Early Maps of Yunnan
The history of maps in Yunnan began more than a thousand years ago. But it was the Jesuits who revolutionised mapping in China, producing the first accurate maps of the provinces, including remote Yunnan.
Remnants of colour still show on the stone carvings at Shibaoshan, revealing that the Buddhist images were once brightly painted.
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.
Best surviving station on the French-built Vietnam-Kunming railway.
Judith Shapiro: Mao's War Against Nature: Politics and the Environment in Revolutionary China
Even if Chinese civilization has developed more against than with nature, the Mao years were a particular exercise in environmental destruction. In one case-study Shapiro tells the story of the draining of the northern part of Dianchi Lake, one of the first steps turning Kunming's lake into the fetid cess-pool it is today.
The Danxia, or red sandstore, cliffs around Liming are a hikers' and climbers' paradise that is just now being discovered.
Upcoming Festivals
| Name | Date |
|---|---|
| Benzhu Worship | 01 Feb |
| Benzhu Worship | 02 Feb |
| Full Moon Ritual | 02 Feb |
| Start of Spring | 04 Feb |
| Benzhu Worship | 05 Feb |
| Temaoke | 06 Feb |
| Benzhu Worship | 10 Feb |
| Daba Spring Festival Evening Party | 16 Feb |
| Lunar New Year's Eve | 16 Feb |
| Benzhu Worship | 16 Feb |
| Benzhu Worship | 16 Feb |
| New Year Ritual | 17 Feb |
Markets this Friday
| Dali | 大理 |
|---|---|
| Xiangtu | 象图乡 |
| Hecun | 萂村 |
| Gunipen | 沽泥盆 |
| Jiancao | 捡槽 |
| Longjie | 龙街 |
| Waxi | 瓦溪 |
| Fengyi | 凤仪 |
| Pingchuan | 平川 |
| Weishan | 巍山彝族回族自治县 |
| Wuxing | 五星 |
| Longjie | 龙街 |
| Wase | 挖色 |
| Baidangping | 白荡坪 |
| Yangbi | 漾濞彝族自治县 |
| Shaxi | 沙溪 |
| Zuòyì | 作邑 |
| Dianzhong | 甸中 |
| Yousuo | 右所镇 |
| 寅街村 | |
| Wachang | 瓦厂乡 |
| Shidongcun | 石洞村 |
| 妙姑村 | |
| 田口 | |
| Xishan | 西山乡 |
| 大栗树 | |
| Luming | 鹿鸣乡 |
| 北桥 | |
| Midian | 米甸镇 |
| 西庄 | |
| Jijie | 鸡街乡 |
| 汤涧 | |
| Puping | 普淜镇 |
| Honghe | 红河 |
|---|---|
| Xinhua | 新华乡 |
| Sancun | 三村 |
| Lengquan | 冷泉镇 |
| Lengdun | 冷墩 |
| Dongshan | 东山镇 |
| Daheigong | 大黑公 |
| Sankeshu | 三棵树 |
| Wuwan | 乌弯 |
| Shitouzhai | 石头寨 |
| Xinjie | 新街 |
| Dixibei | 地西北 |
| Yuxi | 玉溪 |
|---|---|
| Fuliangpeng | 富良棚 |