Watersplashing in Yongping
Ask for the Watersplashing Festival, or Poshuijie 泼水节, and everyone will tell you to go to Jinghong, capital of Yunnan's Xishuangbanna Dai Autonomous Region: the 'biggest and best' Dai celebrations to mark their New Year are taking place there. And big it is. Thousands of Han Chinese and foreign tourist flock to Jinghong every year. Jinghong's Poshuijie certainly is big -- and very commercial. If big crowds and big events are your thing, go to Jinghong.
The annual fair at Shaba, called the Fishpond Fair 渔潭会, starts every year on the day of the Midautumn Festival 中秋节, and runs for a week. Attracting a local crowd, it remains a much more rustic fair than the massive Third Month Fair 三月街 and livestock is still traded here.
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.
A number of Chinese historic texts covering life and politics in Yunnan have survived over the centuries. I have translated a few of them.
Once an important salt-mining town, now the second largest town along the Heihui River north of Yangbi.
Jim Goodman: The Akha: Guardians of the Forest
The Akha, in China known as the Aini branch of the Hani people, migrated from China southwards into Laos, Burma and Thailand. In this richly illustrated book J Goodman, aka 'Akha Jim', explains their life and culture.
Benzhu is the native believe system of the Bai peole.
The Danxia, or red sandstore, cliffs around Liming are a hikers' and climbers' paradise that is just now being discovered.
Upcoming Festivals
| Name | Date |
|---|---|
| Descent of Frost | 23 Oct |
| Dharmic Assembly | 24 Oct |
| Benzhu Worship | 24 Oct |
| Temple Fair | 25 Oct |
| Benzhu Worship | 25 Oct |
| Benzhu Festival | 25 Oct |
| Dongshan Tuzhu Temple Fair | 26 Oct |
| Opening of the Fishing Season | 28 Oct |
| Benzhu Festival | 28 Oct |
| Benzhu Festival | 29 Oct |
| Anniversary of Yangbi County Foundation | 01 Nov |
| New Moon Ritual | 01 Nov |
Markets this Wednesday
| Dali | 大理 |
|---|---|
| Shunbi | 順濞 |
| Xintun | 辛屯 |
| Songgui | 松桂 |
| Shaba | 沙坝 |
| Shuanglang | 双廊镇 |
| Huangping | 黄平镇 |
| Zhongying | 种英 |
| Shanglan | 上兰 |
| Zhouguanying | 周官营 |
| Honghe | 红河 |
|---|---|
| Zhicun | 芷村镇 |
| Mengla | 勐拉 |
| Baiyun | 白云乡 |
| Xinjie | 新街 |
| Shaochong | 哨冲镇 |
| Yongning | 永宁乡 |
| Niujie | 牛街镇 |
| Maandi | 马鞍底 |
| Tutai | 土台 |
| Hongtian | 红田 |
| Baoshan | 保山市 |
|---|---|
| Manglong | 芒龙 |
| Lincang | 临沧 |
|---|---|
| Cangyuan | 沧源佤族自治县 |
| Lushi | 鲁史 |
| Fengqing | 凤庆县 |
| Quannei | 圈内 |
| Shuangjiang | 双江拉祜族佤族布朗族傣族自治县 |
| Zhenkang | 镇康县 |
| Junsai | 军赛乡 |
| Puer | 普洱 |
|---|---|
| Fuyan | 富岩 |