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.
The watermills in Fengqing's Gumo village operate just like a thousand years ago.
Liao Yiwu: God is Red: The Secret Story of How Christianity Survived and Flourished in Communist China
Liao Yiwu, one of China's most prominent dissidents, was driven out of China, but not before he used a period of internal exile to research Christian groups, mainly in Yunnan. In this book he tells the stories of the Christians of Dali and of Wuding county.
A number of Chinese historic texts covering life and politics in Yunnan have survived over the centuries. I have translated a few of them.
Local Dali opera form.
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.
Biggest festival in the Dali region, once Bai New Year.
Upcoming Festivals
| Name | Date |
|---|---|
| Butterfly Spring Meeting | 31 May |
| Yongping Wenbi Pagoda Ceremony | 31 May |
| Benzhu Worship (Midu) | 31 May |
| Butterfly Festival | 31 May |
| Full Moon Ritual | 31 May |
| Benzhu Worship | 31 May |
| Benzhu Worship | 01 Jun |
| Guniangjie | 03 Jun |
| Benzhu Worship | 03 Jun |
| Yanguang Birthday | 05 Jun |
| Praying for Rain | 05 Jun |
| Grain in Ear | 05 Jun |
Markets this Monday
| Dali | 大理 |
|---|---|
| Shuixie | 水泄 |
| Biaocun | 表村 |
| Jizushan | 鸡足山 |
| Caicun | 才村 |
| Dali | 大理 |
| Misha | 弥沙 |
| Tuanjie | 团结 |
| Baishi | 白石 |
| Shaping | 沙平村 |
| Gonglang | 公郎镇 |
| 前所 | |
| Miaowei | 苗尾傈僳族乡 |
| 云南驿村 | |
| Taiping | 太平乡 |
| Honghe | 红河 |
|---|---|
| Niujiaozhai | 牛角寨 |
| Laozhai | 老寨苗族乡 |
| Chemalong | 车玛龙 |
| Lvchun | 绿春县 |
| Majie | 马街 |
| Puxiong | 普雄 |
| Nanke | 南科 |
| Jinping | 金平苗族瑶族傣族自治县 |
| Mengqiao | 勐桥乡 |
| Baihe | 白河乡 |
| Wenshan | 文山 |
|---|---|
| Pingzhai | 平寨乡 |
| Muyang | 木央镇 |
| Banggu | 蚌谷乡 |
| Nanping (Majie) | 南屏镇 (马街） |