Raid on Cikou Church
Western missionaries were not always welcome in Yunnan. And when in 1867 they opened a mission in the upper Mekong valley, on the gates of Tibet, they incurred the wrath of Tibet's rulers.
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.
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.
A number of Chinese historic texts covering life and politics in Yunnan have survived over the centuries. I have translated a few of them.
Small Benzhu shrine, used for rituals on the third day of Raosanling.
An unspoilt Tibetan area along the Zhibaluo River.
Fei Hsiao-Tung and Chang Chih-I: Earthbound China: A Study of Rural Economy in Yunnan
Fei is the father of modern sociology in China: western-trained, he came to Yunnan at the end of the 1930s when China's eastern universities relocated west. In "Earthbound China" he applied modern empirical techniques that he had pioneered around Shanghai to the Chinese hinterland. The economical development, and subsequent societal changes, of three un-named, but typical villages in Yunnan is analyzed in great detail in this fascinating study.
Baofeng's Benzhu festival is classed as Dali-level intangible cultural heritage.
A spectacularly narrow canyon high above the Jinsha River.
Upcoming Festivals
| Name | Date |
|---|---|
| Paddy Rice Birthday | 01 Aug |
| Benzhu Worship | 01 Aug |
| Guanyin Practice Day | 01 Aug |
| Guanyin Practice Day | 01 Aug |
| Litang Horse Racing | 01 Aug |
| Dali Guanyin Worship | 01 Aug |
| Guanyinshan Temple Fair | 01 Aug |
| Play on the Lake | 01 Aug |
| Benzhu Worship | 03 Aug |
| Benzhu Worship | 04 Aug |
| Benzhu Worship (Jianchuan Area) | 04 Aug |
| Benzhu Worship | 05 Aug |
Markets this Sunday
| Dali | 大理 |
|---|---|
| Jiuzhou | 旧州 |
| Sanying | 三营 |
| Haidong | 海东 |
| Yunlong | 云龙县 |
| Yinqiao | 银桥 |
| Liantie | 炼铁 |
| Binchuan | 宾川县 |
| Beitou | 北头 |
| Lawu | 拉乌 |
| Changxin | 长新 |
| Huangping | 黄平镇 |
| Jianchuan | 剑川县 |
| Shuanglang | 双廊镇 |
| Zhongjiang | 中江 |
| Eryuan | 洱源县 |
| Pingpo | 平坡 |
| Niujie | 牛街彝族乡 |
| Jindunjiecun | 金墩街村 |
| 龙洞村 | |
| Longjie | 龙街 |
| Shalong | 沙龙镇 |
| 寅街村 | |
| Midian | 米甸镇 |
| Qinghaiying | 青海营 |
| Minjian | 民建乡 |
| Beiya | 北衙 |
| Xiazhuang | 下庄镇 |
| 青苗 | |
| 西庄 |
| Honghe | 红河 |
|---|---|
| Pingbian | 屏边苗族自治县 |
| Diema | 垤玛 |
| Mengla | 勐拉 |
| Mengzi | 蒙自县 |
| Longwu | 龙武镇 |
| Liangdi | 浪堤 |
| Chake | 岔科 |
| Jiayin | 甲寅 |
| Azhahe | 阿扎河 |
| Xinjie | 新街 |
| Baohua | 宝华 |
| Luoen | 洛恩 |
| Yongning | 永宁乡 |
| Laomeng | 老勐 |
| Maandi | 马鞍底 |
| Wenshan | 文山 |
|---|---|
| Shadou | 沙斗 |
| Guangnan | 广南县 |
| Banlun | 板仑乡 |
| Pingyuan | 平远 |
| Nijiao | 腻脚彝族乡 |
| Zhesang | 者桑乡 |
| Jijie | 鸡街乡 |
| Tienpeng | 田蓬镇 |
| Donggan | 董干镇 |
| Babao | 八宝镇 |
| Baoshan | 保山市 |
|---|---|
| Xiaopingtian | 小平田 |
| Wama | 瓦马彝族白族乡 |
| Tengchong | 腾冲县 |