Great Plateau of Tibet acts as a barrier to monsoon winds, trapping moisture in the province. This gives the
alpine flora Alpine flora may refer to:
* Alpine tundra, a community of plants that live at high altitude
* Alpine plant
Alpine plants are plants that grow in an alpine climate, which occurs at high elevation and above the tree line. There are many different pl ...
in particular what one source has called a "lushness found nowhere else".
This topographic range combined with a
tropical
The tropics are the regions of Earth surrounding the Equator. They are defined in latitude by the Tropic of Cancer in the Northern Hemisphere at N and the Tropic of Capricorn in
the Southern Hemisphere at S. The tropics are also referred to ...
moisture sustains extremely high
biodiversity
Biodiversity or biological diversity is the variety and variability of life on Earth. Biodiversity is a measure of variation at the genetic (''genetic variability''), species (''species diversity''), and ecosystem (''ecosystem diversity'') l ...
and high degrees of
endemism
Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found elsew ...
, probably the richest botanically in the world's temperate regions.
Perhaps 17,000
species
In biology, a species is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate s ...
of higher plants, of which an estimated 2,500 are endemic, can be found in the province. The province is said to have "as much flowering plant diversity as the rest of the Northern Hemisphere put together".
[David Paterson, Kunming Institute of Botany’s honorary senior horticulturalist and former director of the Royal Botanic Garden in ]Edinburgh
Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian ...
, Scotland
Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...
.
Yunnan has less than 4% of the land of China, yet the province harbors around 42.6% of all protected plant species and 72.5% of all protected wild animals in the country, of which 15% are strictly endemic to Yunnan. Yunnan is home to, most notably, the southeast Asian
gaur
The gaur (''Bos gaurus''; ), also known as the Indian bison, is a bovine native to South Asia and Southeast Asia, and has been listed as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List since 1986. The global population was estimated at a maximum of 21,000 m ...
, a giant forest-dwelling
bovine
Bovines (subfamily Bovinae) comprise a diverse group of 10 genera of medium to large-sized ungulates, including cattle, bison, African buffalo, water buffalos, and the four-horned and spiral-horned antelopes. The evolutionary relationship betwee ...
, the
Indochinese tiger
The Indochinese tiger is a population of the ''Panthera tigris tigris'' subspecies that is native to Southeast Asia. This population occurs in Myanmar, Thailand, and Laos. In 2011, the population was thought to comprise 342 individuals, including ...
and the
Asian elephant
The Asian elephant (''Elephas maximus''), also known as the Asiatic elephant, is the only living species of the genus ''Elephas'' and is distributed throughout the Indian subcontinent and Southeast Asia, from India in the west, Nepal in the no ...
.
[Smith, A. T.; and Xie, Y. (2008). ''A Guide to the Mammals of China.'' New Jersey: Princeton University Press. .] Other extremely rare species are the
Yunnan box turtle
The Yunnan box turtle (''Cuora yunnanensis'') is a species of turtle in the Family (biology), family Geoemydidae (formerly Bataguridae). It is believed to be Endemism, endemic to Yunnan, China (in Kunming and Huize) and was suspected to be extin ...
and the
Yunnan snub-nosed monkey
The black-and-white snub-nosed monkey (''Rhinopithecus bieti''), also known as the Yunnan snub-nosed monkey, is a large black and white primate that lives only in the southern Chinese province of Yunnan, where it is known to the locals as the Yun ...
. It is feared that the
Yunnan lar gibbon, another moribund species, has already gone extinct. Yunnan province has 11 national and regional nature reserves. In total, the covered protected area in China is about 510,000 hectares.
The freshwater fish fauna is highly diverse with about 620 species, including more than 580 natives (the remaining are
introduced).
This equals almost 40% of the freshwater fish species in China. Of the Yunnan natives, more than 250 are endemic to the province and many of these are threatened.
