Yunnan - China's most beautiful province


The Dengchuan Plain 邓川坝子

The Dengchuan Plain 邓川坝子

The Dengchuan Plain 邓川坝子, north of Dali's Erhai Lake 洱海, has with West Lake 西湖 and the Miju River corridor 弥苴河 some beautiful, if hardly known, scenic areas. It's natural scenery, however, is man-made, the result of more than a thousand years of cultivation and water-management projects that have transformed a swamp and marshland into the current cultural environment.




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

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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.

Jim Goodman: Living in Shangrila: Tibetans and Mosuo in Northwest Yunnan

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Abstract: When Diqing Prefecture, opened its doors to foreign visitors in 1992, tourist agencies and government officials promoted Zhongdian County as the Shangrila of James Hilton’s novel Lost Horizon. In 2001 the city officially changed its name to Shangrila. On a high plateau of over 3200 meters, surrounded by snow covered mountain peaks, inhabited mainly by relatively prosperous, friendly and contented Tibetans, with beautiful monasteries, lakes, forests and summer flowers, the county’s scenery and lifestyle certainly bore a strong resemblance to that in the novel. Living in Shangrila describes the life and environment of the Tibetan people throughout Diqing Prefecture. It also examines their neighbors the Mosuo, a branch of the Naxi nationality, who adopted Tibetan Buddhism as their religion, but are still mainly a matrilineal society, unique to Yunnan, living around Lugu Lake, the most picturesque body of water in the province. The book includes over 200 photographs.


With its well-preserved architecture and tranquil atmosphere, Weishan's capital is Yunnan's most beautiful county town.

Markets this Wednesday

Kunming 昆明
Shilin 石林彝族自治县
Longtou 龙头街

Dali 大理
Duomei 朵美
Junhua 均化
Shanyang 衫阳
Shuixie 水泄
Shunbi 順濞
Shaba 沙坝
Liuhe 六合
Heqing 鹤庆县
Dacang 大仓镇
Caojian 漕间
Zhongying 种英
Gonglang 公郎镇
Shanglan 上兰
Zhouguanying 周官营
云南驿村
Gongguoqiao 功果桥镇
Midian 米甸镇
Shangcang 上沧
顺荡
龙街
Junhuacun 均华村
前所
西庄
寅街村

Lijiang 丽江
Liming 黎明

Honghe 红河
Zhicun 芷村镇
Sancun 三村
Lvchun 绿春县
Majie 马街
Xinjie 新街
Nanke 南科
Baiyun 白云乡
Jinping 金平苗族瑶族傣族自治县
Yongning 永宁乡
Mengqiao 勐桥乡
Tutai 土台
Hongtian 红田

Wenshan 文山
Pingzhai 平寨乡
Muyang 木央镇
Banggu 蚌谷乡
Nanping (Majie) 南屏镇 (马街)

Chuxiong 楚雄
Maojie 猫街镇
Mixing 弥兴镇
Yaoan 姚安县

Baoshan 保山市
Zhonghe 中和
Bawan 坝湾镇
Mangkuan 芒宽彝族傣族乡

Lincang 临沧
Menglai 勐来乡
Xinhua 新华彝族苗族乡

Qujing 曲靖市
Fenghuang 凤凰
干海子
Jiache 驾车乡
Laochang 老厂乡
Luna 鲁纳乡
Sandao 三道
Shangcun 上村乡
Wuxing 五星乡
Xinjie 新街回族乡
Yangmeishan 杨梅山

Zhaotong 昭通
Shuanghe 双河
Menggu 蒙姑镇

Yuxi 玉溪
Tadian 塔甸
Jiasa 戛洒镇
Xingmeng 兴蒙
Hexi 河西

Nujiang 怒江
Lazan 腊咱
Lumadeng 鹿马登乡

Puer 普洱
Donghui 东回镇
Minle 民乐
Xuelin 雪林佤族乡
Menglian 孟连傣族拉祜族佤族自治县
Mengsuo 勐梭镇
Mengxian 勐先镇
Puyi 普义乡

Diqing 迪庆
Kaifaqu 开发区
岩瓦