Yes, probably every year somebody gets the wrong mushrooms and actually dies, but considering the number of mushroom hotpot restaurants ,and the popularity of mushrooms locally, the percentage of those who are seriously poisoned must be pretty low - it's unlikely that they will be a major danger to you here (cf traffic, various 'natural' causes, etc.)
I have personally known 2 people (in 13 years) who got high by accident from mushrooms, one at a restaurant and one when her father cooked some up (her father wasn't affected at all by the same dish, for some reason).
Have eaten a few recreational shrooms while here myself - they were local, I'm pretty sure - were not fantastic as a high, although there are SO MANY varieties in Yunnan that there must be somebody somewhere who knows which ones to get. However, I wouldn't trust my own judgement to pick any, and in the market I only buy the few that I recognize to cook with.
Exploring history: Jianshui through the ages
发布者Jim's article is, as usual, excellent, but although he mentions renovations, perhaps he has left off a few that are really quite extensive. For example, there is a tourist street in Jianshui that has all the 'traditional' curved Han-style shop roofs you might like to see, but they were all built since the first time I went there some 10 years ago. More recently, the old South Gate has been built from scratch - wasn't there 10 years ago either.
The significance of the Confucian temple should not be missed - the conquerors of Yunnan were Mongols, with Central Asian troops, many Muslim. The fact that a Muslim ruler built such a large structure in this far-away province is a good example of the nature of the rulers: they were big supporters, not only of Islamic learning, but of Confucianism and Buddhism as well. And by the Ming Dynasty, if not before, the fact that this was the second largest Confucian temple in China, after the one in Qufu, the Kong (Confucius) family home in Shandong, is a clear statement of the attitude of the dynasty towards this frontier, Han-minority province, which had been very much independent, and under non-Han rulers, before the Mongols: This place is Ours now, and b'god we're here to stay!
And then note the role played by Lin'an (Jianshui) during the massive 'Panthay Rebellion' against the Qing (Man, or Manchu rulers), led by Muslims but with numerous Yi and Han followers, which went on for 18 bloody years in the 19th century...
Yunnan's history is unique, and it's fascinating.
$17 billion Chongqing-Kunming railway nears completion
发布者Train is as fast and more comfortable, I mean.
$17 billion Chongqing-Kunming railway nears completion
发布者Doesn't it cost more in terms of the planet? And not necessarily cheaper in personal cash terms either. More comfortable too, and not faster to Chongqing - 3 hours, the article says - how much time would you spend getting to the airport, boarding the damn thing, then sitting scrunched up, getting baggage, etc.?
$17 billion Chongqing-Kunming railway nears completion
发布者Seems to me this is a better idea than a lot of airports and air traffic.
Spring City's tallest skyscraper nears completion
发布者Good question, nnoble. My not-too-informed knee-jerk reaction would be to say no, but I'd be happy to consider any opinion that came with reasons.
Also the question: 'Does Kunming need this building...' makes me think of another one: who, precisely, is this 'Kunming' who either needs or doesn't need?