Dancing under the Moonlight: the Costume Festival of Zhizuo
As villages go, Zhizuo could hardly be more remote. Some 70km from the county town, first along a winding mountain road, then on a deeply rutted track without public transport: even in the dry season it takes several hours and a bit of stamina to reach. Yet, at least on the first full moon of the year, the effort is worth it, as Zhizuo holds one of Yunnan's most colourful festivals, the Dress Competition Festival or Caizhuangjie 赛装节.
Impressions from a small Dai village in Menglian county near the Burmese border
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.
A number of Chinese historic texts covering life and politics in Yunnan have survived over the centuries. I have translated a few of them.
A clan temple on the slopes of a burial hill near Xizhou.
This old caravan town on the Jinsha River is Yunnan's gateway to Tibet.
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.
Locally important temple.
Hometown of many Bai merchants, Xizhou boast some impressive architecture.
Upcoming Festivals
| Name | Date |
|---|---|
| Gedong | 14 Jan |
| Benzhu Worship | 18 Jan |
| Pulling the Wooden Drum | 19 Jan |
| New Moon Ritual | 19 Jan |
| Great Cold | 20 Jan |
| Kuoshi Lisu New Year | 23 Jan |
| Wuxi Festival | 24 Jan |
| "Replenish Provisions" Ritual | 24 Jan |
| Benzhu Worship (Jianchuan Area) | 26 Jan |
| Lingshan Temple Fair | 26 Jan |
| Benzhu Worship (Jianchuan Area) | 27 Jan |
| Long Table Feast | 27 Jan |
Markets this Sunday
| Dali | 大理 |
|---|---|
| Jiuzhou | 旧州 |
| Duomei | 朵美 |
| Junhua | 均化 |
| Sanying | 三营 |
| Shanyang | 衫阳 |
| Yunlong | 云龙县 |
| Liuhe | 六合 |
| Dali | 大理 |
| Caicun | 才村 |
| Liantie | 炼铁 |
| Binchuan | 宾川县 |
| Beitou | 北头 |
| Lawu | 拉乌 |
| Heqing | 鹤庆县 |
| Jianchuan | 剑川县 |
| Dacang | 大仓镇 |
| Changxin | 长新 |
| Caojian | 漕间 |
| Eryuan | 洱源县 |
| Pingpo | 平坡 |
| Mizhi | 密祉镇 |
| 果城村 | |
| Liuchang | 刘厂镇 |
| Niujie | 牛街彝族乡 |
| Minjian | 民建乡 |
| Xinjie | 新街镇 |
| Junhuacun | 均华村 |
| 青苗 |
| Honghe | 红河 |
|---|---|
| Pingbian | 屏边苗族自治县 |
| Diema | 垤玛 |
| Mengzi | 蒙自县 |
| Shalatuo | 沙拉托 |
| Jiayin | 甲寅 |
| Azhahe | 阿扎河 |
| Liangdi | 浪堤 |
| Chake | 岔科 |
| Baohua | 宝华 |
| Luoen | 洛恩 |
| Yongning | 永宁乡 |
| Laomeng | 老勐 |
| Tongchang | 铜厂 |
| Panzihua | 攀枝花 |
| Zhemi | 者米拉祜族乡 |
| Wenshan | 文山 |
|---|---|
| Tiechang | 铁厂镇 |
| Babu | 八布乡 |
| Guangnan | 广南县 |
| Zhuanjiao | 篆角乡 |
| Pingyuan | 平远 |
| Funing | 富宁县 |
| Zhesang | 者桑乡 |
| Babao | 八宝镇 |
| Mulun | 睦伦乡 |
| Jiumo | 旧莫乡 |
| Baoshan | 保山市 |
|---|---|
| Manglong | 芒龙 |
| Lincang | 临沧 |
|---|---|
| Luodang | 洛党 |
| Cangyuan | 沧源佤族自治县 |
| Wumulong | 乌木龙乡 |
| Shuangjiang | 双江拉祜族佤族布朗族傣族自治县 |
| Quannei | 圈内 |
| Zhenkang | 镇康县 |
| Junsai | 军赛乡 |
| Zhaotong | 昭通 |
|---|---|
| Shuanghe | 双河 |