[ Several species that are restricted to single lakes (notably ]Dian Dian may refer to:
Places
* Dian Kingdom, ancient kingdom in modern Yunnan province, China
* ''Diān'' (滇), an official abbreviation for Yunnan province
* Lake Dian, a lake in Yunnan
* Dian, Armenia, a village
*
People
* Dian (given name), a lis ...
, Erhai
Erhai or Er Lake (), is an alpine fault lake in Yunnan province, China. Erhai was also known as Yeyuze () or Kunming Lake () in ancient times.
Etymology
The character "洱" (er) does not have the same meaning as ear (耳). During the Han to Tang ...
, Fuxian and Yilong Yilong may refer to :
* Yilong Lake (异龙湖), in Shiping County, Yunnan, China
*Yilong County
Yilong () is a county in the northeast of Sichuan Province, China. It is under the administration of the prefecture-level city of Nanchong. Zhu De's ...
) are likely already are extinct. By far, the most diverse order in Yunnan are Cypriniformes
Cypriniformes is an order of ray-finned fish, including the carps, minnows, loaches, and relatives. Cypriniformes is an Order within the Superorder Ostariophysi consisting of "Carp-like" Ostariophysins. This order contains 11-12 families, ...
, both in total species number and number of endemics.[
The unique '' Sinopyrophorus'' bioluminescent beetles were described from Yunnan in 2019.]
Designation
Yunnan has been designated:
*"Center of Plant Diversity" (IUCN/WWF: Davis et al. 1995)
*"Global 200 List Priority Ecoregion" for biodiversity conservation (WWF: Olsen and Dinerstein 1998)
*"Endemic Bird Area" (Birdlife International: Bibby, C. et al. 1992) and
*"Global Biodiversity Hotspot", as a part of the Hengduan Mountain Ecosystem (Conservation International: Mittermeier and Mittermeier 1997)
Natural resources
A main source of wealth lies in its vast mineral resources
Natural resources are resources that are drawn from nature and used with few modifications. This includes the sources of valued characteristics such as commercial and industrial use, aesthetic value, scientific interest and cultural value. O ...
; indeed, mining is the leading industry in Yunnan. Yunnan has proven deposits of 86 kinds of minerals in 2,700 places. Some 13% of the proved deposits of minerals are the largest of their kind in China, and two-thirds of the deposits are among the largest of their kind in the Yangtze River valley and in south China. Yunnan ranks first in the country in deposits of zinc
Zinc is a chemical element with the symbol Zn and atomic number 30. Zinc is a slightly brittle metal at room temperature and has a shiny-greyish appearance when oxidation is removed. It is the first element in group 12 (IIB) of the periodi ...
, lead
Lead is a chemical element with the symbol Pb (from the Latin ) and atomic number 82. It is a heavy metal that is denser than most common materials. Lead is soft and malleable, and also has a relatively low melting point. When freshly cu ...
, tin
Tin is a chemical element with the symbol Sn (from la, stannum) and atomic number 50. Tin is a silvery-coloured metal.
Tin is soft enough to be cut with little force and a bar of tin can be bent by hand with little effort. When bent, t ...
, cadmium
Cadmium is a chemical element with the symbol Cd and atomic number 48. This soft, silvery-white metal is chemically similar to the two other stable metals in group 12, zinc and mercury. Like zinc, it demonstrates oxidation state +2 in most of ...
, indium
Indium is a chemical element with the symbol In and atomic number 49. Indium is the softest metal that is not an alkali metal. It is a silvery-white metal that resembles tin in appearance. It is a post-transition metal that makes up 0.21 parts p ...
, thallium
Thallium is a chemical element with the Symbol (chemistry), symbol Tl and atomic number 81. It is a gray post-transition metal that is not found free in nature. When isolated, thallium resembles tin, but discolors when exposed to air. Chemists W ...
and crocidolite
Riebeckite is a sodium-rich member of the amphibole group of silicate minerals, chemical formula Na2(Fe2+3Fe3+2)Si8O22(OH)2. It forms a solid solution series with magnesioriebeckite. It crystallizes in the monoclinic system, usually as long prisma ...
