Yunnan - China's most beautiful province


Lijiang - Twenty Years On

Jim Goodman, veteran researcher and writer on Yunnan and its people, has just republished his 1997 book "Children of the Jade Dragon: the Naxi and Yi of Northwest Yunnan". In its new preface he looks back at the changes the last twenty years have brought.



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


Jim Goodman: Living in Shangrila: Tibetans and Mosuo in Northwest Yunnan

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Abstract: When Diqing Prefecture, opened its doors to foreign visitors in 1992, tourist agencies and government officials promoted Zhongdian County as the Shangrila of James Hilton’s novel Lost Horizon. In 2001 the city officially changed its name to Shangrila. On a high plateau of over 3200 meters, surrounded by snow covered mountain peaks, inhabited mainly by relatively prosperous, friendly and contented Tibetans, with beautiful monasteries, lakes, forests and summer flowers, the county’s scenery and lifestyle certainly bore a strong resemblance to that in the novel. Living in Shangrila describes the life and environment of the Tibetan people throughout Diqing Prefecture. It also examines their neighbors the Mosuo, a branch of the Naxi nationality, who adopted Tibetan Buddhism as their religion, but are still mainly a matrilineal society, unique to Yunnan, living around Lugu Lake, the most picturesque body of water in the province. The book includes over 200 photographs.


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

Unspoiled Weishan boast Yunnan's most beautiful county town, an important Taoist mountain and areas of strong Muslim and Yi tradition.


C. Patterson Giersch: Asian Borderlands: The Transformation of Qing China's Yunnan Frontier

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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.


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
Xundian 寻甸回族彝族自治县
Banqiao 板桥乡

Dali 大理
Jiuzhou 旧州
Sanying 三营
Yunlong 云龙县
Qinghua 清华
Beitou 北头
Dali 大理
Caicun 才村
Liantie 炼铁
Binchuan 宾川县
Lawu 拉乌
Huangping 黄平镇
Zuòyì 作邑
Jianchuan 剑川县
Dacang 大仓镇
Niujie 牛街
Changxin 长新
Pingpo 平坡
Eryuan 洱源县
Zhongjiang 中江
Minjian 民建乡
Jindunjiecun 金墩街村
Puping 普淜镇
Caifeng 财丰
青苗
Hongyan 红岩镇
Miaojie 庙街镇
Hedian 禾甸镇
Niujie 牛街彝族乡
三胜
三鹤
Houshancun 后山村

Lijiang 丽江
Yongsheng 永胜县
Banqiao 板桥
Hongyan 红岩

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

Honghe 红河
Pingbian 屏边苗族自治县
Shengcun 生村
Nafa 那发
Diema 垤玛
Mengzi 蒙自县
Liangdi 浪堤
Jiayin 甲寅
Azhahe 阿扎河
Chake 岔科
Jiache 架车
Baohua 宝华
Shaochong 哨冲镇
Yongning 永宁乡
Luoen 洛恩
Zhongzhai 中寨
Niujie 牛街镇
Laomeng 老勐

Wenshan 文山
Guangnan 广南县
Puyang 普阳
Pingyuan 平远
Shupi 树皮彝族乡
Zhesang 者桑乡
Xichou 西畴县
Babao 八宝镇

Chuxiong 楚雄
Nanhua 南华县
Dayao 大姚县
Bailu 白路
Yaoan 姚安县
Guanglu 光路镇

Baoshan 保山市
Zhonghe 中和
Bawan 坝湾镇
Mangkuan 芒宽彝族傣族乡

Lincang 临沧
Menglai 勐来乡

Qujing 曲靖市
Wopo 窝坡
Baiwu 白雾
Daqiao 大桥乡
Leye 乐业镇
Malu 马路乡
Sandao 三道
Yulu 雨碌乡
Zhichang 纸厂乡

Zhaotong 昭通
Shuitian 水田
Linfeng 麟风

Yuxi 玉溪
Yangjie 羊街乡
Xingmeng 兴蒙
Dianzhong 甸中
Hexi 河西

Nujiang 怒江
Liuku 六库
Tongdian 通甸

Puer 普洱
Jiangcheng 江城哈尼族彝族自治县
Lancang 澜沧拉祜族自治县
Nanling 南岭乡
Donghui 东回镇
Qushui 曲水乡
Menglian 孟连傣族拉祜族佤族自治县
Xuelin 雪林佤族乡
Mengsuo 勐梭镇

Diqing 迪庆
Kangpu 康普