Yunnan - China's most beautiful province


Dancing under the Moonlight: the Costume Festival of Zhizuo

Dancing under the Moonlight: the Costume Festival of Zhizuo
As villages go, Zhizuo could hardly be more remote. Some 70km from the county town, first along a winding mountain road, then on a deeply rutted track without public transport: even in the dry season it takes several hours and a bit of stamina to reach. Yet, at least on the first full moon of the year, the effort is worth it, as Zhizuo holds one of Yunnan's most colourful festivals, the Dress Competition Festival or Caizhuangjie 赛装节.



A Lahu minority Christian service in a hill village near Menglian.


Jim Goodman: Children of the Jade Dragon: the Naxi of Lijiang and their mountain neighbours the Yi

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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 number of Chinese historic texts covering life and politics in Yunnan have survived over the centuries. I have translated a few of them.

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.


Judith Shapiro: Mao's War Against Nature: Politics and the Environment in Revolutionary China

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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.


Azhali is a historic branch of Buddhism with strong Bai local characteristics.



With its well-preserved architecture and tranquil atmosphere, Weishan's capital is Yunnan's most beautiful county town.

Markets this Wednesday

Kunming 昆明
Jiulong 九龙乡
Shilin 石林彝族自治县
Longtou 龙头街
Tuanjie 团结

Dali 大理
Longjie 龙街
Xintun 辛屯
Shunbi 順濞
Shaba 沙坝
Songgui 松桂
Longjie 龙街
Zhongying 种英
Huangping 黄平镇
Shanglan 上兰
Zhouguanying 周官营
龙街
Puping 普淜镇
Shangcang 上沧
Gongguoqiao 功果桥镇
顺荡
西庄
Midian 米甸镇
Qinghaiying 青海营
寅街村

Lijiang 丽江
Shigu 石鼓镇

Honghe 红河
Zhicun 芷村镇
Sankeshu 三棵树
Xinjie 新街
Baiyun 白云乡
Dixibei 地西北
Yongning 永宁乡
Tutai 土台
Hongtian 红田

Wenshan 文山
Badaoshao 八道哨乡
Banlun 板仑乡
Heizhiguo 黑支果乡
Boai 剥隘镇
Dongma 董马乡
Xinzhai 新寨乡

Chuxiong 楚雄
Maojie 猫街镇
Xiaoju 小苴
Shizhong 适中乡
Yaoan 姚安县

Baoshan 保山市
Xinzhai 新寨
Hehua 荷花傣族佤族乡

Lincang 临沧
Mengding 孟定
Yalian 亚练乡
Nanmei 南美拉祜族乡
Banhong 班洪乡

Qujing 曲靖市
Daba 大坝
Jiache 驾车乡
Kuangshan 矿山镇
Sandao 三道
Xitu 西土

Zhaotong 昭通
Jiucheng 旧城
Shikan 石坎
Weixin 威信
Changan 长安

Yuxi 玉溪
Chahe 岔河
Dalongtan 大龙潭

Nujiang 怒江
Lazan 腊咱
Lumadeng 鹿马登乡

Puer 普洱
Nuofu 糯福
Dashan 大山乡
Jiahe 嘉禾乡
Mengma 孟马镇

Diqing 迪庆
Kaifaqu 开发区