The Red Soil of Dongchuan
The Wumeng Mountains' bright red soil, the buckwheat's yellow and Yunnan's dramatic skies make the region around Dongchuan a paradise for photographers.
A Lahu minority Christian service in a hill village near Menglian.
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.
Extremely beautiful Wenchang Temple, created in part by national level Intangible Cultural Heritage transmitter Li Yunyi.
Yunnan's only Shui-Township with stunning karst scenery.
C. Patterson Giersch: Asian Borderlands: The Transformation of Qing China's Yunnan Frontier
Yunnan was not always China: indeed not so long ago large parts of Yunnan were only nominally part of the empire. To make Yunnan, outside the main Han cities, a Chinese province required significant effort. Here Giersch's study on Yunnan's hinterland makes an interesting if academic read.
Dali's dragon boat races were held on the day of the Torch Festival.
A history trading post on the upper reaches of the Yangzi.
Upcoming Festivals
| Name | Date |
|---|---|
| Dharmic Assembly | 11 Nov |
| Benzhu Festival | 15 Nov |
| Benzhu Festival | 16 Nov |
| Leonid Meteor Shower | 17 Nov |
| Dai New Year | 18 Nov |
| New Moon Ritual | 20 Nov |
| Anniversary of Dali Bai Autonomous Region Foundation | 22 Nov |
| Yiyi Festival | 22 Nov |
| Slight Snow | 22 Nov |
| Meige Festival | 27 Nov |
| Mother Earth Worship | 27 Nov |
| Yi New Year | 29 Nov |
Markets this Sunday
| Dali | 大理 |
|---|---|
| Jiuzhou | 旧州 |
| Sanying | 三营 |
| Shanyang | 衫阳 |
| Xintun | 辛屯 |
| Songgui | 松桂 |
| Qinghua | 清华 |
| Yunlong | 云龙县 |
| Liantie | 炼铁 |
| Binchuan | 宾川县 |
| Beitou | 北头 |
| Lawu | 拉乌 |
| Jianchuan | 剑川县 |
| Niujie | 牛街 |
| Caojian | 漕间 |
| Changxin | 长新 |
| Eryuan | 洱源县 |
| Pingpo | 平坡 |
| Huangping | 黄平镇 |
| Niujie | 牛街彝族乡 |
| Minjian | 民建乡 |
| 果城村 | |
| Puping | 普淜镇 |
| Mizhi | 密祉镇 |
| Xinjie | 新街镇 |
| 青苗 | |
| Liuchang | 刘厂镇 |
| Junhuacun | 均华村 |
| Honghe | 红河 |
|---|---|
| Pingbian | 屏边苗族自治县 |
| Nafa | 那发 |
| Diema | 垤玛 |
| Mengzi | 蒙自县 |
| Sancun | 三村 |
| Jiayin | 甲寅 |
| Chake | 岔科 |
| Liangdi | 浪堤 |
| Wuwan | 乌弯 |
| Daheigong | 大黑公 |
| Azhahe | 阿扎河 |
| Jiache | 架车 |
| Baohua | 宝华 |
| Luoen | 洛恩 |
| Zhongzhai | 中寨 |
| Yongning | 永宁乡 |
| Laomeng | 老勐 |
| Wenshan | 文山 |
|---|---|
| Puyang | 普阳 |
| Guangnan | 广南县 |
| Pingyuan | 平远 |
| Funing | 富宁县 |
| Zhesang | 者桑乡 |
| Shupi | 树皮彝族乡 |
| Xichou | 西畴县 |
| Babao | 八宝镇 |
| Puer | 普洱 |
|---|---|
| Lancang | 澜沧拉祜族自治县 |
| Nanling | 南岭乡 |
| Mangxin | 芒信镇 |
| Qiannuo | 千糯 |
| Baozang | 宝藏乡 |
| Fubang | 富邦乡 |
| Mujia | 木戛乡 |
| Ankang | 安康佤族乡 |
| Wendong | 文东佤族乡 |
| Diqing | 迪庆 |
|---|---|
| Shangjiang | 上江 |