Learning Bai
Bai 白族话 is the language spoken by the Bai people 白族 in the Dali area. While Chinese has become the lingua franca, Bai is still actively spoken by many, particularly older people, but it does not have a native written form and comes in many dialects. Here we list the available resources for learning this difficult language.
The watermills in Fengqing's Gumo village operate just like a thousand years ago.
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.
A number of Chinese historic texts covering life and politics in Yunnan have survived over the centuries. I have translated a few of them.
Temple fair at the Baohe Temple on the foot of Cangshan
Liao Yiwu: God is Red: The Secret Story of How Christianity Survived and Flourished in Communist China
Liao Yiwu, one of China's most prominent dissidents, was driven out of China, but not before he used a period of internal exile to research Christian groups, mainly in Yunnan. In this book he tells the stories of the Christians of Dali and of Wuding county.
Bai architecture style.
Hometown of many Bai merchants, Xizhou boast some impressive architecture.
Upcoming Festivals
| Name | Date |
|---|---|
| Flower Festival | 17 Jun |
| "Southern Silk Road" Trade Fair | 19 Jun |
| "Sharpen the Knife" Festival | 27 Jun |
| Benzhu Worship | 27 Jun |
| Chief's Temple Fair | 27 Jun |
| Dandao Temple Fair | 27 Jun |
| Green Flag Festival | 29 Jun |
| Full Moon Ritual | 29 Jun |
| Slight Heat | 07 Jul |
| Zheng He Cultural Tourism Festival | 11 Jul |
| Mango Festival | 11 Jul |
| Benzhu Worship | 12 Jul |
Markets this Wednesday
| Dali | 大理 |
|---|---|
| Junhua | 均化 |
| Duomei | 朵美 |
| Shunbi | 順濞 |
| Shaba | 沙坝 |
| Liuhe | 六合 |
| Heqing | 鹤庆县 |
| Zhongying | 种英 |
| Shanglan | 上兰 |
| Zhouguanying | 周官营 |
| Qinghaiying | 青海营 |
| 果城村 | |
| 龙洞村 | |
| Gongguoqiao | 功果桥镇 |
| Shalong | 沙龙镇 |
| Liuchang | 刘厂镇 |
| Shangcang | 上沧 |
| 顺荡 | |
| 龙街 | |
| Xinjie | 新街镇 |
| Xiazhuang | 下庄镇 |
| Mizhi | 密祉镇 |
| Honghe | 红河 |
|---|---|
| Zhicun | 芷村镇 |
| Wuwan | 乌弯 |
| Daheigong | 大黑公 |
| Baiyun | 白云乡 |
| Mengping | 勐坪 |
| Yongning | 永宁乡 |
| Tutai | 土台 |
| Hongtian | 红田 |
| Zhaotong | 昭通 |
|---|---|
| Shuanghe | 双河 |