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 annual fair at Shaba, called the Fishpond Fair 渔潭会, starts every year on the day of the Midautumn Festival 中秋节, and runs for a week. Attracting a local crowd, it remains a much more rustic fair than the massive Third Month Fair 三月街 and livestock is still traded here.
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.
Azhali is a historic branch of Buddhism with strong Bai local characteristics.
Fog swirling on a cold winter morning over endless rice-terraces, the red of the
early morning sun reflected in the flooded paddies: this is the classic view of the
Hani Rice Terraces of Yuanyang, now of UNESCO World Heritage status.
Jim Goodman: Living in Shangrila: Tibetans and Mosuo in Northwest Yunnan
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.
Biggest festival in the Dali region, once Bai New Year.
Hometown of many Bai merchants, Xizhou boast some impressive architecture.
Upcoming Festivals
| Name | Date |
|---|---|
| Slight Snow | 22 Nov |
| Anniversary of Dali Bai Autonomous Region Foundation | 22 Nov |
| Tsongkhapa Festival | 25 Nov |
| Alu Festival | 26 Nov |
| Street Banquet | 30 Nov |
| New Moon Ritual | 01 Dec |
| Hat Festival | 03 Dec |
| Great Snow | 06 Dec |
| Festival of Lights | 07 Dec |
| Atai Birthday | 08 Dec |
| Mizhi Festival | 10 Dec |
| Geminid Meteor Shower | 13 Dec |
Markets this Friday
| Dali | 大理 |
|---|---|
| Hecun | 萂村 |
| Jiancao | 捡槽 |
| Gunipen | 沽泥盆 |
| Waxi | 瓦溪 |
| Wuxing | 五星 |
| Pingchuan | 平川 |
| Yangbi | 漾濞彝族自治县 |
| Baidangping | 白荡坪 |
| Huangping | 黄平镇 |
| Shuanglang | 双廊镇 |
| Shaxi | 沙溪 |
| Zuòyì | 作邑 |
| Zhongjiang | 中江 |
| Yousuo | 右所镇 |
| Xishan | 西山乡 |
| Beiya | 北衙 |
| Jijie | 鸡街乡 |
| Wachang | 瓦厂乡 |
| 汤涧 | |
| 大栗树 | |
| Longjie | 龙街 |
| Jindunjiecun | 金墩街村 |
| Xiazhuang | 下庄镇 |
| Shalong | 沙龙镇 |
| 龙洞村 |
| Lijiang | 丽江 |
|---|---|
| Shunzhou | 顺州 |
| Honghe | 红河 |
|---|---|
| Xinhua | 新华乡 |
| Mengla | 勐拉 |
| Niujiaozhai | 牛角寨 |
| Sancun | 三村 |
| Lengdun | 冷墩 |
| Lengquan | 冷泉镇 |
| Dongshan | 东山镇 |
| Longwu | 龙武镇 |
| Shitouzhai | 石头寨 |
| Maandi | 马鞍底 |
| Baoshan | 保山市 |
|---|---|
| Manglong | 芒龙 |
| Puer | 普洱 |
|---|---|
| Fuyan | 富岩 |