The Three Pagodas of Dali are a symbol of the city and its history.

Located at the foot of Cangshan Mountain facing Erhai Lake, the main pagoda (Qianxun Pagoda) was built more than a thousand years ago during the Tang Dynasty. It is 69.13 metres high with 16 stories, and is square-shaped with closed eaves. The other two pagodas located to the north and sout of it were built later. Each is 42.2 metres high with 10 stories and is octagonal-shaped with closed eaves.

In 1979, more than 600 pieces of cultural relics were discovered in the Three Pagodas, including hand-written Buddhist scriptures, books, engraved bronze plates, statues of Buddha made of gold, silver, bronze, porcelain, jade and quartz, and medicinal herbs. To-date, these constitute the largest collection of relics of the Nanzhao and Dali Kingdoms of Yunnan ever found, providing insight into the history of ancient Dali City and evidence of the influence of Han culture on the minority nationalities in the border areas of China.

The Three Pagodas of Dali have survived several earthquakes in their more than 1000 years of history, some of which were greater than 7 on the Richter scale. They are visibly tilted today as a result, and are China's own version of the Leaning Tower of Pisa.