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.
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.
Liao Yiwu: God is Red: The Secret Story of How Christianity Survived and Flourished in Communist China
Liao Yiwu, one of China's most prominent dissidents, was driven out of China, but not before he used a period of internal exile to research Christian groups, mainly in Yunnan. In this book he tells the stories of the Christians of Dali and of Wuding county.
A number of Chinese historic texts covering life and politics in Yunnan have survived over the centuries. I have translated a few of them.
Historic ancestral hall north of Pingchuan.
Largest Miao village in the Kunming area with a large Christian community and a nationally-acclaimed church-choir.
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 traditional Bai folk song form.
A spectacularly narrow canyon high above the Jinsha River.
Upcoming Festivals
| Name | Date |
|---|---|
| Benzhu Worship (Jianchuan Area) | 31 Jul |
| Benzhu Worship (Jianchuan Area) | 31 Jul |
| Guanyin Practice Day | 01 Aug |
| Benzhu Worship | 01 Aug |
| Dali Guanyin Worship | 01 Aug |
| Play on the Lake | 01 Aug |
| Guanyin Practice Day | 01 Aug |
| Guanyinshan Temple Fair | 01 Aug |
| Litang Horse Racing | 01 Aug |
| Paddy Rice Birthday | 01 Aug |
| Benzhu Worship | 03 Aug |
| Benzhu Worship | 04 Aug |
Markets this Saturday
| Dali | 大理 |
|---|---|
| Zhoucheng | 州城 |
| Yongping | 永平县 |
| Lijiao | 力角 |
| Paiying | 排营 |
| Qinghua | 清华 |
| Shijing | 师井 |
| Diannan | 甸南 |
| Zuòyì | 作邑 |
| Niujie | 牛街 |
| Jiangwei | 江尾镇 |
| Puping | 普淜镇 |
| 桥街 | |
| Hongyan | 红岩镇 |
| Hedian | 禾甸镇 |
| Changyi | 长邑村 |
| Deju | 德苴乡 |
| Lijiang | 丽江 |
|---|---|
| Jiuhe | 九河 |
| Honghe | 红河 |
|---|---|
| Shengcun | 生村 |
| Nafa | 那发 |
| Xinansuo | 新安所镇 |
| Daheishan | 大黑山乡 |
| Leyu | 乐育 |
| Jiache | 架车 |
| Xinxian | 新现乡 |
| Zhongzhai | 中寨 |
| Yuxi | 玉溪 |
|---|---|
| Mosha | 漠沙镇 |
| Puer | 普洱 |
|---|---|
| Jiangcheng | 江城哈尼族彝族自治县 |
| Lancang | 澜沧县 |
| Nuofu | 糯福 |
| Dashan | 大山乡 |
| Mengma | 孟马镇 |