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?
The watermills in Fengqing's Gumo village operate just like a thousand years ago.
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.
A number of Chinese historic texts covering life and politics in Yunnan have survived over the centuries. I have translated a few of them.
Traditional Bai vernacular architecture with buildings to three sides and a screenwall.
The turn of the Yangzi made Chinese civilization possible and was the location of many important battles.
John Israel: Lianda: A Chinese University in War and Revolution
Everyone knows about the Mao's Long March, but a few years later another long march took place: that of Chinese students leaving their cushy campuses on the east coast, trekking all the way to Yunnan where their universities reformed as Lianda, the united university. Kunming, then a total backwater, became a hotbed for new ideas, not just scientific. We liked the section of east coast girls scampering around Mengzi in their latest fashion.
Village Benzhu Temple.
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.
Upcoming Festivals
| Name | Date |
|---|---|
| Praying for Rain | 05 Jun |
| Yanguang Birthday | 05 Jun |
| Grain in Ear | 05 Jun |
| Yu An Ceremonies | 07 Jun |
| Start of Raosanling | 07 Jun |
| Raosanling | 07 Jun |
| Benzhu Worship | 08 Jun |
| Raosanling | 08 Jun |
| Raosanling in Heyicheng | 09 Jun |
| Praying For Rain | 10 Jun |
| Benzhu Worship | 10 Jun |
| Raosanling in Majiuyi | 10 Jun |
Markets this Saturday
| Dali | 大理 |
|---|---|
| Zhoucheng | 州城 |
| Yongping | 永平县 |
| Shanyang | 衫阳 |
| Paiying | 排营 |
| Lijiao | 力角 |
| Xintun | 辛屯 |
| Shijing | 师井 |
| Songgui | 松桂 |
| Diannan | 甸南 |
| Caojian | 漕间 |
| Jiangwei | 江尾镇 |
| Huangping | 黄平镇 |
| Changyi | 长邑村 |
| Hedian | 禾甸镇 |
| Hongyan | 红岩镇 |
| Xiazhuang | 下庄镇 |
| Deju | 德苴乡 |
| 龙洞村 | |
| Shalong | 沙龙镇 |
| Junhuacun | 均华村 |
| 桥街 |
| Qujing | 曲靖市 |
|---|---|
| Fenghuang | 凤凰 |
| 干海子 | |
| Laochang | 老厂乡 |
| Wuxing | 五星乡 |
| Xinjie | 新街回族乡 |
| Yangmeishan | 杨梅山 |
| Puer | 普洱 |
|---|---|
| Jiangcheng | 江城哈尼族彝族自治县 |
| Lancang | 澜沧县 |
| Donghui | 东回镇 |
| Baozang | 宝藏乡 |
| Xuelin | 雪林佤族乡 |
| Menglian | 孟连傣族拉祜族佤族自治县 |
| Mengsuo | 勐梭镇 |
| Diqing | 迪庆 |
|---|---|
| Shangjiang | 上江 |
| Xiaoweixi | 小维西 |
| Kaifaqu | 开发区 |