Guandu Old Town
With the Bird and Flower Market and the Muslim Quarter fallen, little remains of 'Lao Kunming', the characterful old town of former times. Now it is all high-rises, wide avenues, chain-shops. Everywhere? No, a small part of Kunming is holding out...
The firing of self-made rockets is one of the fun parts of the Dai Watersplashing Festival 泼水节.
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.
Upper Benzhu Temple in Wase.
Jim Goodman: Living in Shangrila: Tibetans and Mosuo in Northwest Yunnan
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.
Historic ancestral hall north of Pingchuan.
Upcoming Festivals
| Name | Date |
|---|---|
| Walnut Festival | 01 Sep |
| Baoguo Temple Fair | 20 Sep |
| White Elephant Fest | 20 Sep |
| Yellow Dragon Temple Fair | 23 Sep |
| Autumn Equinox | 23 Sep |
| Benzhu Worship (Jianchuan Area) | 23 Sep |
| New Rice | 24 Sep |
| Benzhu Worship | 24 Sep |
| Benzhu Worship | 24 Sep |
| Across The Bridge Noodle Festival | 24 Sep |
| General's Cave Festival | 25 Sep |
| Benzhu Worship (Fengyu Area) | 25 Sep |
Markets this Sunday
| Dali | 大理 |
|---|---|
| Jiuzhou | 旧州 |
| Sanying | 三营 |
| Fengyi | 凤仪 |
| Yunlong | 云龙县 |
| Weishan | 巍山彝族回族自治县 |
| Beitou | 北头 |
| Liantie | 炼铁 |
| Binchuan | 宾川县 |
| Lawu | 拉乌 |
| Jianchuan | 剑川县 |
| Changxin | 长新 |
| Pingpo | 平坡 |
| Dianzhong | 甸中 |
| Eryuan | 洱源县 |
| Wase | 挖色 |
| Xinjie | 新街镇 |
| Minjian | 民建乡 |
| Shidongcun | 石洞村 |
| Mizhi | 密祉镇 |
| Luming | 鹿鸣乡 |
| 青苗 | |
| Niujie | 牛街彝族乡 |
| 妙姑村 | |
| Liuchang | 刘厂镇 |
| 北桥 | |
| Qinghaiying | 青海营 |
| 田口 | |
| 果城村 |
| Lijiang | 丽江 |
|---|---|
| Hongyan | 红岩 |
| Honghe | 红河 |
|---|---|
| Pingbian | 屏边苗族自治县 |
| Diema | 垤玛 |
| Mengzi | 蒙自县 |
| Shalatuo | 沙拉托 |
| Liangdi | 浪堤 |
| Chake | 岔科 |
| Jiayin | 甲寅 |
| Azhahe | 阿扎河 |
| Baohua | 宝华 |
| Luoen | 洛恩 |
| Yongning | 永宁乡 |
| Laomeng | 老勐 |
| Tongchang | 铜厂 |
| Zhemi | 者米拉祜族乡 |
| Panzihua | 攀枝花 |
| Shiping Guanyin Temple Alley | 石屏观音寺巷 |
| Chezhi | 扯直 |
| Wenshan | 文山 |
|---|---|
| Tiechang | 铁厂镇 |
| Babu | 八布乡 |
| Guangnan | 广南县 |
| Zhuanjiao | 篆角乡 |
| Banlun | 板仑乡 |
| Pingyuan | 平远 |
| Funing | 富宁县 |
| Zhesang | 者桑乡 |
| Babao | 八宝镇 |
| Jiumo | 旧莫乡 |
| Mulun | 睦伦乡 |
| Yuxi | 玉溪 |
|---|---|
| Fuliangpeng | 富良棚 |
| Puer | 普洱 |
|---|---|
| Nanling | 南岭乡 |
| Lancang | 澜沧拉祜族自治县 |
| Nuofu | 糯福 |
| Dashan | 大山乡 |
| Mengma | 孟马镇 |
| Fubang | 富邦乡 |
| Kangping | 康平乡 |
| Mujia | 木戛乡 |
| Dehua | 德化镇 |
| Ankang | 安康佤族乡 |
| Liming | 黎明乡 |
| Wendong | 文东佤族乡 |
| 把边 |