Guandu Old Town
With the Bird and Flower Market and the Muslim Quarter fallen, little remains of 'Lao Kunming', the characterful old town of former times. Now it is all high-rises, wide avenues, chain-shops. Everywhere? No, a small part of Kunming is holding out...
Remnants of colour still show on the stone carvings at Shibaoshan, revealing that the Buddhist images were once brightly painted.
C. Patterson Giersch: Asian Borderlands: The Transformation of Qing China's Yunnan Frontier
Yunnan was not always China: indeed not so long ago large parts of Yunnan were only nominally part of the empire. To make Yunnan, outside the main Han cities, a Chinese province required significant effort. Here Giersch's study on Yunnan's hinterland makes an interesting if academic read.
A number of Chinese historic texts covering life and politics in Yunnan have survived over the centuries. I have translated a few of them.
Yunnan's best preserved historic town.
Largest Miao village in the Kunming area with a large Christian community and a nationally-acclaimed church-choir.
Fei Hsiao-Tung and Chang Chih-I: Earthbound China: A Study of Rural Economy in Yunnan
Fei is the father of modern sociology in China: western-trained, he came to Yunnan at the end of the 1930s when China's eastern universities relocated west. In "Earthbound China" he applied modern empirical techniques that he had pioneered around Shanghai to the Chinese hinterland. The economical development, and subsequent societal changes, of three un-named, but typical villages in Yunnan is analyzed in great detail in this fascinating study.
A big festival on the 15th day of the first lunar month.
Upcoming Festivals
| Name | Date |
|---|---|
| Benzhu Worship | 05 Feb |
| Temaoke | 06 Feb |
| Benzhu Worship | 10 Feb |
| Daba Spring Festival Evening Party | 16 Feb |
| Lunar New Year's Eve | 16 Feb |
| Benzhu Worship | 16 Feb |
| Benzhu Worship | 16 Feb |
| Spring Festival | 17 Feb |
| Dalaogeng | 17 Feb |
| New Year Ritual | 17 Feb |
| Benzhu Worship | 17 Feb |
| Benzhu Worship | 17 Feb |
Markets this Friday
| Dali | 大理 |
|---|---|
| Xiangtu | 象图乡 |
| Hecun | 萂村 |
| Shanyang | 衫阳 |
| Gunipen | 沽泥盆 |
| Jiancao | 捡槽 |
| Xintun | 辛屯 |
| Waxi | 瓦溪 |
| Pingchuan | 平川 |
| Wuxing | 五星 |
| Songgui | 松桂 |
| Baidangping | 白荡坪 |
| Yangbi | 漾濞彝族自治县 |
| Shaxi | 沙溪 |
| Zuòyì | 作邑 |
| Caojian | 漕间 |
| Yousuo | 右所镇 |
| Huangping | 黄平镇 |
| Wachang | 瓦厂乡 |
| Xiazhuang | 下庄镇 |
| Xishan | 西山乡 |
| 大栗树 | |
| Junhuacun | 均华村 |
| Hongyan | 红岩镇 |
| Shalong | 沙龙镇 |
| Jijie | 鸡街乡 |
| 汤涧 | |
| 龙洞村 | |
| Hedian | 禾甸镇 |
| Lijiang | 丽江 |
|---|---|
| Shigu | 石鼓镇 |
| Wenshan | 文山 |
|---|---|
| Zhujie | 朱街镇 |
| Shuanglongying | 双龙营乡 |
| Lida | 里达镇 |
| Mugan | 木杆 |
| Zhulin | 珠琳镇 |
| Lincang | 临沧 |
|---|---|
| Menglai | 勐来乡 |
| Puer | 普洱 |
|---|---|
| Jiangcheng | 江城哈尼族彝族自治县 |
| 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 |