What was done
The authors studied sediment cores from Erhai Lake, which is located on the Yun-Gui Plateau of China, reconstructing a temperature history of that region for the 700-year period 1290-1990.

What was learned
The two coldest periods of the last 700 years occurred during the 14th century and from approximately 1550-1800.  Warming in the 20th century continued until the 1940s.

What it means
Of the cold period extending from 1550 to 1800, the authors say in their abstract that it "may be the imprint left of the Little Ice Age."  And to be sure we get the point, they repeat this statement twice more in the text of their paper.  Hence, it would be safe to say they do not subscribe to the climate-alarmist view that the Little Ice Age was confined to countries bordering on the North Atlantic Ocean.  Also, their statement that "the global warming at the beginning of this century continued until the 1940s" does not bode well for the climate-alarmist claim of "unprecedented" warming over the latter part of the 20th century.