[Photo by Yang Feiyue/China Daily]

The ride is a thrilling experience. First, the green mountain landscape gradually gives way to a white world with snowflakes all around. Then, it gets quite shaky, and as we near the top the cable car carrying us is blown first to the left and then to the right by a violent gust of wind.

Everyone gets a little dizzy, but lets out cheerful screams as the snow hits our faces the moment we step out of the cable car.

Besides its natural beauty, the hot springs at Eryuan (the source of Erhai), the Buddhist heritage at Jizushan Mountain and the Chongsheng Temple all add charm to Dali.

There are around 200 to 300 hot springs open to the public in Eryuan, attracting many winter visitors.

"Tibetans visit Eryuan to enjoy the hot springs during the Spring Festival when temperatures at home typically fall to their lowest," says Ma.

The Three Pagodas of the Chongsheng Temple seem to sparkle in the golden light with the gray mountains in the background. The Mahavira Hall (Daxiongbaodian) at the temple houses one of the biggest collections of Buddhist figures in China, as well as the delicate wood carvings of Buddha on the walls.

Over 112 million tourists visited Dali over 2011-15 and revenue from tourism stood at 126 billion yuan ($19 billion).

Of the visitors, those from outside the mainland were 3.4 million, contributing $1.4 billion in income.

In 2015, major scenic spots in the prefecture saw a more than 60 percent increase in the numbers of visitors over the previous year. More than 29 million visitors from home and abroad came to the region.

Tourists from Taiwan and Hong Kong, as well as foreign tourists from Japan and South Korea, are a major force, says Ma.