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.
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.
A number of Chinese historic texts covering life and politics in Yunnan have survived over the centuries. I have translated a few of them.
Making small figurines in Dali.
Best surviving station on the French-built Vietnam-Kunming railway.
John Israel: Lianda: A Chinese University in War and Revolution
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.
Benzhu is the native believe system of the Bai peole.
This old caravan town on the Jinsha River is Yunnan's gateway to Tibet.
Upcoming Festivals
| Name | Date |
|---|---|
| Yangmei Festival | 01 May |
| Luban Festival | 18 May |
| Buckwheat Festival | 18 May |
| Fengyu Rice Transplant | 21 May |
| Grain Full | 21 May |
| Hotpant Festival | 22 May |
| Prince Festival | 24 May |
| Prince Festival | 24 May |
| Tiaogong Festival | 24 May |
| Dancing Cow | 24 May |
| Cattle King | 24 May |
| Dongpo Fair | 24 May |
Markets this Tuesday
| Kunming | 昆明 |
|---|---|
| Tuanjie | 团结 |
| Dali | 大理 |
|---|---|
| Fuheng | 富恒 |
| Zhongsuo | 中所 |
| Fengyu | 风羽 |
| Liandong | 炼洞 |
| Yongping | 永平县 |
| Xintun | 辛屯 |
| Songgui | 松桂 |
| Guanping | 关平 |
| Baofeng | 宝丰乡 |
| Madeng | 马镫 |
| Binju | 宾居 |
| Shuijing | 水井 |
| Huangping | 黄平镇 |
| 龙洞村 | |
| Deju | 德苴乡 |
| Shalong | 沙龙镇 |
| Liuchang | 刘厂镇 |
| Xinjie | 新街镇 |
| Mizhi | 密祉镇 |
| 果城村 | |
| Xiazhuang | 下庄镇 |
| Lijiang | 丽江 |
|---|---|
| Shigu | 石鼓镇 |
| Baoshan | 保山市 |
|---|---|
| Xiaopingtian | 小平田 |
| Tengchong | 腾冲县 |
| Wama | 瓦马彝族白族乡 |
| Nujiang | 怒江 |
|---|---|
| Gudeng | 古登 |
| Bingzhongluo | 丙中洛 |
| Lishadi | 利沙底乡 |
| Puer | 普洱 |
|---|---|
| Jiahe | 嘉禾乡 |
| Meizi | 梅子镇 |
| Fubang | 富邦乡 |
| Yongping | 永平镇 |
| Mujia | 木戛乡 |
| Ankang | 安康佤族乡 |
| Meng'a | 孟啊 |
| Wendong | 文东佤族乡 |
| Wenggake | 翁嘎科镇 |