On the Statelets between Nanzhao and the Dali Kingdom
After the demise of Nanzhao 南诏, the Buddhist kingdom that integrated the tribes of the Erhai region in the second half of the first millennium, local strongmen proclaimed a succession of short-lived statelets before Duan Siping 段思平 in 937 CE established the Dali Kingdom 大理国.
The watermills in Fengqing's Gumo village operate just like a thousand years ago.
Jim Goodman: Living in Shangrila: Tibetans and Mosuo in Northwest Yunnan
Abstract: When Diqing Prefecture, opened its doors to foreign visitors in 1992, tourist agencies and government officials promoted Zhongdian County as the Shangrila of James Hilton’s novel Lost Horizon. In 2001 the city officially changed its name to Shangrila. On a high plateau of over 3200 meters, surrounded by snow covered mountain peaks, inhabited mainly by relatively prosperous, friendly and contented Tibetans, with beautiful monasteries, lakes, forests and summer flowers, the county’s scenery and lifestyle certainly bore a strong resemblance to that in the novel. Living in Shangrila describes the life and environment of the Tibetan people throughout Diqing Prefecture. It also examines their neighbors the Mosuo, a branch of the Naxi nationality, who adopted Tibetan Buddhism as their religion, but are still mainly a matrilineal society, unique to Yunnan, living around Lugu Lake, the most picturesque body of water in the province. The book includes over 200 photographs.
A number of Chinese historic texts covering life and politics in Yunnan have survived over the centuries. I have translated a few of them.
Nuodeng is an ancient Bai salt producing village in Yunlong.
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.
Shaxi is the most complete historic ensemble of a caravan town in Yunnan.
Upcoming Festivals
| Name | Date |
|---|---|
| Yangmei Festival | 01 May |
| Donghuangdadi Birthday | 14 May |
| Yi Costume Festival | 14 May |
| Master Earth | 14 May |
| Mouding March Fair | 14 May |
| Baimakou Village Festival | 14 May |
| Beggars' Convention | 14 May |
| Benzhu Worship | 15 May |
| Rice Transplanting | 15 May |
| Damo Temple Fair | 17 May |
| New Moon Ritual | 17 May |
| Luban Festival | 18 May |
Markets this Friday
| Dali | 大理 |
|---|---|
| Hecun | 萂村 |
| Xiangtu | 象图乡 |
| Jiancao | 捡槽 |
| Waxi | 瓦溪 |
| Gunipen | 沽泥盆 |
| Fengyi | 凤仪 |
| Wuxing | 五星 |
| Qinghua | 清华 |
| Pingchuan | 平川 |
| Wase | 挖色 |
| Yongjian | 永连 |
| Baidangping | 白荡坪 |
| Yangbi | 漾濞彝族自治县 |
| Shaxi | 沙溪 |
| Zuòyì | 作邑 |
| Niujie | 牛街 |
| Huangping | 黄平镇 |
| Dacang | 大仓镇 |
| Yousuo | 右所镇 |
| Zhongjiang | 中江 |
| 汤涧 | |
| Puping | 普淜镇 |
| 蛇街 | |
| Xishan | 西山乡 |
| 大栗树 | |
| Jijie | 鸡街乡 |
| Liuchang | 刘厂镇 |
| Shidongcun | 石洞村 |
| Xinjie | 新街镇 |
| Mizhi | 密祉镇 |
| Luming | 鹿鸣乡 |
| Wachang | 瓦厂乡 |
| 果城村 | |
| 妙姑村 | |
| Jindunjiecun | 金墩街村 |
| Lijiang | 丽江 |
|---|---|
| Judian | 巨甸镇 |
| Honghe | 红河 |
|---|---|
| Xinhua | 新华乡 |
| Nafa | 那发 |
| Lengquan | 冷泉镇 |
| Lengdun | 冷墩 |
| Dongshan | 东山镇 |
| Shitouzhai | 石头寨 |
| Jiache | 架车 |
| Daheigong | 大黑公 |
| Wuwan | 乌弯 |
| Zhongzhai | 中寨 |
| Yuxi | 玉溪 |
|---|---|
| Xingmeng | 兴蒙 |
| Fuliangpeng | 富良棚 |
| Hexi | 河西 |
| Diqing | 迪庆 |
|---|---|
| Weideng | 维登 |
| 岩瓦 |