Yunnan - China's most beautiful province


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.



Lingjiu Temple near Fengyu is said to date back to Nanzhao, but the current structures are from the Qing Dynasty


Jim Goodman: The Terrace Builders: The Hani and their Neighbors in Yunnan's Ailao Mountains

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Abstract: The rice terraces of the Ailao Mountains in southern Yunnan province, China, are some of the oldest terraced farms in Asia. First mentioned in Tang Dynasty records, these farms, 80% of which are irrigated, with water running through them all year round, have been in continuous use for over a thousand years. In 2013 UNESCO declared the heartland of this area a World Heritage Site. The Terrace Builders is a detailed account of how these farms are made and used, the cities and mountains of Honghe Prefecture and the far north of Vietnam, as well as the various ethnic minorities who live there. The book pays special attention to the Hani people, the largest ethnic group in the area, and includes summaries of the culture and clothing of their neighbors the Yi, Miao, Yao, Zhuang and Dai. The book includes 300 photos of the land and its people.


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

Suona melodies in the Pingchuan area of Binchuan.



The turn of the Yangzi made Chinese civilization possible and was the location of many important battles.


Fei Hsiao-Tung and Chang Chih-I: Earthbound China: A Study of Rural Economy in Yunnan

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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.


Historic village on the old Kunming-Dali road.

Markets this Wednesday

Kunming 昆明
Shilin 石林彝族自治县
Longtou 龙头街

Dali 大理
Shunbi 順濞
Shuixie 水泄
Shaba 沙坝
Dali 大理
Caicun 才村
Huangping 黄平镇
Zuòyì 作邑
Zhongjiang 中江
Gonglang 公郎镇
Zhongying 种英
Shanglan 上兰
Zhouguanying 周官营
Beiya 北衙
西庄
Midian 米甸镇
龙街
云南驿村
Jindunjiecun 金墩街村
寅街村
Shangcang 上沧
前所
Gongguoqiao 功果桥镇
顺荡

Lijiang 丽江
Shunzhou 顺州

Dehong 德宏
Kachang 卡场镇
Lianghe 梁河县

Honghe 红河
Zhicun 芷村镇
Sancun 三村
Lvchun 绿春县
Majie 马街
Wuwan 乌弯
Daheigong 大黑公
Longwu 龙武镇
Baiyun 白云乡
Xinjie 新街
Nanke 南科
Yongning 永宁乡
Jinping 金平苗族瑶族傣族自治县
Mengqiao 勐桥乡
Tutai 土台
Hongtian 红田

Wenshan 文山
Pingzhai 平寨乡
Muyang 木央镇
Banggu 蚌谷乡
Nanping (Majie) 南屏镇 (马街)

Chuxiong 楚雄
Maojie 猫街镇
Shizhong 适中乡
Yaoan 姚安县

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
Mengdui 孟堆乡
Fuhe 复合
Xinhua 新华彝族苗族乡

Qujing 曲靖市
Dahai 大海乡
Huohong 火红乡
Jiache 驾车乡
Luna 鲁纳乡
Nagu 娜姑镇
Sandao 三道
Shangcun 上村乡
迤车
Zhehai 者海镇

Zhaotong 昭通
Linfeng 麟风
Shuitian 水田

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
Lazan 腊咱
Lumadeng 鹿马登乡

Puer 普洱
Mangxin 芒信镇
Qiannuo 千糯
Minle 民乐

Diqing 迪庆
Kaifaqu 开发区