Yunnan - China's most beautiful province


Black Well, White Gold

Black Well, White Gold
Heijing is a small town in the northern Chuxiong mountains. Salt once made Heijing one of Yunnan's richest towns. Now its architectural splendours are being rediscovered.



The discovery of the bronze age culture of Sanxingdui in the Chengdu Plain is one of the most significant of the 20th century.


Jim Goodman: Living in Shangrila: Tibetans and Mosuo in Northwest Yunnan

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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.


A number of Chinese historic texts covering life and politics in Yunnan have survived over the centuries. I have translated a few of them.

John Israel: Lianda: A Chinese University in War and Revolution

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Everyone knows about the Mao's Long March, but a few years later another long march took place: that of Chinese students leaving their cushy campuses on the east coast, trekking all the way to Yunnan where their universities reformed as Lianda, the united university. Kunming, then a total backwater, became a hotbed for new ideas, not just scientific. We liked the section of east coast girls scampering around Mengzi in their latest fashion.


A history trading post on the upper reaches of the Yangzi.

Markets this Friday

Kunming 昆明
Jinsuo 金所乡
Banqiao 板桥乡

Dali 大理
Xiangtu 象图乡
Junhua 均化
Hecun 萂村
Duomei 朵美
Gunipen 沽泥盆
Jiancao 捡槽
Wanqiao 湾桥
Haidong 海东
Waxi 瓦溪
Pingchuan 平川
Wuxing 五星
Qinghua 清华
Liuhe 六合
Heqing 鹤庆县
Yangbi 漾濞彝族自治县
Baidangping 白荡坪
Niujie 牛街
Shaxi 沙溪
Yousuo 右所镇
Beiya 北衙
Wachang 瓦厂乡
汤涧
Xishan 西山乡
Hedian 禾甸镇
大栗树
Hongyan 红岩镇
Puping 普淜镇
Jijie 鸡街乡

Lijiang 丽江
Shunzhou 顺州

Dehong 德宏
Kachang 卡场镇
Lianghe 梁河县

Honghe 红河
Shengcun 生村
Xinhua 新华乡
Nafa 那发
Lengdun 冷墩
Lengquan 冷泉镇
Dongshan 东山镇
Longwu 龙武镇
Wuwan 乌弯
Shitouzhai 石头寨
Daheigong 大黑公
Jiache 架车
Zhongzhai 中寨

Wenshan 文山
Puyang 普阳
Shupi 树皮彝族乡
Xichou 西畴县

Chuxiong 楚雄
Dalongkou 大龙口乡
Qianchang 前场镇
Mixing 弥兴镇
Jiuchang 九厂
Guihua 桂花乡

Baoshan 保山市
Mangbang 芒棒
Wafang 瓦房彝族白族乡

Lincang 临沧
Yongde 永德县
Danjia 单甲乡
Fengqing 凤庆县
Mengdui 孟堆乡
Fuhe 复合

Qujing 曲靖市
Wopo 窝坡
Baiwu 白雾
Daqiao 大桥乡
Leye 乐业镇
Malu 马路乡
Zhehai 者海镇
Zhichang 纸厂乡

Zhaotong 昭通
Shuanghe 双河

Yuxi 玉溪
Yani 亚尼
Yuanjiang 元江哈尼族彝族傣族自治县
Nanuo 那诺乡

Nujiang 怒江
Chenggan 称杆
Daxingdi 大兴地乡
Zilijia 子里甲乡

Puer 普洱
Jiangcheng 江城哈尼族彝族自治县
Mangxin 芒信镇
Qiannuo 千糯

Diqing 迪庆
岩瓦