Dali City serves as the county-level seat of the Dali Bai Autonomous Prefecture located in the northwestern region of Yunnan Province, China. The city is organized into 12 township-level districts, with two specific districts within this administrative structure commonly referred to by the name Dali.
The city is situated within a prefecture that recognizes the cultural and linguistic identity of the Bai people. While it shares its name with other locations, this specific city functions as the primary administrative center for the surrounding autonomous prefecture in western China.