Yunnan - China's most beautiful province


Early Maps of Yunnan

The history of maps in Yunnan began more than a thousand years ago. But it was the Jesuits who revolutionised mapping in China, producing the first accurate maps of the provinces, including remote Yunnan.



A small Yi group in Heqing County with distinctive dress.


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.

Best surviving station on the French-built Vietnam-Kunming railway.


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.

Markets this Saturday

Kunming 昆明
Fazhe 法者镇
Wumeng 乌蒙乡
Shilin 石林彝族自治县
Tangdan 汤丹镇
Kedu 柯渡镇

Dali 大理
Zhoucheng 州城
Yongping 永平县
Lijiao 力角
Paiying 排营
Shijing 师井
Diannan 甸南
Huangping 黄平镇
Shuanglang 双廊镇
Dacang 大仓镇
Jiangwei 江尾镇
Zhongjiang 中江
Houshancun 后山村
Shalong 沙龙镇
Caifeng 财丰
Miaojie 庙街镇
Changyi 长邑村
西庄
Midian 米甸镇
三鹤
Jindunjiecun 金墩街村
Xiazhuang 下庄镇
桥街
三胜
龙洞村
Longjie 龙街
寅街村
Deju 德苴乡

Lijiang 丽江
Jiuhe 九河
Yongsheng 永胜县
Banqiao 板桥

Dehong 德宏
Husa 户撒乡
Nangsong 曩宋阿昌族乡

Honghe 红河
Xinansuo 新安所镇
Mengla 勐拉
Leyu 乐育
Daheishan 大黑山乡
Sancun 三村
Xinxian 新现乡
Xinjie 新街
Shaochong 哨冲镇
Niujie 牛街镇
Maandi 马鞍底

Wenshan 文山
Pingba 坪坝镇
Matang 马塘镇
Shadou 沙斗
Nijiao 腻脚彝族乡
Jijie 鸡街乡
Donggan 董干镇
Tienpeng 田蓬镇

Chuxiong 楚雄
Wanyaoshu 弯腰树
Dahekou 大河口乡

Baoshan 保山市
Manglong 芒龙

Lincang 临沧
Cangyuan 沧源佤族自治县
Lushi 鲁史
Quannei 圈内
Shuangjiang 双江拉祜族佤族布朗族傣族自治县
Zhenkang 镇康县
Junsai 军赛乡

Qujing 曲靖市
Daibu 待补镇
Fenghuang 凤凰
干海子
Jiache 驾车乡
Laochang 老厂乡
Wuxing 五星乡
Xinjie 新街回族乡

Zhaotong 昭通
Linfeng 麟风
Shuitian 水田
Menggu 蒙姑镇

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
Qushui 曲水乡
Fuyan 富岩

Diqing 迪庆
Xiaoweixi 小维西
Kangpu 康普
Kaifaqu 开发区