Protecting Erhai: The Seven Big Activities
When in April 2017 guesthouses and restaurants around western Yunnan's Erhai Lake were suddenly summarily ordered closed until further notice, big character slogans also began proclaiming: "Protecting Erhai: The Seven Big Activities" 保护洱海七大行动. The slogan suggests that the closure of tourist facilities is just one part of a wider campaign to clean up the Erhai environment.
A forrest fire burning on the eastern side of Erhai during the dry season in 2024.
Judith Shapiro: Mao's War Against Nature: Politics and the Environment in Revolutionary China
Even if Chinese civilization has developed more against than with nature, the Mao years were a particular exercise in environmental destruction. In one case-study Shapiro tells the story of the draining of the northern part of Dianchi Lake, one of the first steps turning Kunming's lake into the fetid cess-pool it is today.
A number of Chinese historic texts covering life and politics in Yunnan have survived over the centuries. I have translated a few of them.
Large Benzhu temple above Shangyangxi village.
Best surviving station on the French-built Vietnam-Kunming railway.
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.
Rattlestick Dance is a traditional dance of the Bai minority, specifically in Jianchuan county.
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.
Upcoming Festivals
| Name | Date |
|---|---|
| Dharmic Assembly | 24 Oct |
| New Moon Ritual | 01 Nov |
| Anniversary of Yangbi County Foundation | 01 Nov |
| Jingpo New Rice | 04 Nov |
| Start of Winter | 07 Nov |
| Mother Earth Worship | 08 Nov |
| Meige Festival | 08 Nov |
| Yi New Year | 10 Nov |
| Single's Day | 11 Nov |
| Hani New Year | 12 Nov |
| Benzhu Worship (Jianchuan Area) | 13 Nov |
| Full Moon Ritual | 15 Nov |
Markets this Thursday
| Kunming | 昆明 |
|---|---|
| Jiulong | 九龙乡 |
| Dali | 大理 |
|---|---|
| Junhua | 均化 |
| Duomei | 朵美 |
| Niujie | 牛街 |
| Shanyang | 衫阳 |
| Yangcen | 羊岑 |
| Biaocun | 表村 |
| Maidi | 脉地 |
| Longjie | 龙街 |
| Longjie | 龙街 |
| Liuhe | 六合 |
| Heqing | 鹤庆县 |
| Zuòyì | 作邑 |
| Taiyi | 太邑彝族乡 |
| Qiaohou | 乔后 |
| Daying | 大营 |
| Lijiang | 丽江 |
|---|---|
| Liming | 黎明 |
| Xishuangbanna | 西双版纳 |
|---|---|
| Xiding | 西定哈尼族乡 |
| Baoshan | 保山市 |
|---|---|
| Xiaopingtian | 小平田 |
| Wama | 瓦马彝族白族乡 |
| Tengchong | 腾冲县 |
| Zhaotong | 昭通 |
|---|---|
| Shuanghe | 双河 |