The Dengchuan Plain 邓川坝子
The Dengchuan Plain 邓川坝子, north of Dali's Erhai Lake 洱海, has with West Lake 西湖 and the Miju River corridor 弥苴河 some beautiful, if hardly known, scenic areas. It's natural scenery, however, is man-made, the result of more than a thousand years of cultivation and water-management projects that have transformed a swamp and marshland into the current cultural environment.
A small Yi group in Heqing County with distinctive dress.
Judith Shapiro: Mao's War Against Nature: Politics and the Environment in Revolutionary China
Even if Chinese civilization has developed more against than with nature, the Mao years were a particular exercise in environmental destruction. In one case-study Shapiro tells the story of the draining of the northern part of Dianchi Lake, one of the first steps turning Kunming's lake into the fetid cess-pool it is today.
A number of Chinese historic texts covering life and politics in Yunnan have survived over the centuries. I have translated a few of them.
Ancient Daoist temple music performed in Dali.
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.
This old caravan town on the Jinsha River is Yunnan's gateway to Tibet.
Upcoming Festivals
| Name | Date |
|---|---|
| Mango Festival | 15 Jun |
| Summer Solstice | 21 Jun |
| Zhoucheng Patron Saint Birthday | 23 Jun |
| Benzhu Worship | 23 Jun |
| South Gate Festival | 23 Jun |
| Benzhu Worship | 23 Jun |
| Danu Festival | 24 Jun |
| Benzhu Worship | 25 Jun |
| Southern Dipper Ritual | 25 Jun |
| Lizhi Festival | 27 Jun |
| Benzhu Worship | 29 Jun |
| Waxberry Festival | 30 Jun |
Markets this Monday
| Kunming | 昆明 |
|---|---|
| Jiulong | 九龙乡 |
| Dali | 大理 |
|---|---|
| Shanyang | 衫阳 |
| Longjie | 龙街 |
| Biaocun | 表村 |
| Xintun | 辛屯 |
| Jizushan | 鸡足山 |
| Songgui | 松桂 |
| Longjie | 龙街 |
| Tuanjie | 团结 |
| Misha | 弥沙 |
| Baishi | 白石 |
| Caojian | 漕间 |
| Shaping | 沙平村 |
| Huangping | 黄平镇 |
| 寅街村 | |
| Miaowei | 苗尾傈僳族乡 |
| Midian | 米甸镇 |
| Taiping | 太平乡 |
| 西庄 | |
| Puping | 普淜镇 |
| Junhuacun | 均华村 |
| Lijiang | 丽江 |
|---|---|
| Shigu | 石鼓镇 |
| Diqing | 迪庆 |
|---|---|
| Zili | 梓里 |
| Shangjiang | 上江 |
| Kaifaqu | 开发区 |