Yunnan - China's most beautiful province


The Dengchuan Plain 邓川坝子

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.




Changchundong Temple on Weibaoshan is one of the best preserved Daoist temples in Yunnan.


Fei Hsiao-Tung and Chang Chih-I: Earthbound China: A Study of Rural Economy in Yunnan

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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.


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. 



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.


Ronald G. Knapp: China's Old Dwellings

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Few people know as much about Chinese architecture as Knapp: from palaces to humble homes he explains important building principles; the connection between environment and housing styles and the development of style over time. A section on minority housing styles complements the book.


Dali's dragon boat races were held on the day of the Torch Festival.



The turn of the Yangzi made Chinese civilization possible and was the location of many important battles.

Markets this Sunday

Kunming 昆明
Zhuanlong 转龙镇
Jiulong 九龙乡
Xundian 寻甸回族彝族自治县

Dali 大理
Jiuzhou 旧州
Sanying 三营
Xintun 辛屯
Longjie 龙街
Wanqiao 湾桥
Yunlong 云龙县
Songgui 松桂
Liantie 炼铁
Beitou 北头
Longjie 龙街
Binchuan 宾川县
Lawu 拉乌
Jianchuan 剑川县
Changxin 长新
Pingpo 平坡
Huangping 黄平镇
Eryuan 洱源县

Lijiang 丽江
Shigu 石鼓镇
Yongsheng 永胜县
Banqiao 板桥
Hongyan 红岩

Xishuangbanna 西双版纳
Menghun 勐混
Mengman 勐满拉祜族哈尼族布朗族镇

Dehong 德宏
Husa 户撒乡
Nangsong 曩宋阿昌族乡

Honghe 红河
Pingbian 屏边苗族自治县
Niujiaozhai 牛角寨
Diema 垤玛
Mengzi 蒙自县
Chake 岔科
Sankeshu 三棵树
Jiayin 甲寅
Liangdi 浪堤
Azhahe 阿扎河
Dixibei 地西北
Shaochong 哨冲镇
Baohua 宝华
Luoen 洛恩
Yongning 永宁乡
Niujie 牛街镇
Laomeng 老勐

Wenshan 文山
Guangnan 广南县
Badaoshao 八道哨乡
Pingyuan 平远
Zhesang 者桑乡
Heizhiguo 黑支果乡
Boai 剥隘镇
Dongma 董马乡
Babao 八宝镇
Xinzhai 新寨乡

Chuxiong 楚雄
Dayao 大姚县
Nanhua 南华县
Bailu 白路
Guanglu 光路镇
Yaoan 姚安县

Baoshan 保山市
Manglong 芒龙

Lincang 临沧
Cangyuan 沧源佤族自治县
Fengqing 凤庆县
Yalian 亚练乡
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

Zhaotong 昭通
Shikan 石坎
Jiucheng 旧城
Weixin 威信
Changan 长安

Yuxi 玉溪
Yangjie 羊街乡
Dianzhong 甸中

Nujiang 怒江
Liuku 六库
Tongdian 通甸

Puer 普洱
Lancang 澜沧拉祜族自治县
Fuyan 富岩

Diqing 迪庆
Jiagetu 价格土