1875: Death of a British Diplomat
After Britain's 1852 annexation of lower Burma lucrative trade with China through its back-door seemed more than a distant possibility. But after a successful first mission up the Irrawaddy and into Yunnan in 1868, the second British mission six years later ended in tragedy.
The watermills in Fengqing's Gumo village operate just like a thousand years ago.
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.
Benzhu Temple dedicated to 段宗棒.
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.
Sculpture making in the Dali region.
Fog swirling on a cold winter morning over endless rice-terraces, the red of the
early morning sun reflected in the flooded paddies: this is the classic view of the
Hani Rice Terraces of Yuanyang, now of UNESCO World Heritage status.
Upcoming Festivals
| Name | Date |
|---|---|
| Slight Heat | 07 Jul |
| Mango Festival | 11 Jul |
| Zheng He Cultural Tourism Festival | 11 Jul |
| Zhoucheng Patron Saint Birthday | 12 Jul |
| South Gate Festival | 12 Jul |
| Benzhu Worship | 12 Jul |
| Benzhu Worship | 12 Jul |
| Danu Festival | 13 Jul |
| Benzhu Worship | 14 Jul |
| Southern Dipper Ritual | 14 Jul |
| Lizhi Festival | 16 Jul |
| Benzhu Worship | 18 Jul |
Markets this Saturday
| Dali | 大理 |
|---|---|
| Duomei | 朵美 |
| Junhua | 均化 |
| Zhoucheng | 州城 |
| Yongping | 永平县 |
| Lijiao | 力角 |
| Paiying | 排营 |
| Haidong | 海东 |
| Shijing | 师井 |
| Diannan | 甸南 |
| Liuhe | 六合 |
| Yinqiao | 银桥 |
| Heqing | 鹤庆县 |
| Jiangwei | 江尾镇 |
| Changyi | 长邑村 |
| Hedian | 禾甸镇 |
| 桥街 | |
| Hongyan | 红岩镇 |
| Deju | 德苴乡 |
| Qinghaiying | 青海营 |
| Lijiang | 丽江 |
|---|---|
| Jiuhe | 九河 |
| Honghe | 红河 |
|---|---|
| Shengcun | 生村 |
| Xinansuo | 新安所镇 |
| Daheishan | 大黑山乡 |
| Leyu | 乐育 |
| Shalatuo | 沙拉托 |
| Wuwan | 乌弯 |
| Xinxian | 新现乡 |
| Daheigong | 大黑公 |
| Panzihua | 攀枝花 |
| Zhemi | 者米拉祜族乡 |
| Tongchang | 铜厂 |
| Zhaotong | 昭通 |
|---|---|
| Shuanghe | 双河 |
| Puer | 普洱 |
|---|---|
| Jiangcheng | 江城哈尼族彝族自治县 |
| Lancang | 澜沧县 |
| Mangxin | 芒信镇 |
| Qiannuo | 千糯 |