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.
A Lahu minority Christian service in a hill village near Menglian.
Jim Goodman: Children of the Jade Dragon: the Naxi of Lijiang and their mountain neighbours the Yi
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.
Mountain area north of Erhai.
Yunnan's only Shui-Township with stunning karst scenery.
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.
Bai wedding customs.
Upcoming Festivals
| Name | Date |
|---|---|
| Yiyi Festival | 22 Nov |
| Slight Snow | 22 Nov |
| Anniversary of Dali Bai Autonomous Region Foundation | 22 Nov |
| Meige Festival | 27 Nov |
| Mother Earth Worship | 27 Nov |
| Yi New Year | 29 Nov |
| Street Banquet | 30 Nov |
| Hani New Year | 01 Dec |
| Benzhu Worship (Jianchuan Area) | 02 Dec |
| Benzhu Worship | 04 Dec |
| Full Moon Ritual | 04 Dec |
| Yongning Mule Fair | 04 Dec |
Markets this Sunday
| Dali | 大理 |
|---|---|
| Jiuzhou | 旧州 |
| Sanying | 三营 |
| Xintun | 辛屯 |
| Wanqiao | 湾桥 |
| Songgui | 松桂 |
| Yunlong | 云龙县 |
| Liantie | 炼铁 |
| Binchuan | 宾川县 |
| Beitou | 北头 |
| Lawu | 拉乌 |
| Jianchuan | 剑川县 |
| Shuanglang | 双廊镇 |
| Changxin | 长新 |
| Eryuan | 洱源县 |
| Pingpo | 平坡 |
| Huangping | 黄平镇 |
| 龙洞村 | |
| Shalong | 沙龙镇 |
| Niujie | 牛街彝族乡 |
| Minjian | 民建乡 |
| Longjie | 龙街 |
| 三胜 | |
| Houshancun | 后山村 |
| Caifeng | 财丰 |
| 青苗 | |
| Xiazhuang | 下庄镇 |
| 西庄 | |
| Midian | 米甸镇 |
| Miaojie | 庙街镇 |
| 寅街村 |
| Honghe | 红河 |
|---|---|
| Pingbian | 屏边苗族自治县 |
| Diema | 垤玛 |
| Mengla | 勐拉 |
| Mengzi | 蒙自县 |
| Chake | 岔科 |
| Liangdi | 浪堤 |
| Jiayin | 甲寅 |
| Azhahe | 阿扎河 |
| Xinjie | 新街 |
| Baohua | 宝华 |
| Shaochong | 哨冲镇 |
| Luoen | 洛恩 |
| Yongning | 永宁乡 |
| Niujie | 牛街镇 |
| Laomeng | 老勐 |
| Maandi | 马鞍底 |
| Wenshan | 文山 |
|---|---|
| Shadou | 沙斗 |
| Guangnan | 广南县 |
| Pingyuan | 平远 |
| Nijiao | 腻脚彝族乡 |
| Zhesang | 者桑乡 |
| Jijie | 鸡街乡 |
| Tienpeng | 田蓬镇 |
| Babao | 八宝镇 |
| Donggan | 董干镇 |
| Qujing | 曲靖市 |
|---|---|
| Daibu | 待补镇 |
| 干海子 | |
| Jiache | 驾车乡 |
| Kuangshan | 矿山镇 |
| Laochang | 老厂乡 |
| Sandao | 三道 |
| Wuxing | 五星乡 |
| Xinjie | 新街回族乡 |
| Yulu | 雨碌乡 |
| Diqing | 迪庆 |
|---|---|
| Jiagetu | 价格土 |
| 岩瓦 |