Kiss of Life for an Old Caravan Market
Until the middle of last century, Shaxi was a flourishing village on the caravan road to Tibet. The following decades made it a place that history forgot. Now Shaxi is undergoing an award-winning restoration.
The watermills in Fengqing's Gumo village operate just like a thousand years ago.
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.
Historic Building of the Pacification Commission in Menglian
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.
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.
Benzhu Temple dedicated to 段宗棒.
A spectacularly narrow canyon high above the Jinsha River.
Upcoming Festivals
| Name | Date |
|---|---|
| Zheng He Cultural Tourism Festival | 11 Jul |
| Mango Festival | 11 Jul |
| South Gate Festival | 12 Jul |
| Zhoucheng Patron Saint Birthday | 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 |
| Flowery Face Festival | 18 Jul |
| Benzhu Worship | 18 Jul |
Markets this Thursday
| Dali | 大理 |
|---|---|
| Nanxin | 南新 |
| Yangcen | 羊岑 |
| Niujie | 牛街 |
| Xintun | 辛屯 |
| Maidi | 脉地 |
| Gudi | 古底 |
| Songgui | 松桂 |
| Qiaohou | 乔后 |
| Shuanglang | 双廊镇 |
| Daying | 大营 |
| Taiyi | 太邑彝族乡 |
| Huangping | 黄平镇 |
| Shalong | 沙龙镇 |
| Qiaodian | 乔甸镇 |
| Midian | 米甸镇 |
| 鲁庄 | |
| Xiazhuang | 下庄镇 |
| 太和社区 | |
| Longjie | 龙街 |
| 西庄 | |
| 寅街村 | |
| 龙洞村 | |
| Qinghaiying | 青海营 |
| Lijiang | 丽江 |
|---|---|
| Shigu | 石鼓镇 |
| Xishuangbanna | 西双版纳 |
|---|---|
| Xiding | 西定哈尼族乡 |