Yunnan - China's most beautiful province


A Republic Era Map of Dali

A Republic Era map shows the development of the Dali region over the last hundred years.



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.

Dali's biggest religious festival at the end of the fourth lunar month.



A history trading post on the upper reaches of the Yangzi.


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.


Historic village on the old Kunming-Dali road.

Markets this Saturday

Kunming 昆明
Fazhe 法者镇
Shilin 石林彝族自治县
Tangdan 汤丹镇

Dali 大理
Zhoucheng 州城
Yongping 永平县
Lijiao 力角
Paiying 排营
Shijing 师井
Yinqiao 银桥
Diannan 甸南
Huangping 黄平镇
Dacang 大仓镇
Jiangwei 江尾镇
Zhongjiang 中江
三鹤
Liuchang 刘厂镇
三胜
Xiazhuang 下庄镇
Xinjie 新街镇
Deju 德苴乡
桥街
龙洞村
Jindunjiecun 金墩街村
Caifeng 财丰
Mizhi 密祉镇
Shalong 沙龙镇
Miaojie 庙街镇
Qinghaiying 青海营
Changyi 长邑村
Houshancun 后山村
果城村

Lijiang 丽江
Jiuhe 九河
Yongsheng 永胜县
Banqiao 板桥

Honghe 红河
Xinansuo 新安所镇
Leyu 乐育
Daheishan 大黑山乡
Xinxian 新现乡
Mengping 勐坪
Shaochong 哨冲镇
Niujie 牛街镇

Wenshan 文山
Lida 里达镇
Pingba 坪坝镇
Matang 马塘镇
Zhujie 朱街镇
Shuanglongying 双龙营乡
Mugan 木杆
Zhulin 珠琳镇
Banlun 板仑乡
Funing 富宁县

Chuxiong 楚雄
Wanyaoshu 弯腰树
Dahekou 大河口乡

Baoshan 保山市
Xiaopingtian 小平田
Tengchong 腾冲县
Wama 瓦马彝族白族乡

Lincang 临沧
Mangka 芒卡镇
Boshang 博商
Fengwei 风尾镇
Mengjiao 勐角乡

Qujing 曲靖市
Dahai 大海乡
Huohong 火红乡
Nagu 娜姑镇
Xitu 西土
迤车

Zhaotong 昭通
Shuitian 水田
Linfeng 麟风

Yuxi 玉溪
Yangjie 羊街乡
Mosha 漠沙镇
Xingmeng 兴蒙
Dianzhong 甸中
Hexi 河西

Nujiang 怒江
Hexi 河西
Puladi 普拉底乡
Aludi 阿路底
Laowo 老窝

Puer 普洱
Lancang 澜沧县
Qushui 曲水乡
Fubang 富邦乡
Mujia 木戛乡
Yongping 永平镇
Ankang 安康佤族乡
Meng'a 孟啊
Wendong 文东佤族乡

Diqing 迪庆
Xiaoweixi 小维西
Kangpu 康普
Kaifaqu 开发区