Kiss of Life for an Old Caravan Market
Until the middle of last century, Shaxi was a flourishing village on the caravan road to Tibet. The following decades made it a place that history forgot. Now Shaxi is undergoing an award-winning restoration.
A Lahu minority Christian service in a hill village near Menglian.
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.
Cangshan 苍山 to the west and Erhai 洱海 to the east frame the Dali Bai homeland.
The turn of the Yangzi made Chinese civilization possible and was the location of many important battles.
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.
Way of making ham in Nuodeng, Yunlong.
A spectacularly narrow canyon high above the Jinsha River.
Upcoming Festivals
| Name | Date |
|---|---|
| Great Snow | 07 Dec |
| Mother Earth | 07 Dec |
| Geminid Meteor Shower | 13 Dec |
| Muli Temple Fair | 14 Dec |
| Tsongkhapa Festival | 14 Dec |
| Alu Festival | 15 Dec |
| New Moon Ritual | 20 Dec |
| Kuoshi | 20 Dec |
| Winter Solstice | 21 Dec |
| Hat Festival | 22 Dec |
| Christmas | 25 Dec |
| Festival of Lights | 26 Dec |
Markets this Monday
| Dali | 大理 |
|---|---|
| Biaocun | 表村 |
| Jizushan | 鸡足山 |
| Misha | 弥沙 |
| Tuanjie | 团结 |
| Baishi | 白石 |
| Dacang | 大仓镇 |
| Huangping | 黄平镇 |
| Zuòyì | 作邑 |
| Shaping | 沙平村 |
| Zhongjiang | 中江 |
| 三鹤 | |
| Xiazhuang | 下庄镇 |
| Miaowei | 苗尾傈僳族乡 |
| 三胜 | |
| Jindunjiecun | 金墩街村 |
| Hedian | 禾甸镇 |
| Houshancun | 后山村 |
| Caifeng | 财丰 |
| 龙洞村 | |
| Miaojie | 庙街镇 |
| Hongyan | 红岩镇 |
| Shalong | 沙龙镇 |
| Taiping | 太平乡 |
| Honghe | 红河 |
|---|---|
| Shengcun | 生村 |
| Laozhai | 老寨苗族乡 |
| Chemalong | 车玛龙 |
| Shaochong | 哨冲镇 |
| Puxiong | 普雄 |
| Mengping | 勐坪 |
| Niujie | 牛街镇 |
| Baihe | 白河乡 |
| Wenshan | 文山 |
|---|---|
| Lida | 里达镇 |
| Shuanglongying | 双龙营乡 |
| Zhujie | 朱街镇 |
| Mugan | 木杆 |
| Zhulin | 珠琳镇 |
| Lincang | 临沧 |
|---|---|
| Menglai | 勐来乡 |