Learning Bai
Bai 白族话 is the language spoken by the Bai people 白族 in the Dali area. While Chinese has become the lingua franca, Bai is still actively spoken by many, particularly older people, but it does not have a native written form and comes in many dialects. Here we list the available resources for learning this difficult language.
Hand-made giant sparklers, called "Fire Flowers" 火花, are part of the firework displays for temple fairs in Menglian county.
Brenda McLean: George Forrest, Plant Hunter
George Forrest, perhaps the most successful plant collector of his time, left little written about his numerous journeys to Yunnan, so this well-illustrated book fills in much needed detail about his life.
A number of Chinese historic texts covering life and politics in Yunnan have survived over the centuries. I have translated a few of them.
Ritual dance at the court of the local Menglian ruler
Hometown of many Bai merchants, Xizhou boast some impressive architecture.
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.
Rushan is a dried cheese made from cow-milk.
The Danxia, or red sandstore, cliffs around Liming are a hikers' and climbers' paradise that is just now being discovered.
Upcoming Festivals
| Name | Date |
|---|---|
| New Moon Ritual | 09 Nov |
| Single's Day | 11 Nov |
| Yi New Year | 12 Nov |
| Hani New Year | 14 Nov |
| Mother Earth Worship | 16 Nov |
| Meige Festival | 16 Nov |
| Leonid Meteor Shower | 17 Nov |
| Dai New Year | 18 Nov |
| Benzhu Worship (Jianchuan Area) | 21 Nov |
| Anniversary of Dali Bai Autonomous Region Foundation | 22 Nov |
| Slight Snow | 22 Nov |
| Yiyi Festival | 22 Nov |
Markets this Monday
| Kunming | 昆明 |
|---|---|
| Tuanjie | 团结 |
| Dali | 大理 |
|---|---|
| Xintun | 辛屯 |
| Haidong | 海东 |
| Biaocun | 表村 |
| Songgui | 松桂 |
| Jizushan | 鸡足山 |
| Tuanjie | 团结 |
| Misha | 弥沙 |
| Baishi | 白石 |
| Shaping | 沙平村 |
| Huangping | 黄平镇 |
| Xiazhuang | 下庄镇 |
| Hedian | 禾甸镇 |
| Taiping | 太平乡 |
| Shalong | 沙龙镇 |
| 龙洞村 | |
| Miaowei | 苗尾傈僳族乡 |
| Hongyan | 红岩镇 |
| Lijiang | 丽江 |
|---|---|
| Shigu | 石鼓镇 |
| Honghe | 红河 |
|---|---|
| Shengcun | 生村 |
| Laozhai | 老寨苗族乡 |
| Chemalong | 车玛龙 |
| Puxiong | 普雄 |
| Mengping | 勐坪 |
| Baoxiu | 宝秀镇 |
| Shaochong | 哨冲镇 |
| Xincheng | 新城乡 |
| Baihe | 白河乡 |
| Wenshan | 文山 |
|---|---|
| Zhujie | 朱街镇 |
| Lida | 里达镇 |
| Shuanglongying | 双龙营乡 |
| Mugan | 木杆 |
| Zhulin | 珠琳镇 |
| 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 |
| Nuofu | 糯福 |
| Dashan | 大山乡 |
| Jiahe | 嘉禾乡 |
| Mengma | 孟马镇 |
| 恩永 |