Yunnan - China's most beautiful province


Into the Land of the Black Lisu

The Nujiang Canyon, on Yunnan's western frontier, was until the 1930s a blank area on the map that not even Chinese troops dared to enter. In 1905 two British explorers made the first foray into this land of the Black Lisu.



The watermills in Fengqing's Gumo village operate just like a thousand years ago.


Fei Hsiao-Tung and Chang Chih-I: Earthbound China: A Study of Rural Economy in Yunnan

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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.

Hometown of many Bai merchants, Xizhou boast some impressive architecture.


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.


The Danxia, or red sandstore, cliffs around Liming are a hikers' and climbers' paradise that is just now being discovered.

Markets this Monday

Kunming 昆明
Kedu 柯渡镇

Dali 大理
Haidong 海东
Biaocun 表村
Jizushan 鸡足山
Fengyi 凤仪
Yongjian 永连
Wase 挖色
Misha 弥沙
Tuanjie 团结
Baishi 白石
Shaping 沙平村
Shuanglang 双廊镇
Huangping 黄平镇
Dacang 大仓镇
Zhongjiang 中江
西庄
寅街村
Taiping 太平乡
Jindunjiecun 金墩街村
Shidongcun 石洞村
Luming 鹿鸣乡
妙姑村
龙洞村
Shalong 沙龙镇
Longjie 龙街
蛇街
Midian 米甸镇
Xiazhuang 下庄镇
Miaowei 苗尾傈僳族乡

Lijiang 丽江
Judian 巨甸镇

Dehong 德宏
Husa 户撒乡
Nangsong 曩宋阿昌族乡

Honghe 红河
Mengla 勐拉
Laozhai 老寨苗族乡
Chemalong 车玛龙
Puxiong 普雄
Xinjie 新街
Baihe 白河乡
Maandi 马鞍底

Wenshan 文山
Shadou 沙斗
Nijiao 腻脚彝族乡
Jijie 鸡街乡
Donggan 董干镇
Tienpeng 田蓬镇

Chuxiong 楚雄
Xiaoju 小苴
Chadian 插甸乡
Qianchang 前场镇

Baoshan 保山市
Manglong 芒龙

Lincang 临沧
Guoda 郭大彝族白族乡
Cangyuan 沧源佤族自治县
Fengqing 凤庆县
Lushi 鲁史
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

Qujing 曲靖市
Daibu 待补镇
Fenghuang 凤凰
干海子
Jiache 驾车乡
Laochang 老厂乡
Wuxing 五星乡
Xinjie 新街回族乡
Yangmeishan 杨梅山

Zhaotong 昭通
Linfeng 麟风
Shuitian 水田
Menggu 蒙姑镇

Yuxi 玉溪
Xingmeng 兴蒙
Hexi 河西
Fuliangpeng 富良棚

Nujiang 怒江
Pengdang 捧当
Fugong 福贡
Maji 马吉乡

Puer 普洱
Fuyan 富岩
恩永

Diqing 迪庆
Zili 梓里
Weideng 维登
Kaifaqu 开发区
岩瓦