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.
Hidden in the forests above Shangyun 上允 are the ruins of a Buddhist temple fortress founded during the Qing Dynasty by separatist monks from Jizushan who built a significant religious following by the local Lahu and Dai people.
John Israel: Lianda: A Chinese University in War and Revolution
Everyone knows about the Mao's Long March, but a few years later another long march took place: that of Chinese students leaving their cushy campuses on the east coast, trekking all the way to Yunnan where their universities reformed as Lianda, the united university. Kunming, then a total backwater, became a hotbed for new ideas, not just scientific. We liked the section of east coast girls scampering around Mengzi in their latest fashion.
A number of Chinese historic texts covering life and politics in Yunnan have survived over the centuries. I have translated a few of them.
Upper Benzhu Temple in Wase.
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.
Way of making ham in Nuodeng, Yunlong.
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 |
|---|---|
| Walnut Festival | 01 Sep |
| White Dew | 07 Sep |
| Shibaoshan Songfest | 08 Sep |
| Sigunai Temple Fair | 09 Sep |
| Benzhu Worship (Jianchuan Area) | 09 Sep |
| Teachers' Day | 10 Sep |
| Benzhu Worship (Fengyu Area) | 11 Sep |
| Azhali Ritual | 11 Sep |
| New Moon Ritual | 11 Sep |
| Lingjiu Temple Jade Emperor | 11 Sep |
| Benzhu Worship | 12 Sep |
| Caishen Festival | 13 Sep |
Markets this Tuesday
| Kunming | 昆明 |
|---|---|
| Jijie | 鸡街乡 |
| Dali | 大理 |
|---|---|
| Fuheng | 富恒 |
| Zhongsuo | 中所 |
| Fengyu | 风羽 |
| Yongping | 永平县 |
| Liandong | 炼洞 |
| Guanping | 关平 |
| Baofeng | 宝丰乡 |
| Madeng | 马镫 |
| Binju | 宾居 |
| Shuijing | 水井 |
| Huangping | 黄平镇 |
| Dacang | 大仓镇 |
| Zhongjiang | 中江 |
| Miaojie | 庙街镇 |
| Jindunjiecun | 金墩街村 |
| 果城村 | |
| Houshancun | 后山村 |
| 三胜 | |
| Xinjie | 新街镇 |
| Mizhi | 密祉镇 |
| 三鹤 | |
| Caifeng | 财丰 |
| Liuchang | 刘厂镇 |
| Deju | 德苴乡 |
| Honghe | 红河 |
|---|---|
| Sancun | 三村 |
| Mingjiu | 鸣鹫镇 |
| Wantang | 湾塘乡 |
| Caoba | 草坝镇 |
| Shalatuo | 沙拉托 |
| Dayangjie | 大羊街 |
| Shaochong | 哨冲镇 |
| Niujie | 牛街镇 |
| Panzihua | 攀枝花 |
| Tongchang | 铜厂 |
| Zhemi | 者米拉祜族乡 |
| Baoshan | 保山市 |
|---|---|
| Manglong | 芒龙 |
| Lincang | 临沧 |
|---|---|
| Cangyuan | 沧源佤族自治县 |
| Wumulong | 乌木龙乡 |
| Quannei | 圈内 |
| Shuangjiang | 双江拉祜族佤族布朗族傣族自治县 |
| Zhenkang | 镇康县 |
| Junsai | 军赛乡 |
| Nujiang | 怒江 |
|---|---|
| Gudeng | 古登 |
| Bingzhongluo | 丙中洛 |
| Lishadi | 利沙底乡 |
| Diqing | 迪庆 |
|---|---|
| Kangpu | 康普 |