On the Statelets between Nanzhao and the Dali Kingdom
After the demise of Nanzhao 南诏, the Buddhist kingdom that integrated the tribes of the Erhai region in the second half of the first millennium, local strongmen proclaimed a succession of short-lived statelets before Duan Siping 段思平 in 937 CE established the Dali Kingdom 大理国.
Hand-made giant sparklers, called "Fire Flowers" 火花, are part of the firework displays for temple fairs in Menglian county.
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.
Suona music in Eryuan county.
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.
A clan temple on the slopes of a burial hill near Xizhou.
An unspoilt Tibetan area along the Zhibaluo River.
Upcoming Festivals
| Name | Date |
|---|---|
| Hani New Year | 14 Nov |
| Meige Festival | 16 Nov |
| Mother Earth Worship | 16 Nov |
| Leonid Meteor Shower | 17 Nov |
| Dai New Year | 18 Nov |
| Benzhu Worship (Jianchuan Area) | 21 Nov |
| Anniversary of Dali Bai Autonomous Region Foundation | 22 Nov |
| Slight Snow | 22 Nov |
| Yiyi Festival | 22 Nov |
| Full Moon Ritual | 23 Nov |
| Benzhu Worship | 23 Nov |
| Yongning Mule Fair | 23 Nov |
Markets this Sunday
| Dali | 大理 |
|---|---|
| Jiuzhou | 旧州 |
| Sanying | 三营 |
| Fengyi | 凤仪 |
| Yunlong | 云龙县 |
| Liantie | 炼铁 |
| Yongjian | 永连 |
| Binchuan | 宾川县 |
| Beitou | 北头 |
| Lawu | 拉乌 |
| Huangping | 黄平镇 |
| Jianchuan | 剑川县 |
| Changxin | 长新 |
| Zhongjiang | 中江 |
| Pingpo | 平坡 |
| Eryuan | 洱源县 |
| Wase | 挖色 |
| Dacang | 大仓镇 |
| Xiazhuang | 下庄镇 |
| 青苗 | |
| Niujie | 牛街彝族乡 |
| 果城村 | |
| 蛇街 | |
| Mizhi | 密祉镇 |
| Liuchang | 刘厂镇 |
| Shidongcun | 石洞村 |
| Shalong | 沙龙镇 |
| Jindunjiecun | 金墩街村 |
| 龙洞村 | |
| Xinjie | 新街镇 |
| Minjian | 民建乡 |
| Luming | 鹿鸣乡 |
| 妙姑村 |
| Honghe | 红河 |
|---|---|
| Pingbian | 屏边苗族自治县 |
| Diema | 垤玛 |
| Mengzi | 蒙自县 |
| Sancun | 三村 |
| Azhahe | 阿扎河 |
| Liangdi | 浪堤 |
| Chake | 岔科 |
| Jiayin | 甲寅 |
| Mengping | 勐坪 |
| Baohua | 宝华 |
| Yongning | 永宁乡 |
| Luoen | 洛恩 |
| Laomeng | 老勐 |
| Shiping Guanyin Temple Alley | 石屏观音寺巷 |
| Chezhi | 扯直 |
| Wenshan | 文山 |
|---|---|
| Guangnan | 广南县 |
| Lida | 里达镇 |
| Zhujie | 朱街镇 |
| Shuanglongying | 双龙营乡 |
| Mugan | 木杆 |
| Zhulin | 珠琳镇 |
| Pingyuan | 平远 |
| Funing | 富宁县 |
| Zhesang | 者桑乡 |
| Babao | 八宝镇 |
| Baoshan | 保山市 |
|---|---|
| Xiaopingtian | 小平田 |
| Wama | 瓦马彝族白族乡 |
| Tengchong | 腾冲县 |
| Yuxi | 玉溪 |
|---|---|
| Xingmeng | 兴蒙 |
| Fuliangpeng | 富良棚 |
| Hexi | 河西 |
| Puer | 普洱 |
|---|---|
| Nanling | 南岭乡 |
| Lancang | 澜沧拉祜族自治县 |
| Fubang | 富邦乡 |
| Yongping | 永平镇 |
| Mujia | 木戛乡 |
| Meng'a | 孟啊 |
| Ankang | 安康佤族乡 |
| Wendong | 文东佤族乡 |
| Diqing | 迪庆 |
|---|---|
| Weideng | 维登 |
| 岩瓦 |