Nestled between the lush slopes of the Cang Mountain and the serene waters of Lake Erhai, which appear untouched by any disturbance and mirror the blue-gray hues of the Yunnan sky, lies a paradise. A place to leave behind the past, escape the pressures of sprawling cities, and start over: to choose your life, your path, and take your future into your own hands.

Dali, a small city by Chinese standards with roughly 770,000 residents, is located in the southern part of the country and has become synonymous with new beginnings. "I wanted to change my life," said Tanya Guo one evening in May. The 26-year-old with shoulder-length hair explained that she left Beijing a year ago to settle in Dali. After finishing her studies, she found a job at a major tutoring company in the capital. However, she soon started to question the meaning of her daily routine, as her salary was barely enough to get by, given the cost of housing in China's major cities. "It wasn't the life I wanted," she said.

The question of moving somewhere by choice rather than necessity came up regularly in conversations with her friends. Whenever this topic is discussed in China, Dali always comes up. This small city, with its calming landscapes, has become synonymous with a bohemian lifestyle. Its climate appeals to newcomers, who find it pleasant year-round, in both summer and winter. A little over two hours' drive north, the Tibetan region of Shangri-La, where peaks rise above 5,000 meters, has icy winters. Just a few hours south, the climate is tropical, similar to that of Myanmar, which is only 130 kilometers away, and neighboring Laos. In Dali, life is simply good.

Spirit of freedom

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