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.
Traditional dress in the Erhai region.
A spectacularly narrow canyon high above the Jinsha River.
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.
Rushan is a dried cheese made from cow-milk.
An unspoilt Tibetan area along the Zhibaluo 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 |