. Other deposits include iron
Iron () is a chemical element with symbol Fe (from la, ferrum) and atomic number 26. It is a metal that belongs to the first transition series and group 8 of the periodic table. It is, by mass, the most common element on Earth, right in f ...
, coal
Coal is a combustible black or brownish-black sedimentary rock, formed as rock strata called coal seams. Coal is mostly carbon with variable amounts of other elements, chiefly hydrogen, sulfur, oxygen, and nitrogen.
Coal is formed when dea ...
, copper
Copper is a chemical element with the symbol Cu (from la, cuprum) and atomic number 29. It is a soft, malleable, and ductile metal with very high thermal and electrical conductivity. A freshly exposed surface of pure copper has a pinkis ...
, gold
Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au (from la, aurum) and atomic number 79. This makes it one of the higher atomic number elements that occur naturally. It is a bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile met ...
, mercury
Mercury commonly refers to:
* Mercury (planet), the nearest planet to the Sun
* Mercury (element), a metallic chemical element with the symbol Hg
* Mercury (mythology), a Roman god
Mercury or The Mercury may also refer to:
Companies
* Merc ...
, silver
Silver is a chemical element with the Symbol (chemistry), symbol Ag (from the Latin ', derived from the Proto-Indo-European wikt:Reconstruction:Proto-Indo-European/h₂erǵ-, ''h₂erǵ'': "shiny" or "white") and atomic number 47. A soft, whi ...
, antimony
Antimony is a chemical element with the symbol Sb (from la, stibium) and atomic number 51. A lustrous gray metalloid, it is found in nature mainly as the sulfide mineral stibnite (Sb2S3). Antimony compounds have been known since ancient time ...
and sulfur
Sulfur (or sulphur in British English) is a chemical element with the symbol S and atomic number 16. It is abundant, multivalent and nonmetallic. Under normal conditions, sulfur atoms form cyclic octatomic molecules with a chemical formula ...
. More than 150 kinds of minerals have been discovered in the province. The potential value of the proven deposits in Yunnan is 3 trillion yuan, 40% of which come from fuel minerals, 7.3% from metallic minerals and 52.7% from nonmetallic minerals.
Yunnan has sufficient rainfall and many rivers and lakes. The annual water flow originating in the province is 200 cubic kilometres, three times that of the Yellow River
The Yellow River or Huang He (Chinese: , Standard Beijing Mandarin, Mandarin: ''Huáng hé'' ) is the second-longest river in China, after the Yangtze River, and the List of rivers by length, sixth-longest river system in the world at th ...
. The rivers flowing into the province from outside add 160 cubic kilometres, which means there are more than ten thousand cubic metres of water for each person in the province. This is four times the average in the country. The rich water resources offer abundant hydro-energy. China is constructing a series of dams on the Mekong to develop it as a waterway and source of power; the first was completed at Manwan in 1993.
Scenic areas
National parks
*Pudacuo National Park
Potatso National Park or Pudacuo National Park () is a national park located in Shangri-La County, Yunnan Province in the People's Republic of China. The park was announced on June 25, 2007, and is notable as the first national park in China to m ...
, opened in 2007, in Shangri-La County
Shangri-La (, Tibetan: Gyalthang) is a county-level city in Northwestern Yunnan Province, People's Republic of China and is the location of the seat of the Dêqên Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, bordering Sichuan to the northwest, north, and ea ...
* Laojunshan National Park (), in Lijiang
Lijiang (), also known as Likiang, is a prefecture-level city in the northwest of Yunnan Province, China. It has an area of and had a population of 1,253,878 at the 2020 census whom 288,787 lived in the built-up area (metro) made of Gucheng ...
, ''pending approval''
UNESCO World Heritage Sites
*Old Town of Lijiang
Dayan (), commonly called the Old Town of Lijiang () is the historical center of Lijiang City, in Yunnan, China. It is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
History
The town has a history going back more than 1,000 years and was once a confluence for ...
