you, and leave before the demonstration. Our private tours include no shopping stops of any kind. → See how group-tour shopping stops work

Photo packages

Photo stalls at the island’s check-in spots sell a set of photos for ¥99–119. Each group gets a few minutes and the same poses, and the results look stiff; one guest called them “mannequin photos”. A phone does the job here.

Island prices

Our guests found water and snacks on the island cost twice the Shuanglang price. Buy them in town before you board.

7. Erhai’s Islands Compared

Four islands come up when people plan Erhai, and each suits a different traveller.

If you can only land on one, choose Nanzhao Customs Island for history and photos, or Jinsuo Island for a quiet, uncommercial village of fishermen, old Bai women, cats and dogs. Jinsuo is reached by boat from Haidong and has basic facilities, so fit it into a drive along the east shore rather than a trip of its own. → See our Erhai Lake guide for both shores

8. Frequently Asked Questions

Want Nanzhao Customs Island and a Shuanglang stay built into your Dali itinerary, with no shopping stops? Tell us your dates.