Yunnan - China's most beautiful province


Black Well, White Gold

Black Well, White Gold
Heijing is a small town in the northern Chuxiong mountains. Salt once made Heijing one of Yunnan's richest towns. Now its architectural splendours are being rediscovered.



Lingjiu Temple near Fengyu is said to date back to Nanzhao, but the current structures are from the Qing Dynasty


马健雄 (Ma Jianxiong): The Lahu Minority in Southwest China: A Response to Ethnic Marginalization on the Frontier

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The Lahu, with a population of around 470,000, inhabit the mountainous country in Yunnan Province bordering on Burma, Laos and northern Thailand. Buddhists, with a long history of resistance to the Chinese Han majority, the Lahu are currently facing a serious collapse of their traditional social system, with the highest suicide rate in the world, large scale human trafficking of their women, alcoholism and poverty. This book, based on extensive original research including long-term anthropological research among the Lahu, provides an overview of the traditional way of life of the Lahu, their social system, culture and beliefs, and discusses the ways in which these are changing. It shows how the Lahu are especially vulnerable because of their lack of political representatives and a state educated elite which can engage with, and be part of, the government administrative system. The Lahu are one of many relatively small ethnic minorities in China – overall the book provides an example of how the Chinese government approaches these relatively small ethnic minorities.


A number of Chinese historic texts covering life and politics in Yunnan have survived over the centuries. I have translated a few of them.

Jim Goodman: The Terrace Builders: The Hani and their Neighbors in Yunnan's Ailao Mountains

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Abstract: The rice terraces of the Ailao Mountains in southern Yunnan province, China, are some of the oldest terraced farms in Asia. First mentioned in Tang Dynasty records, these farms, 80% of which are irrigated, with water running through them all year round, have been in continuous use for over a thousand years. In 2013 UNESCO declared the heartland of this area a World Heritage Site. The Terrace Builders is a detailed account of how these farms are made and used, the cities and mountains of Honghe Prefecture and the far north of Vietnam, as well as the various ethnic minorities who live there. The book pays special attention to the Hani people, the largest ethnic group in the area, and includes summaries of the culture and clothing of their neighbors the Yi, Miao, Yao, Zhuang and Dai. The book includes 300 photos of the land and its people.


A pretty lake area south of Eryuan.

Markets this Friday

Kunming 昆明
Jinsuo 金所乡
Banqiao 板桥乡

Dali 大理
Xiangtu 象图乡
Junhua 均化
Hecun 萂村
Duomei 朵美
Gunipen 沽泥盆
Jiancao 捡槽
Wanqiao 湾桥
Haidong 海东
Waxi 瓦溪
Pingchuan 平川
Wuxing 五星
Qinghua 清华
Liuhe 六合
Heqing 鹤庆县
Yangbi 漾濞彝族自治县
Baidangping 白荡坪
Niujie 牛街
Shaxi 沙溪
Yousuo 右所镇
Beiya 北衙
Wachang 瓦厂乡
汤涧
Xishan 西山乡
Hedian 禾甸镇
大栗树
Hongyan 红岩镇
Puping 普淜镇
Jijie 鸡街乡

Lijiang 丽江
Shunzhou 顺州

Dehong 德宏
Kachang 卡场镇
Lianghe 梁河县

Honghe 红河
Shengcun 生村
Xinhua 新华乡
Nafa 那发
Lengdun 冷墩
Lengquan 冷泉镇
Dongshan 东山镇
Longwu 龙武镇
Wuwan 乌弯
Shitouzhai 石头寨
Daheigong 大黑公
Jiache 架车
Zhongzhai 中寨

Wenshan 文山
Puyang 普阳
Shupi 树皮彝族乡
Xichou 西畴县

Chuxiong 楚雄
Dalongkou 大龙口乡
Qianchang 前场镇
Mixing 弥兴镇
Jiuchang 九厂
Guihua 桂花乡

Baoshan 保山市
Mangbang 芒棒
Wafang 瓦房彝族白族乡

Lincang 临沧
Yongde 永德县
Danjia 单甲乡
Fengqing 凤庆县
Mengdui 孟堆乡
Fuhe 复合

Qujing 曲靖市
Wopo 窝坡
Baiwu 白雾
Daqiao 大桥乡
Leye 乐业镇
Malu 马路乡
Zhehai 者海镇
Zhichang 纸厂乡

Zhaotong 昭通
Shuanghe 双河

Yuxi 玉溪
Yani 亚尼
Yuanjiang 元江哈尼族彝族傣族自治县
Nanuo 那诺乡

Nujiang 怒江
Chenggan 称杆
Daxingdi 大兴地乡
Zilijia 子里甲乡

Puer 普洱
Jiangcheng 江城哈尼族彝族自治县
Mangxin 芒信镇
Qiannuo 千糯

Diqing 迪庆
岩瓦