A 2025 provincial forestry profile describes the Cangshan-Erhai reserve as two management areas: Cangshan and Erhai. It spans Dali City, Yangbi Yi Autonomous County and Eryuan County and covers 79,700 hectares. Established provincially in 1981, it became national in 1994. This is not a boundary around Dali alone.
From the journal
Cangshan’s Forest Belts: How a Mountain Enters Conservation
Cangshan rises behind Dali as a mountain landscape, but conservation records reveal geography across elevations and jurisdictions.
In the same city · Dali Bai Autonomous Prefecture ↗Cangshan’s Forest Belts: How a Mountain Enters Conservation
Species across mountain and lake landscapes
The profile identifies fir-rhododendron forest among the reserve’s high-elevation protection targets and describes clear vertical shifts in climate and vegetation. The forest belts are part of a reserve that also includes the Erhai area below.
Across both the Cangshan and Erhai sections, the profile records 3,157 vascular plant species and 434 vertebrate species. These combined figures cover the reserve’s lake wetlands as well as its mountain slopes.