Dali Yu’er Park

Garden overview

Dali Yu’er Park is in the middle section of Yu’er Road in Dali Old Town, covering an area of 19,000 square meters. Its original site used to be Dali Agricultural and Forestry Experimental Farm during the initial period of the Republic of China (1912-1925), Zhizhou Park during the Anti-Japanese war (1937-1945), and the fruit nursery garden of forestry department after Liberation (1949- ). In 1995, the park was renovated and re-opened to the public, and combines the essence of Bai People’s architecture with the style of Dali traditional gardens. Yu’er Park is characterized by numerous Bai elements like the gatehouse with upturned eaves, a delicate mirror wall surrounded by houses, and residences with color paintings. All the elements suggest the park’s theme as a return to nature. The park visitor enjoys the fresh and mild mountain air typical to Dali.

Local Bai Women (making embroidery) and camellias

Our camellias

The garden includes various areas, each dedicated to a cultivar section, namely Foreign cultivars, Yunnan camellias, Awarded cultivars, Camellia japonica cultivars, and Camellia sasanqua cultivars. Original camellia trees are 234, and the newly introduced ones are 497, with a total of 731 trees, 304 cultivars and 62 species. In particular, the garden features a famous Camellia reticulata ‘King of Camellia”, in the area of awarded cultivars. In planting, based on the differences of the growing habits and characteristics of camellias, the gardeners made camellia clumps of various size and shapes to form irregular camellia groups and “camellia islands”. Cobblestone roads enable visitors to enjoy such varied scenery.

Camellia reticulata ‘Hentianga’ a famous cultivar originate from Dali