, accepted in 1997 as a cultural site
*Three Parallel Rivers of Yunnan Protected Areas
The Three Parallel Rivers of Yunnan Protected Areas () is a UNESCO World Heritage Site in Yunnan province, China. It lies within the drainage basins of the upper reaches of the Jinsha (Yangtze), Lancang (Mekong) and Nujiang ( Salween) rivers, in ...
, accepted in 2003 as a natural site
*South China Karst
The South China Karst (), a UNESCO World Heritage Site since June 2007, spans the provinces of Chongqing, Guangxi, Guizhou, and Yunnan. It is noted for its karst features and landscapes as well as rich biodiversity. The site comprises seven clust ...
, accepted in 2007 as a natural site
*Maotianshan Shales
The Maotianshan Shales are a series of Cambrian, Early Cambrian deposits in the Chiungchussu Formation, famous for their ''Lagerstätte, Konservat Lagerstätten'', deposits known for the exceptional preservation of fossilized organisms or traces. ...
, accepted in 2012 as a natural site
*Yuanyang County, Yunnan, Cultural Landscape of Honghe Hani Rice Terraces, accepted in 2013 as a cultural site
Governance
Administrative divisions
Yunnan consists of sixteen Administrative divisions of China#Prefectural level, prefecture-level divisions: eight Prefecture-level city, prefecture-level cities and eight autonomous prefectures:
These 16 prefecture-level divisions are in turn subdivided into 129 county-level divisions (17 District of China, districts, 18 county-level cities, 65 County (People's Republic of China), counties, and 29 Autonomous counties of the People's Republic of China, autonomous counties). At the end of the year 2021, the total population is 48.01 millio
Urban areas
Politics
Secretaries of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) Yunnan Committee: The Chinese Communist Party Committee Secretary, Secretary of the CCP is the highest ranking and most important position in Yunnan.[
# Song Renqiong (): 1950–1952
# Xie Fuzhi (): July 1952 – August 1959
# Yan Hongyan (): August 1959 – January 1967
# Zhou Xing (PRC), Zhou Xing (): June 1971 – October 1975
# Jia Qiyun (): October 1975 – February 1977
# An Pingsheng (): February 1977 – July 1985
# Pu Chaozhu (): July 1985 – June 1995
# Gao Yan (politician), Gao Yan (): June 1995 – August 1997
# Linghu An (): August 1997 – October 2001
# Bai Enpei (): October 2001 – August 2011][
# Qin Guangrong (): August 2011 – October 2014
# Li Jiheng (): October 2014 – August 2016
# Chen Hao (politician), Chen Hao (): August 2016 – November 2020
# Ruan Chengfa (): November 2020 - October 2021
# Wang Ning (politician, born 1961), Wang Ning (): October 2021 - present
Governors of Yunnan: The Governor (China), Governor is the second highest office in Yunnan, after the Secretary of the CCP Yunnan Committee.][ The Governor, who is elected by the Yunnan Provincial People's Congress, is responsible for all economic, Environmental policy, environmental, political, personnel and Foreign policy, foreign affairs issues concerning Yunnan.][
# Chen Geng (): March 1950 – February 1955
# Guo Yingqiu (): February 1955 – November 1958
# Ding Yichuan (): November 1958 – January 1965
# Zhou Xing (PRC), Zhou Xing (): January 1965 – 1966
# Tan Furen (): August 1968 – October 1970
# Zhou Xing: October 1970 – October 1975
# Jia Qiyun (): October 1975 – February 1977
# An Pingsheng (): February 1977 – December 1979
# Liu Minghui (): December 1979 – April 1983
# Pu Chaozhu (): April 1983 – August 1985
# He Zhiqiang (): August 1985 – January 1998
# Li Jiating (): January 1998 – June 2001
# Xu Rongkai (): June 2001 – November 2006
# Qin Guangrong (): January 2007 – August 2011]
# Li Jiheng (): August 2011 – October 2014
# Chen Hao (politician), Chen Hao (): October 2014 – December 2016
# Ruan Chengfa (): December 2016 - November 2020
# Wang Yubo (): November 2020 - present
Demographics
According to Yunnan government statistics, there are approximately 2.5 million overseas Chinese whose ancestral homeland is Yunnan province.
