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Drum Festival in Puer + Water Splashing Festival in Xibanna. Time to make plans is NOW.

The festival will begin April 29 (Fri) and end May 6 (Fri) give or take a few days.

Twins Festival in Mojiang, Puer takes place during the same timeframe.

Reservations go by quickly so the early bird gets the worm. Hotel prices skyrocket during these events.

- cultural nature of guanxi, family/clan/village, classmates, or brotherly friendship - Yes this still continues and is alive and well in small towns. However, in the large cities in the east - it is no longer true (fading quickly). People are changing jobs more nowadays so you do not have the longevity that guanxi requires.

I totally agree with the notion that guanxi and mianzi go hand in hand - that is why BOTH are fading simultaneously. Chinese people are learning how to say NO because chinese culture is changing. Old people drink tea while young people drink coffee. More westerners are drinking chinese tea now.

Also agree with the notion of - business as cooperation - however, now there are so many competitors that one competitor can be easily replaced by another and not cherished as they were in the past. Technology and information change so quickly now that businesses have to continually move with the pace or they will become obsolete.

Guanxi is a beast that must be nurtured and fed. As soon as you stop feeding it, it stops serving you as was mentioned by Geezer above. Guanxi is a stationary phenomena that can not survive in the new mobile China. There are some people and businesses that are not mobile and they will continue to rely on guanxi but they quickly become obsolete and do not get passed on to the next generation.

Guanxi = Loyalty. Nowadays, money is king and that is all that matters in business. Easy to find another person because of competition so loyalty has gone out the window.

Pay the driver at the end of the day is the standard. The driver will drive along the lake and stop where you tell him to. Some places require you to drive inland a bit but he will not do so unless you ask him to. This requires knowledge of those places which you probably do not have. A trip around the lake only will give you plenty to see if it is your first time. I would avoid extended stops for more than 30 minutes. Once you know your way around the lake you can come back to do longer stays at particular sites if you have time.

Mobility is a huge factor in eliminating guanxi. When people move to start new careers (not jobs like KFC or construction) they must rely on their abilities (resume/CV) not on their guanxi because they have none in a new city.

10 years ago people were born, raised and died in the town/city of birth - this is no longer the case.

Access to the internet is another factor that is eliminating guanxi because more people now see it for what it really is = bribery - and no longer tolerate it. See the many articles posted on internet from Unsatisfied netizens.

Wang Ba (internet cafe) were a dime a dozen when I first came to China 12 years ago. Now you don't see as many because more people have computers at home or phones.