Watersplashing in Yongping
Ask for the Watersplashing Festival, or Poshuijie 泼水节, and everyone will tell you to go to Jinghong, capital of Yunnan's Xishuangbanna Dai Autonomous Region: the 'biggest and best' Dai celebrations to mark their New Year are taking place there. And big it is. Thousands of Han Chinese and foreign tourist flock to Jinghong every year. Jinghong's Poshuijie certainly is big -- and very commercial. If big crowds and big events are your thing, go to Jinghong.
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
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.
Upper Benzhu Temple in Wase.
The turn of the Yangzi made Chinese civilization possible and was the location of many important battles.
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.
Upcoming Festivals
| Name | Date |
|---|---|
| Descent of Frost | 23 Oct |
| Dharmic Assembly | 24 Oct |
| Benzhu Worship | 24 Oct |
| Temple Fair | 25 Oct |
| Benzhu Worship | 25 Oct |
| Benzhu Festival | 25 Oct |
| Dongshan Tuzhu Temple Fair | 26 Oct |
| Opening of the Fishing Season | 28 Oct |
| Benzhu Festival | 28 Oct |
| Benzhu Festival | 29 Oct |
| Anniversary of Yangbi County Foundation | 01 Nov |
| New Moon Ritual | 01 Nov |
Markets this Wednesday
| Dali | 大理 |
|---|---|
| Shunbi | 順濞 |
| Xintun | 辛屯 |
| Songgui | 松桂 |
| Shaba | 沙坝 |
| Shuanglang | 双廊镇 |
| Huangping | 黄平镇 |
| Zhongying | 种英 |
| Shanglan | 上兰 |
| Zhouguanying | 周官营 |
| Honghe | 红河 |
|---|---|
| Zhicun | 芷村镇 |
| Mengla | 勐拉 |
| Baiyun | 白云乡 |
| Xinjie | 新街 |
| Shaochong | 哨冲镇 |
| Yongning | 永宁乡 |
| Niujie | 牛街镇 |
| Maandi | 马鞍底 |
| Tutai | 土台 |
| Hongtian | 红田 |
| Baoshan | 保山市 |
|---|---|
| Manglong | 芒龙 |
| Lincang | 临沧 |
|---|---|
| Cangyuan | 沧源佤族自治县 |
| Lushi | 鲁史 |
| Fengqing | 凤庆县 |
| 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 |
| Puer | 普洱 |
|---|---|
| Fuyan | 富岩 |