Yunnan - China's most beautiful province


Early Maps of Yunnan

The history of maps in Yunnan began more than a thousand years ago. But it was the Jesuits who revolutionised mapping in China, producing the first accurate maps of the provinces, including remote Yunnan.



The watermills in Fengqing's Gumo village operate just like a thousand years ago.


Jim Goodman: Children of the Jade Dragon: the Naxi of Lijiang and their mountain neighbours the Yi

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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.


A number of Chinese historic texts covering life and politics in Yunnan have survived over the centuries. I have translated a few of them.

Hometown of many Bai merchants, Xizhou boast some impressive architecture.


Jim Goodman: The Terrace Builders: The Hani and their Neighbors in Yunnan's Ailao Mountains

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Abstract: The rice terraces of the Ailao Mountains in southern Yunnan province, China, are some of the oldest terraced farms in Asia. First mentioned in Tang Dynasty records, these farms, 80% of which are irrigated, with water running through them all year round, have been in continuous use for over a thousand years. In 2013 UNESCO declared the heartland of this area a World Heritage Site. The Terrace Builders is a detailed account of how these farms are made and used, the cities and mountains of Honghe Prefecture and the far north of Vietnam, as well as the various ethnic minorities who live there. The book pays special attention to the Hani people, the largest ethnic group in the area, and includes summaries of the culture and clothing of their neighbors the Yi, Miao, Yao, Zhuang and Dai. The book includes 300 photos of the land and its people.


The old border crossing to Guizhou.

Markets this Saturday

Kunming 昆明
Fazhe 法者镇
Shilin 石林彝族自治县
Tangdan 汤丹镇

Dali 大理
Zhoucheng 州城
Yongping 永平县
Shuixie 水泄
Lijiao 力角
Xintun 辛屯
Paiying 排营
Shijing 师井
Songgui 松桂
Diannan 甸南
Yinqiao 银桥
Jiangwei 江尾镇
Gonglang 公郎镇
Huangping 黄平镇
Caifeng 财丰
Miaojie 庙街镇
Changyi 长邑村
云南驿村
Deju 德苴乡
Houshancun 后山村
三胜
桥街
前所

Lijiang 丽江
Shigu 石鼓镇
Jiuhe 九河
Yongsheng 永胜县
Banqiao 板桥

Honghe 红河
Niujiaozhai 牛角寨
Xinansuo 新安所镇
Daheishan 大黑山乡
Leyu 乐育
Lvchun 绿春县
Majie 马街
Xinxian 新现乡
Nanke 南科
Shaochong 哨冲镇
Jinping 金平苗族瑶族傣族自治县
Niujie 牛街镇
Mengqiao 勐桥乡

Wenshan 文山
Pingzhai 平寨乡
Pingba 坪坝镇
Matang 马塘镇
Banggu 蚌谷乡
Muyang 木央镇
Nanping (Majie) 南屏镇 (马街)

Chuxiong 楚雄
Wanyaoshu 弯腰树
Dahekou 大河口乡

Baoshan 保山市
Xiaopingtian 小平田
Tengchong 腾冲县
Wama 瓦马彝族白族乡

Lincang 临沧
Luodang 洛党
Mangka 芒卡镇
Boshang 博商
Fengwei 风尾镇
Xinhua 新华彝族苗族乡
Mengjiao 勐角乡

Qujing 曲靖市
Dahai 大海乡
Huohong 火红乡
Luna 鲁纳乡
Nagu 娜姑镇
Shangcun 上村乡
迤车

Zhaotong 昭通
Shikan 石坎
Jiucheng 旧城
Weixin 威信
Changan 长安

Yuxi 玉溪
Yangjie 羊街乡
Mosha 漠沙镇
Dianzhong 甸中

Nujiang 怒江
Hexi 河西
Puladi 普拉底乡
Laowo 老窝
Aludi 阿路底

Puer 普洱
Lancang 澜沧县
Minle 民乐
Yongping 永平镇
Meng'a 孟啊
Puyi 普义乡

Diqing 迪庆
Xiaoweixi 小维西
Jiagetu 价格土
Kaifaqu 开发区
岩瓦