The Old Salt Roads in Yunnan
The Tea Horse Road 茶马古道 into Tibet has become a romantic moniker for Yunnan, but economically more important were the old salt roads.
Early 20th century murals at Mangzhong Temple near Menglian
C. Patterson Giersch: Asian Borderlands: The Transformation of Qing China's Yunnan Frontier
Yunnan was not always China: indeed not so long ago large parts of Yunnan were only nominally part of the empire. To make Yunnan, outside the main Han cities, a Chinese province required significant effort. Here Giersch's study on Yunnan's hinterland makes an interesting if academic read.
A number of Chinese historic texts covering life and politics in Yunnan have survived over the centuries. I have translated a few of them.
Rushan is a dried cow milk cheese, made in the Dali region.
This old caravan town on the Jinsha River is Yunnan's gateway to Tibet.
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.
Festival on Eryuan's Cibi Lake.
A history trading post on the upper reaches of the Yangzi.
Upcoming Festivals
| Name | Date |
|---|---|
| Water Splashing Festival | 15 Apr |
| Gutianshi Temple Fair | 17 Apr |
| Buddha Relic Worship | 17 Apr |
| Buddha Relic Worship | 18 Apr |
| Chenghuang Temple Fair | 19 Apr |
| Third of March | 19 Apr |
| Qiangang Bada | 19 Apr |
| Benzhu Worship | 19 Apr |
| Yu An Hall Temple Fair | 19 Apr |
| Water Splashing Festival | 19 Apr |
| Benzhu Worship | 19 Apr |
| Baohe Temple Songfest | 19 Apr |
Markets this Monday
| Dali | 大理 |
|---|---|
| Biaocun | 表村 |
| Shuixie | 水泄 |
| Wanqiao | 湾桥 |
| Fengyi | 凤仪 |
| Jizushan | 鸡足山 |
| Weishan | 巍山彝族回族自治县 |
| Wase | 挖色 |
| Tuanjie | 团结 |
| Misha | 弥沙 |
| Baishi | 白石 |
| Shaping | 沙平村 |
| Dianzhong | 甸中 |
| Gonglang | 公郎镇 |
| 西庄 | |
| Shidongcun | 石洞村 |
| Luming | 鹿鸣乡 |
| 妙姑村 | |
| 寅街村 | |
| Miaowei | 苗尾傈僳族乡 |
| 前所 | |
| 田口 | |
| 北桥 | |
| Taiping | 太平乡 |
| Midian | 米甸镇 |
| 云南驿村 |
| Honghe | 红河 |
|---|---|
| Laozhai | 老寨苗族乡 |
| Chemalong | 车玛龙 |
| Lvchun | 绿春县 |
| Majie | 马街 |
| Daheigong | 大黑公 |
| Wuwan | 乌弯 |
| Xinjie | 新街 |
| Puxiong | 普雄 |
| Nanke | 南科 |
| Jinping | 金平苗族瑶族傣族自治县 |
| Mengqiao | 勐桥乡 |
| Baihe | 白河乡 |
| 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 | |
| Jiache | 驾车乡 |
| Kuangshan | 矿山镇 |
| Laochang | 老厂乡 |
| Luna | 鲁纳乡 |
| Shangcun | 上村乡 |
| Wuxing | 五星乡 |
| Xinjie | 新街回族乡 |
| Yangmeishan | 杨梅山 |
| Yulu | 雨碌乡 |
| Zhaotong | 昭通 |
|---|---|
| Menggu | 蒙姑镇 |
| Yuxi | 玉溪 |
|---|---|
| Fuliangpeng | 富良棚 |