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.
马健雄 (Ma Jianxiong): The Lahu Minority in Southwest China: A Response to Ethnic Marginalization on the Frontier
The Lahu, with a population of around 470,000, inhabit the mountainous country in Yunnan Province bordering on Burma, Laos and northern Thailand. Buddhists, with a long history of resistance to the Chinese Han majority, the Lahu are currently facing a serious collapse of their traditional social system, with the highest suicide rate in the world, large scale human trafficking of their women, alcoholism and poverty. This book, based on extensive original research including long-term anthropological research among the Lahu, provides an overview of the traditional way of life of the Lahu, their social system, culture and beliefs, and discusses the ways in which these are changing. It shows how the Lahu are especially vulnerable because of their lack of political representatives and a state educated elite which can engage with, and be part of, the government administrative system. The Lahu are one of many relatively small ethnic minorities in China – overall the book provides an example of how the Chinese government approaches these relatively small ethnic minorities.
A number of Chinese historic texts covering life and politics in Yunnan have survived over the centuries. I have translated a few of them.
Mountain area north of Erhai.
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.
One of the biggest Bai festivals.
Upcoming Festivals
| Name | Date |
|---|---|
| Yangmei Festival | 01 May |
| Hotpant Festival | 22 May |
| Dancing Cow | 24 May |
| Buddha's Birthday | 24 May |
| Cattle King | 24 May |
| Prince Festival | 24 May |
| Prince Festival | 24 May |
| Dongpo Fair | 24 May |
| Circling the Mountain | 24 May |
| Tiaogong Festival | 24 May |
| Corban | 27 May |
| Walnut Valley Culture Festival | 28 May |
Markets this Saturday
| Dali | 大理 |
|---|---|
| Zhoucheng | 州城 |
| Yongping | 永平县 |
| Paiying | 排营 |
| Lijiao | 力角 |
| Xintun | 辛屯 |
| Songgui | 松桂 |
| Shijing | 师井 |
| Diannan | 甸南 |
| Jiangwei | 江尾镇 |
| Huangping | 黄平镇 |
| 桥街 | |
| Deju | 德苴乡 |
| 三胜 | |
| Caifeng | 财丰 |
| Changyi | 长邑村 |
| Liuchang | 刘厂镇 |
| Miaojie | 庙街镇 |
| Xinjie | 新街镇 |
| Mizhi | 密祉镇 |
| 果城村 | |
| Houshancun | 后山村 |
| Honghe | 红河 |
|---|---|
| Xinansuo | 新安所镇 |
| Sancun | 三村 |
| Daheishan | 大黑山乡 |
| Leyu | 乐育 |
| Shalatuo | 沙拉托 |
| Xinxian | 新现乡 |
| Shaochong | 哨冲镇 |
| Niujie | 牛街镇 |
| Zhemi | 者米拉祜族乡 |
| Panzihua | 攀枝花 |
| Tongchang | 铜厂 |