Learning Bai
Bai 白族话 is the language spoken by the Bai people 白族 in the Dali area. While Chinese has become the lingua franca, Bai is still actively spoken by many, particularly older people, but it does not have a native written form and comes in many dialects. Here we list the available resources for learning this difficult language.
In Huize, the old capital of copper in Yunnan, many splendid guildhalls survive.
Fei Hsiao-Tung and Chang Chih-I: Earthbound China: A Study of Rural Economy in Yunnan
Fei is the father of modern sociology in China: western-trained, he came to Yunnan at the end of the 1930s when China's eastern universities relocated west. In "Earthbound China" he applied modern empirical techniques that he had pioneered around Shanghai to the Chinese hinterland. The economical development, and subsequent societal changes, of three un-named, but typical villages in Yunnan is analyzed in great detail in this fascinating study.
A number of Chinese historic texts covering life and politics in Yunnan have survived over the centuries. I have translated a few of them.
Location of the historically important 'Cangshan Conference' in 794AD.
The Danxia, or red sandstore, cliffs around Liming are a hikers' and climbers' paradise that is just now being discovered.
Jim Goodman: Children of the Jade Dragon: the Naxi of Lijiang and their mountain neighbours the Yi
In the first half of the 1990s Lijiang had barely made its appearance on the Chinese tourism stage, even less so the then remote mountains of Ningland and Lugu Lake. Jim Goodman's account of the Naxi and the Yi draws back to a time where not everything was staged for mass tourism: an account of a lost world.
Way of making ham in Nuodeng, Yunlong.
A spectacularly narrow canyon high above the Jinsha River.
Upcoming Festivals
| Name | Date |
|---|---|
| Miluoqimi Fair | 23 Feb |
| Benzhu Worship (Binchuan) | 28 Feb |
| Receiving the Village Protector | 28 Feb |
| Receiving the Village Protector | 28 Feb |
| Benzhu Festival | 28 Feb |
| Benzhu Festival | 28 Feb |
| Benzhu Festival | 28 Feb |
| Benzhu Festival | 28 Feb |
| Welcoming the Benzhu | 01 Mar |
| Dragon King | 01 Mar |
| Benzhu Festival | 01 Mar |
| Yang Village Songfest | 01 Mar |
Markets this Sunday
| Dali | 大理 |
|---|---|
| Jiuzhou | 旧州 |
| Junhua | 均化 |
| Duomei | 朵美 |
| Sanying | 三营 |
| Shanyang | 衫阳 |
| Longjie | 龙街 |
| Yunlong | 云龙县 |
| Yinqiao | 银桥 |
| Liuhe | 六合 |
| Binchuan | 宾川县 |
| Longjie | 龙街 |
| Beitou | 北头 |
| Liantie | 炼铁 |
| Heqing | 鹤庆县 |
| Lawu | 拉乌 |
| Changxin | 长新 |
| Caojian | 漕间 |
| Jianchuan | 剑川县 |
| Pingpo | 平坡 |
| Eryuan | 洱源县 |
| Niujie | 牛街彝族乡 |
| Puping | 普淜镇 |
| Minjian | 民建乡 |
| 青苗 | |
| Junhuacun | 均华村 |
| Honghe | 红河 |
|---|---|
| Pingbian | 屏边苗族自治县 |
| Diema | 垤玛 |
| Niujiaozhai | 牛角寨 |
| Mengzi | 蒙自县 |
| Liangdi | 浪堤 |
| Daheigong | 大黑公 |
| Chake | 岔科 |
| Jiayin | 甲寅 |
| Wuwan | 乌弯 |
| Azhahe | 阿扎河 |
| Sankeshu | 三棵树 |
| Baohua | 宝华 |
| Dixibei | 地西北 |
| Yongning | 永宁乡 |
| Luoen | 洛恩 |
| Laomeng | 老勐 |
| Wenshan | 文山 |
|---|---|
| Badaoshao | 八道哨乡 |
| Guangnan | 广南县 |
| Pingyuan | 平远 |
| Zhesang | 者桑乡 |
| Heizhiguo | 黑支果乡 |
| Boai | 剥隘镇 |
| Dongma | 董马乡 |
| Babao | 八宝镇 |
| Xinzhai | 新寨乡 |
| Zhaotong | 昭通 |
|---|---|
| Shuanghe | 双河 |