The Dengchuan Plain 邓川坝子
The Dengchuan Plain 邓川坝子, north of Dali's Erhai Lake 洱海, has with West Lake 西湖 and the Miju River corridor 弥苴河 some beautiful, if hardly known, scenic areas. It's natural scenery, however, is man-made, the result of more than a thousand years of cultivation and water-management projects that have transformed a swamp and marshland into the current cultural environment.
The watermills in Fengqing's Gumo village operate just like a thousand years ago.
Jim Goodman: Living in Shangrila: Tibetans and Mosuo in Northwest Yunnan
Abstract: When Diqing Prefecture, opened its doors to foreign visitors in 1992, tourist agencies and government officials promoted Zhongdian County as the Shangrila of James Hilton’s novel Lost Horizon. In 2001 the city officially changed its name to Shangrila. On a high plateau of over 3200 meters, surrounded by snow covered mountain peaks, inhabited mainly by relatively prosperous, friendly and contented Tibetans, with beautiful monasteries, lakes, forests and summer flowers, the county’s scenery and lifestyle certainly bore a strong resemblance to that in the novel. Living in Shangrila describes the life and environment of the Tibetan people throughout Diqing Prefecture. It also examines their neighbors the Mosuo, a branch of the Naxi nationality, who adopted Tibetan Buddhism as their religion, but are still mainly a matrilineal society, unique to Yunnan, living around Lugu Lake, the most picturesque body of water in the province. The book includes over 200 photographs.
A number of Chinese historic texts covering life and politics in Yunnan have survived over the centuries. I have translated a few of them.
Temple fair in the Fengyu basin.
Unspoiled Weishan boast Yunnan's most beautiful county town, an important Taoist mountain and areas of strong Muslim and Yi tradition.
Jim Goodman: Xishuangbanna: The Tropics of Yunnan
For most of its history Xishuangbanna existed as an autonomous state on the remote southern periphery of China, run by the same Dai family since the 12th century. Lying in the tropical zone, on the northern rim of Southeast Asia, with flora and fauna not only unlike the rest of China, but even unique in Yunnan province, it has had close ethnic and cultural relations with its neighbors in Myanmar, Thailand and Laos. The valleys are home to the Dai nationality, while several ethnic minorities inhabit the hills. Xishuangbanna: the Tropics of Yunnan narrates the history and development of the Dai people, their culture, society and religion, from ancient times through the period of incorporation into the Chinese state. It also covers the characteristics of the lifestyle, culture and celebrations of the peoples of the mountains, as well as the economic and political changes of recent times and their effects on both hill and plain.
Upcoming Festivals
| Name | Date |
|---|---|
| Yangmei Festival | 01 May |
| Mouding March Fair | 14 May |
| Rice Transplanting | 15 May |
| Benzhu Worship | 15 May |
| New Moon Ritual | 17 May |
| Damo Temple Fair | 17 May |
| Buckwheat Festival | 18 May |
| Luban Festival | 18 May |
| Grain Full | 21 May |
| Fengyu Rice Transplant | 21 May |
| Hotpant Festival | 22 May |
| Prince Festival | 24 May |
Markets this Saturday
| Dali | 大理 |
|---|---|
| Zhoucheng | 州城 |
| Yongping | 永平县 |
| Shanyang | 衫阳 |
| Paiying | 排营 |
| Lijiao | 力角 |
| Xintun | 辛屯 |
| Songgui | 松桂 |
| Shijing | 师井 |
| Diannan | 甸南 |
| Shuanglang | 双廊镇 |
| Caojian | 漕间 |
| Jiangwei | 江尾镇 |
| Huangping | 黄平镇 |
| Longjie | 龙街 |
| 桥街 | |
| 龙洞村 | |
| Junhuacun | 均华村 |
| Deju | 德苴乡 |
| Changyi | 长邑村 |
| Shalong | 沙龙镇 |
| Qinghaiying | 青海营 |
| Xiazhuang | 下庄镇 |
| Wenshan | 文山 |
|---|---|
| Pingba | 坪坝镇 |
| Shadou | 沙斗 |
| Matang | 马塘镇 |
| Banlun | 板仑乡 |
| Nijiao | 腻脚彝族乡 |
| Jijie | 鸡街乡 |
| Donggan | 董干镇 |
| Tienpeng | 田蓬镇 |
| Jiumo | 旧莫乡 |
| Baoshan | 保山市 |
|---|---|
| Manglong | 芒龙 |
| Diqing | 迪庆 |
|---|---|
| Shangjiang | 上江 |
| Xiaoweixi | 小维西 |
| Kaifaqu | 开发区 |