Ethnicity
Yunnan is noted for a very high level of ethnic diversity. It has the highest number of ethnic groups among the provinces and autonomous regions in China. Among the country's Ethnic minorities in China, 56 recognised ethnic groups, twenty-five are found in Yunnan. Some 38% of the province population are members of ethnic minorities, including the Yi, Bai, Hani, Tai
Tai or TAI may refer to:
Arts and entertainment
*Tai (comics) a fictional Marvel Comics supervillain
*Tai Fraiser, a fictional character in the 1995 film ''Clueless''
*Tai Kamiya, a fictional character in ''Digimon''
Businesses and organisations ...
, Dai, Miao Miao may refer to:
* Miao people, linguistically and culturally related group of people, recognized as such by the government of the People's Republic of China
* Miao script or Pollard script, writing system used for Miao languages
* Miao (Unicode ...
, Lisu people, Lisu, Hui people, Hui, Lahu people, Lahu, Wa people, Wa, Nakhi people, Nakhi, Yao people, Yao, Tibetan people, Tibetans, Jingpo people, Jingpo, Blang people, Blang, Pumi people, Pumi, Nu people, Nu, Achang people, Achang, Jino people, Jinuo, Yunnan Mongols, Mongols, Derung, Manchu people, Manchus, Sui people, Sui, and Bouyei people, Buyei. Several other groups are represented, but they live neither in compact settlements nor do they reach the required threshold of five thousand to be awarded the official status of being present in the province. Some groups, such as the Mosuo, who are officially recognised as part of the Naxi people, Naxi, have in the past claimed official status as a national minority, and are now recognised with the status of Mosuo people.
Ethnic groups are widely distributed in the province. Some twenty-five minorities live in compact communities, each of which has a population of more than five thousand. Ten ethnic minorities living in border areas and river valleys include the Hui people, Hui, Manchu people, Manchus, Bai, Naxi people, Naxi, Mongols, Zhuang, Dai, Achang, Buyei and Shui people, Shui, with a combined population of 4.5 million; those in low mountainous areas are the Hani, Yao people, Yao, Lahu people, Lahu, Va people, Va, Jingpo people, Jingpo, Blang people, Blang and Jino, with a combined population of 5 million; and those in high mountainous areas are Miao Miao may refer to:
* Miao people, linguistically and culturally related group of people, recognized as such by the government of the People's Republic of China
* Miao script or Pollard script, writing system used for Miao languages
* Miao (Unicode ...
, Lisu people, Lisu, Tibetan people, Tibetan, Pumi people, Pumi and Derung, Drung, with a total population of four million.
Languages
Most Dialect, dialects of the Chinese language spoken in Yunnan belong to the southwestern Mandarin, southwestern subdivision of the Mandarin Chinese, Mandarin group, and are therefore very similar to the dialects of neighboring Sichuan
Sichuan (; zh, c=, labels=no, ; zh, p=Sìchuān; alternatively romanized as Szechuan or Szechwan; formerly also referred to as "West China" or "Western China" by Protestant missions) is a province in Southwest China occupying most of the ...
and Guizhou
Guizhou (; formerly Kweichow) is a landlocked province in the southwest region of the People's Republic of China. Its capital and largest city is Guiyang, in the center of the province. Guizhou borders the autonomous region of Guangxi to t ...
provinces. Notable features found in many Yunnan dialects include the partial or complete loss of distinction between finals and , as well as the lack of . In addition to the local dialects, most people also speak Standard Chinese (''Putonghua'', commonly called "Mandarin"), which is used in the media, by the government, and as the language of instruction in education.
