Xu Xiake 徐霞客 in Dali
Xu Xiake (1586 - 1641) was China's first travel blogger. During the third lunar month in 1639 he travelled through Dali and recorded his experiences in his diary, posthumously published as 徐霞客游记. Is it still possible to retrace Xu's steps on the Dali plain?
Rare Silver Pheasants 白鹇 can be seen roaming the woods of Tonghai's Xiushan Temple Mountain 通海秀山.
Judith Shapiro: Mao's War Against Nature: Politics and the Environment in Revolutionary China
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.
A number of Chinese historic texts covering life and politics in Yunnan have survived over the centuries. I have translated a few of them.
Reconstructed Qing Wenmiao, in a nice park setting.
Jim Goodman: Children of the Jade Dragon: the Naxi of Lijiang and their mountain neighbours the Yi
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.
Donglianhua is a Muslim caravan town with plenty of historic architecture.
Once an important salt-mining town, now the second largest town along the Heihui River north of Yangbi.
Upcoming Festivals
| Name | Date |
|---|---|
| Mouding March Fair | 25 Apr |
| Benzhu Worship | 26 Apr |
| Damo Temple Fair | 28 Apr |
| New Moon Ritual | 28 Apr |
| Luban Festival | 29 Apr |
| Buckwheat Festival | 29 Apr |
| Kunming Cultural Tourism Festival | 29 Apr |
| Twin Festival | 01 May |
| May Day | 01 May |
| Yangmei Festival | 01 May |
| Monihei | 01 May |
| Hotpant Festival | 03 May |
Markets this Sunday
| Dali | 大理 |
|---|---|
| Junhua | 均化 |
| Duomei | 朵美 |
| Jiuzhou | 旧州 |
| Sanying | 三营 |
| Yunlong | 云龙县 |
| Binchuan | 宾川县 |
| Liantie | 炼铁 |
| Liuhe | 六合 |
| Beitou | 北头 |
| Lawu | 拉乌 |
| Heqing | 鹤庆县 |
| Shuanglang | 双廊镇 |
| Jianchuan | 剑川县 |
| Changxin | 长新 |
| Eryuan | 洱源县 |
| Pingpo | 平坡 |
| 龙洞村 | |
| Niujie | 牛街彝族乡 |
| Xiazhuang | 下庄镇 |
| Shalong | 沙龙镇 |
| Minjian | 民建乡 |
| Qinghaiying | 青海营 |
| Longjie | 龙街 |
| 青苗 | |
| Beiya | 北衙 |
| Honghe | 红河 |
|---|---|
| Pingbian | 屏边苗族自治县 |
| Diema | 垤玛 |
| Mengla | 勐拉 |
| Niujiaozhai | 牛角寨 |
| Mengzi | 蒙自县 |
| Longwu | 龙武镇 |
| Jiayin | 甲寅 |
| Chake | 岔科 |
| Liangdi | 浪堤 |
| Azhahe | 阿扎河 |
| Baohua | 宝华 |
| Yongning | 永宁乡 |
| Luoen | 洛恩 |
| Laomeng | 老勐 |
| Maandi | 马鞍底 |
| Wenshan | 文山 |
|---|---|
| Shadou | 沙斗 |
| Guangnan | 广南县 |
| Banlun | 板仑乡 |
| Nijiao | 腻脚彝族乡 |
| Pingyuan | 平远 |
| Zhesang | 者桑乡 |
| Jijie | 鸡街乡 |
| Babao | 八宝镇 |
| Tienpeng | 田蓬镇 |
| Donggan | 董干镇 |
| Jiumo | 旧莫乡 |
| Zhaotong | 昭通 |
|---|---|
| Shuanghe | 双河 |