Slideshows

Being a film star in Europe: near Dali a field with flowers and a fake movie set, dubbed 嘎纳小镇, makes it possible.

Lianxiangguan 炼象关 is a historic village on the old trading route from Kunming to Dali.

Tonghai's Xiushan is one of Yunnan's oldest Taoist temple mountains, a retreat once very far from the realms of Han civilization. Today, Xiushan remains a beautiful collection of temples facing the Tonghai plain and lake.

New business, new festivals. Mushrooms, once a free addition to the local diet, are now big business in Yunnan. In the mountains north of Shiping the mushroom season now has its own festival, mixing Yi and Han influences.

The merchants of Shiping grew rich on the tin trade at the beginning of the century. Their family fortunes did not survive the times but some of their residences did. The communist revolution saw the families turned out of their homes and those that took their place were often too poor to modernize the buildings, leaving them largely intact. Today a number have been converted into lifeless museums, but others are inhabited by families who can claim them as home for half a century.

Xihu 西湖, a 坝子 in the south of Eryuan county, with its seasonally fluctuating lake is one of the last remnants of mixed aquatic and dry agriculture which must have been quite common in Yunnan before Ming and Qing dynasty settlers drained most valleys.

Stinky Tofu from Shiping 石屏臭豆腐 is a Yunnan delicacy. Here we have a look at how it is made. Bon appétit.

Xiaoshuijing 小水井 is the largest Miao village in the Kunming area and predominantly Christian.

History has left its marks on this hometown of many wealthy Bai merchants.

The Mute God or Yaba 哑巴 ceremonies in Xiangyun county have evolved into an elaborate Gesamtkunstwerk with dance, body ornamentation, sculpture and painting involving the entire Yi village. Compared to a few years ago, the imagery has taken on a much more sexualized character, maybe reflecting a need to create ever more outlandish 'traditional' festivals.

The old temple complex on 五印山 is the destination of the annual pilgrimage up the mountain for the 朝山节 of the Yi in Weishan county. This year they were collecting donations to build a new temple.

Once a decade snow falls on the Dali plain, dusting not only the Cangshan mountains, but also the old city and its beautiful pagodas in white.