Yunnan's ethnic diversity is reflected in its linguistic diversity. Languages spoken in Yunnan include Tibeto-Burman languages such as Bai, Yi language, Yi, Standard Tibetan, Tibetan, Hani language, Hani, Jingpo language, Jingpo, Lisu language, Lisu, Lahu language, Lahu, Naxi language, Naxi; Tai languages like Zhuang languages, Zhuang, Bouyei language, Bouyei, Dong language (China), Dong, Shui language, Shui, Tai Lü language, Tai Lü and Tai Nüa language, Tai Nüa; as well as Hmong–Mien languages.
The Naxi language, Naxi, in particular, use the Dongba script, which is the only pictographic writing system in use in the world today. The Dongba script was mainly used to provide the Dongba priests with instructions on how to carry out their rituals: today the Dongba script features more as a tourist attraction. Perhaps the best known Western Dongba scholar was Joseph Rock.
Literacy
By the end of 1998, among the province's population, 419,800 had received college education or above, 2.11 million senior middle school education, 8.3 million junior middle school education, 18.25 million primary school education, and 8.25 million aged 15 or above were illiterate or semi-literate.
Religion
According to a demographic analysis of religions in Yunnan, almost 90% of the population belonged to ethnic minorities; however, as of 2005 the province had around 4 million believers of the religion in China, five government-sanctioned organised religious doctrines of China. Of these:
*2.6 million or about 6% of the total population are Buddhism, Buddhists;
*620,000 or 1.4% are Islam, Muslims;
*530,000 or 1.2% are Protestantism, Protestants;
*240,000 or 0.5% are Taoism, Taoists (note that "Taoist" traditionally only includes Taoist priest, priests);
*66,000 or 0.1% are Catholicism, Catholics.
According to surveys conducted in 2004 and 2007, in those years approximately 32.22% of the province's population was involved in Chinese ancestral religion, worship of ancestors and 2.75% declared a Christian identity.[China General Social Survey 2004, Chinese Spiritual Life Survey 2007. Report by]
Xiuhua Wang (2015, p. 15)
Most of the population of the province practices traditional indigenous religions including the Chinese folk religion among the Han Chinese, Bimoism among the Yi peoples and Benzhuism among the Bai people. The Dai people are one of the few ethnic minorities of China that traditionally follow the Theravada branch of Buddhism, making Yunnan the only province in China where all three major Buddhist schools are widely practiced. Most of the Hui people
The Hui people ( zh, c=, p=Huízú, w=Hui2-tsu2, Xiao'erjing: , dng, Хуэйзў, ) are an East Asian ethnoreligious group predominantly composed of Chinese-speaking adherents of Islam. They are distributed throughout China, mainly in the ...
of the region are Muslims. Christianity is dominant among the Lisu people, Lisu, the Jingpo people, Jingpo and the Derung people, Derung ethnic groups.
Image gallery
File:Yunnan xingjiao temple.jpg, Xinjiao Temple in Shaxi, Yunnan, Shaxi.
File:Huating Temple 04.JPG, Huating Buddhist Temple in the Western Mountains (Xishan) of Kunming.
File:Guishan Temple.jpg, Guishan Buddhist Temple of the Tibetan Buddhism, Tibetan tradition.
File:昆明太和宫金殿.JPG, Hall of the Golden Taoist Temple in Kunming.
File:拖姑清真寺_-_panoramio_-_hilloo_(50).jpg, Tuogu Mosque in Ludian County.
Image:Weihan_Manduan_Temple_Menghai.jpg, Dai Theravada Buddhist temple in Menghai County, Xishuangbanna Dai Autonomous Prefecture, Xishuangbanna.
File:Anning lianran wenmiao.JPG, Anning Confucian Memorial
File:Zhongdian-sumtseling-gompa-c05.jpg, Zhongdian Ganden Sumtseling Monastery, Sumzênling goinba
File:云南丙中洛重丁教堂3.JPG, Bingzhongluo Church, Gongshan County
File:Kunming - Beijing Lu - Church - P1340598.JPG, Cathedral of the Sacred Heart of Kunming
Agriculture
The region maintains a strong agricultural focus. Agriculture is restricted to the few upland plains, open valleys, and terraced hillsides. Level land for agriculture is extremely scarce and only about 5 percent of the province is under cultivation. Rice is the main crop; Maize, corn, barley, wheat, rapeseed, sweet potatoes, soybeans (as a food crop), Yunnan tea, tea, sugarcane, tobacco, and cotton are also grown. On the steep slopes in the west livestock is raised and timber, a valuable resource, is cut (teak in the southwest).
