The Old Salt Roads in Yunnan
The Tea Horse Road 茶马古道 into Tibet has become a romantic moniker for Yunnan, but economically more important were the old salt roads.
The temple in Mangdao 芒岛, built in 1899, is one of few surviving examples of Dai Buddhist temples having survived the Cultural Revolution by being converted into grain storage.
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.
A number of Chinese historic texts covering life and politics in Yunnan have survived over the centuries. I have translated a few of them.
A traditional technique making little figures etc from cloth, in Jianchuan county.
An unspoilt Tibetan area along the Zhibaluo River.
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.
Small Benzhu shrine, used for rituals on the third day of Raosanling.
Upcoming Festivals
| Name | Date |
|---|---|
| Bai Yi New Year | 19 Jul |
| Wild Mushroom Trade Fair | 20 Jul |
| Lingshan Temple Fair | 21 Jul |
| Ongkor Festival | 23 Jul |
| Great Heat | 23 Jul |
| Bai Yi New Year | 25 Jul |
| Benzhu Worship (Eryuan Area) | 25 Jul |
| Nuodeng Dragon King Temple Fair | 26 Jul |
| Benzhu Worship (Jianchuan Area) | 26 Jul |
| Qingyuan Cave Festival | 26 Jul |
| Benzhu Worship | 27 Jul |
| Full Moon Ritual | 28 Jul |
Markets this Tuesday
| Kunming | 昆明 |
|---|---|
| Kedu | 柯渡镇 |
| Dali | 大理 |
|---|---|
| Duomei | 朵美 |
| Fuheng | 富恒 |
| Junhua | 均化 |
| Zhongsuo | 中所 |
| Fengyu | 风羽 |
| Shanyang | 衫阳 |
| Yongping | 永平县 |
| Liandong | 炼洞 |
| Haidong | 海东 |
| Guanping | 关平 |
| Baofeng | 宝丰乡 |
| Liuhe | 六合 |
| Madeng | 马镫 |
| Heqing | 鹤庆县 |
| Binju | 宾居 |
| Shuijing | 水井 |
| Shuanglang | 双廊镇 |
| Dacang | 大仓镇 |
| Caojian | 漕间 |
| Midian | 米甸镇 |
| 西庄 | |
| Xiazhuang | 下庄镇 |
| Deju | 德苴乡 |
| 龙洞村 | |
| Junhuacun | 均华村 |
| Longjie | 龙街 |
| 寅街村 | |
| Shalong | 沙龙镇 |
| Lijiang | 丽江 |
|---|---|
| Liming | 黎明 |
| Zhaotong | 昭通 |
|---|---|
| Shuanghe | 双河 |
| Nujiang | 怒江 |
|---|---|
| Gudeng | 古登 |
| Bingzhongluo | 丙中洛 |
| Lishadi | 利沙底乡 |