Dali City, formerly known as Tali, is the county-level seat of the Dali Bai Autonomous Prefecture in northwestern Yunnan, Similar to Carlisle in England, Dali City is not a single city but a county-sized area called a city for administrative purposes. Transportation to "Dali" usually arrives at the modern industrial city called Dali but locally distinguished by its former name Xiaguan. Travelers to and discussion of "Dali", however, usually refers to the old town located about an hour away.