Discovering life and death in Dali's back alleys

One of the most popular visitor activities is to hire bikes or scooters to explore the surrounding countryside. We opted for bikes and within minutes were cycling past rice paddies and overtaking donkey-pulled carts.

Not far from Dali old town is Erhai Lake, which stretches for 40 kilometers.

Hung on the edge of the water are clusters of small villages where life is lived as it has been for centuries.

It's to these villages we cycle.

Cangcan was our first stop. It was quiet in the middle of the day.

Winding country roads took us to Xiaoyi Zhang, which seemed a little busier－elderly women in traditional outfits sang folk songs in one of the narrow alleyways. Make that very narrow－they were about to reach a crescendo when a large white van tried to squeeze past. Without breaking their tune, half the ladies stood up and squished themselves against the wall to let the vehicle through.

We cycled to the lake's banks to soak in the view.

When we returned, a group of elderly men tuning traditional instruments materialized next to the singing women.

That's when the funeral procession materialized－a riot of song and color.

It seemed a celebration of a life well lived.

And in Dali, that's not difficult to imagine.