Yunnan - China's most beautiful province


Protecting Erhai: The Seven Big Activities

When in April 2017 guesthouses and restaurants around western Yunnan's Erhai Lake were suddenly summarily ordered closed until further notice, big character slogans also began proclaiming: "Protecting Erhai: The Seven Big Activities" 保护洱海七大行动. The slogan suggests that the closure of tourist facilities is just one part of a wider campaign to clean up the Erhai environment.



The temple in Mangdao 芒岛, built in 1899, is one of few surviving examples of Dai Buddhist temples having survived the Cultural Revolution by being converted into grain storage.


Jim Goodman: The Terrace Builders: The Hani and their Neighbors in Yunnan's Ailao Mountains

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Abstract: The rice terraces of the Ailao Mountains in southern Yunnan province, China, are some of the oldest terraced farms in Asia. First mentioned in Tang Dynasty records, these farms, 80% of which are irrigated, with water running through them all year round, have been in continuous use for over a thousand years. In 2013 UNESCO declared the heartland of this area a World Heritage Site. The Terrace Builders is a detailed account of how these farms are made and used, the cities and mountains of Honghe Prefecture and the far north of Vietnam, as well as the various ethnic minorities who live there. The book pays special attention to the Hani people, the largest ethnic group in the area, and includes summaries of the culture and clothing of their neighbors the Yi, Miao, Yao, Zhuang and Dai. The book includes 300 photos of the land and its people.


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

Rushan is a dried cow milk cheese, made in the Dali region. 



Hometown of many Bai merchants, Xizhou boast some impressive architecture.


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.


Rushan is a dried cow milk cheese, made in the Dali region. 



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.

Markets this Sunday

Kunming 昆明
Zhuanlong 转龙镇
Tuanjie 团结
Xundian 寻甸回族彝族自治县

Dali 大理
Jiuzhou 旧州
Sanying 三营
Xintun 辛屯
Shuixie 水泄
Songgui 松桂
Yunlong 云龙县
Liantie 炼铁
Binchuan 宾川县
Beitou 北头
Lawu 拉乌
Changxin 长新
Jianchuan 剑川县
Pingpo 平坡
Eryuan 洱源县
Gonglang 公郎镇
Huangping 黄平镇
青苗
Niujie 牛街彝族乡
前所
云南驿村
Minjian 民建乡

Lijiang 丽江
Shigu 石鼓镇
Hongyan 红岩

Xishuangbanna 西双版纳
Menghun 勐混
Mengman 勐满拉祜族哈尼族布朗族镇

Dehong 德宏
Lianghe 梁河县
Kachang 卡场镇

Honghe 红河
Pingbian 屏边苗族自治县
Niujiaozhai 牛角寨
Diema 垤玛
Mengzi 蒙自县
Majie 马街
Lvchun 绿春县
Jiayin 甲寅
Azhahe 阿扎河
Wuwan 乌弯
Daheigong 大黑公
Liangdi 浪堤
Chake 岔科
Nanke 南科
Baohua 宝华
Yongning 永宁乡
Jinping 金平苗族瑶族傣族自治县
Luoen 洛恩
Mengqiao 勐桥乡
Laomeng 老勐

Wenshan 文山
Pingzhai 平寨乡
Guangnan 广南县
Pingyuan 平远
Zhesang 者桑乡
Banggu 蚌谷乡
Muyang 木央镇
Babao 八宝镇
Nanping (Majie) 南屏镇 (马街)

Chuxiong 楚雄
Dayao 大姚县
Xiaoju 小苴
Nanhua 南华县
Shizhong 适中乡
Bailu 白路
Guanglu 光路镇
Yaoan 姚安县

Baoshan 保山市
Wafang 瓦房彝族白族乡
Mangbang 芒棒

Lincang 临沧
Yongde 永德县
Danjia 单甲乡
Fengqing 凤庆县
Xinhua 新华彝族苗族乡
Mengdui 孟堆乡
Fuhe 复合

Qujing 曲靖市
Baiwu 白雾
Daqiao 大桥乡
Leye 乐业镇
Luna 鲁纳乡
Malu 马路乡
Sandao 三道
Shangcun 上村乡
Zhehai 者海镇
Zhichang 纸厂乡

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
Liuku 六库
Tongdian 通甸

Puer 普洱
Lancang 澜沧拉祜族自治县
Nanling 南岭乡
Mangxin 芒信镇
Qiannuo 千糯
Jiahe 嘉禾乡
Minle 民乐
Puyi 普义乡