1875: Death of a British Diplomat
After Britain's 1852 annexation of lower Burma lucrative trade with China through its back-door seemed more than a distant possibility. But after a successful first mission up the Irrawaddy and into Yunnan in 1868, the second British mission six years later ended in tragedy.
A Lahu minority Christian service in a hill village near Menglian.
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.
A number of Chinese historic texts covering life and politics in Yunnan have survived over the centuries. I have translated a few of them.
Donglianhua is a Muslim caravan town with plenty of historic architecture.
An unspoilt Tibetan area along the Zhibaluo River.
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.
Rushan is a dried cheese made from cow-milk.
Upcoming Festivals
| Name | Date |
|---|---|
| Benzhu Worship (Jianchuan Area) | 02 Dec |
| Full Moon Ritual | 04 Dec |
| Yongning Mule Fair | 04 Dec |
| Benzhu Worship | 04 Dec |
| Benzhu Worship | 04 Dec |
| Panwang Festival | 05 Dec |
| Mother Earth | 07 Dec |
| Great Snow | 07 Dec |
| Geminid Meteor Shower | 13 Dec |
| Muli Temple Fair | 14 Dec |
| Tsongkhapa Festival | 14 Dec |
| Alu Festival | 15 Dec |
Markets this Wednesday
| Dali | 大理 |
|---|---|
| Shunbi | 順濞 |
| Shuixie | 水泄 |
| Xintun | 辛屯 |
| Songgui | 松桂 |
| Shaba | 沙坝 |
| Huangping | 黄平镇 |
| Zhongying | 种英 |
| Gonglang | 公郎镇 |
| Shanglan | 上兰 |
| Zhouguanying | 周官营 |
| Shangcang | 上沧 |
| 云南驿村 | |
| 前所 | |
| 三胜 | |
| Houshancun | 后山村 |
| Caifeng | 财丰 |
| Gongguoqiao | 功果桥镇 |
| Miaojie | 庙街镇 |
| 顺荡 | |
| 龙街 |
| Honghe | 红河 |
|---|---|
| Zhicun | 芷村镇 |
| Niujiaozhai | 牛角寨 |
| Lvchun | 绿春县 |
| Majie | 马街 |
| Shaochong | 哨冲镇 |
| Nanke | 南科 |
| Baiyun | 白云乡 |
| Yongning | 永宁乡 |
| Jinping | 金平苗族瑶族傣族自治县 |
| Niujie | 牛街镇 |
| Mengqiao | 勐桥乡 |
| Tutai | 土台 |
| Hongtian | 红田 |
| Wenshan | 文山 |
|---|---|
| Pingzhai | 平寨乡 |
| Banggu | 蚌谷乡 |
| Muyang | 木央镇 |
| Nanping (Majie) | 南屏镇 (马街） |
| Qujing | 曲靖市 |
|---|---|
| 干海子 | |
| Kuangshan | 矿山镇 |
| 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 |
| Yulu | 雨碌乡 |