Black Well, White Gold
Heijing is a small town in the northern Chuxiong mountains. Salt once made Heijing one of Yunnan's richest towns. Now its architectural splendours are being rediscovered.
Hand-made giant sparklers, called "Fire Flowers" 火花, are part of the firework displays for temple fairs in Menglian county.
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.
Yi embroidery.
This old caravan town on the Jinsha River is Yunnan's gateway to Tibet.
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.
Ritual dance at the court of the local Menglian ruler
Upcoming Festivals
| Name | Date |
|---|---|
| National Day | 01 Oct |
| Mountain God Temple Worship | 05 Oct |
| Benzhu Worship | 07 Oct |
| Confucius Birthday | 07 Oct |
| Confucius Worship | 07 Oct |
| Confucius Festival | 07 Oct |
| Cold Dew | 08 Oct |
| Welcoming the Grandmother | 09 Oct |
| Temple Fair | 10 Oct |
| Northern Dipper Ritual | 10 Oct |
| Welcoming the Grandmother | 10 Oct |
| Benzhu Festival | 11 Oct |
Markets this Monday
| Dali | 大理 |
|---|---|
| Biaocun | 表村 |
| Shuixie | 水泄 |
| Jizushan | 鸡足山 |
| Fengyi | 凤仪 |
| Yongjian | 永连 |
| Tuanjie | 团结 |
| Misha | 弥沙 |
| Baishi | 白石 |
| Shaping | 沙平村 |
| Huangping | 黄平镇 |
| Gonglang | 公郎镇 |
| Zhongjiang | 中江 |
| Wase | 挖色 |
| Dacang | 大仓镇 |
| Shidongcun | 石洞村 |
| Miaowei | 苗尾傈僳族乡 |
| Luming | 鹿鸣乡 |
| 妙姑村 | |
| Jindunjiecun | 金墩街村 |
| 寅街村 | |
| Midian | 米甸镇 |
| Qinghaiying | 青海营 |
| 前所 | |
| 西庄 | |
| 蛇街 | |
| Taiping | 太平乡 |
| 云南驿村 |
| Lijiang | 丽江 |
|---|---|
| Judian | 巨甸镇 |
| Honghe | 红河 |
|---|---|
| Laozhai | 老寨苗族乡 |
| Lvchun | 绿春县 |
| Chemalong | 车玛龙 |
| Majie | 马街 |
| Xinjie | 新街 |
| Nanke | 南科 |
| Puxiong | 普雄 |
| Jinping | 金平苗族瑶族傣族自治县 |
| Mengqiao | 勐桥乡 |
| Baihe | 白河乡 |
| Shiping Guanyin Temple Alley | 石屏观音寺巷 |
| Chezhi | 扯直 |
| Wenshan | 文山 |
|---|---|
| Pingzhai | 平寨乡 |
| Banlun | 板仑乡 |
| Banggu | 蚌谷乡 |
| Muyang | 木央镇 |
| Nanping (Majie) | 南屏镇 (马街） |
| Yuxi | 玉溪 |
|---|---|
| Xingmeng | 兴蒙 |
| Fuliangpeng | 富良棚 |
| Hexi | 河西 |