Yunnan produces most of coffee grown in China (although there are also much smaller plantations in Fujian and Hainan). Large-scale coffee cultivation started in Yunnan in 1988. The most commonly grown List of coffee varieties, variety in the province is catimor.
Tobacco is the main (export) product and makes up a big part of the provincial GDP. Furthermore, Yunnan has a strong competitive potential in the fruit and vegetable industries, especially in low value-added commodities such as fresh and dried vegetables and fresh apples.
Yunnan is one of the regions in the world with the most abundant resources of wild edible mushrooms. In China, there are 938 kinds of edible mushrooms, and over 800 varieties can be found in Yunnan. In 2004, around 7,744 tons of wild edible mushrooms were exported, making up for 70% of the total export of this product in China. The so-called 'pine mushroom' is the main product in Yunnan and is exported to Japan in large quantities.
Due to China's growing consumption of dairy products, Yunnan's dairy industry is also developing very rapidly and is also aiming to export to its ASEAN neighbors.
The flower industry in Yunnan province started to develop towards the end of the 1980s. Yunnan province accounts for 50% of China's total cut flower production. The size of the planting area for cut flowers in Yunnan province amounts to 4000 hectares. In 2003, the output totaled 2.3 billion stems. In 2002 the flower industry in Yunnan had a total output of RMB 3.4 billion. Export amounted to US$18 million. Apart from sales on the domestic market, Yunnan also exports to a number of foreign countries and regions such as Japan, Korea, Hong Kong, Thailand and Singapore.
Economy
As of the mid-19th century, Yunnan exported birds, brass, tin, gemstones, musk, nuts, and peafowl, peacock feathers mainly to stores in Guangzhou. They imported silk, wool, and cotton cloth, tobacco and books.
Yunnan is one of China's relatively undeveloped provinces with more poverty-stricken County (People's Republic of China), counties than the other provinces. In 1994, about 7 million people lived below the poverty line of less than an annual average income of 300 yuan per capita. They were distributed in the province's 73 counties mainly and financially supported by the central government. With an input of 3.15 billion yuan in 2002, the absolutely poor rural population in the province has been reduced from 4.05 million in 2000 to 2.86 million. The poverty alleviation plan includes five large projects aimed at improving infrastructure facilities. They involve planned attempts at soil improvement, water conservation, electric power, roads, and "green belt" building. Upon the completion of the projects, the province hopes this will alleviate the shortages of grain, water, electric power and roads.
Yunnan lags behind the east coast of China in relation to socio-economic development. However, because of its geographic location the province has comparative advantages in regional and border trade with Southeast Asian countries. The Lancang River (upper reaches of Mekong River) is the waterway to southeast Asia. In recent years land transportation has been improved to strengthen economic and trade co-operation among countries in the Greater Mekong Subregion. Yunnan's abundance in resources determines that the province's pillar Industry (economics), industries are: agriculture, tobacco, mining, hydro-Electric power industry in China, electric power, and tourism. In general, the province still depends on the natural resources. The secondary sector is currently the largest industrial tier in Yunnan, contributing more than 45 percent of GDP. The tertiary sector contributes 40 percent and agriculture 15 percent. Investment is the key driver of Yunnan's economic growth, especially in construction.
The main challenge that Yunnan faces is its lack of major development economics, development. Its low productivity and Competition (companies), competitiveness restrict the rapid development of the province. The province also faces great challenges in social issues such as environmental protection, poverty elimination, illegal immigration, illegal migration, drug trafficking and HIV/AIDS in Yunnan, HIV/AIDS.
Yunnan's four pillar industries include tobacco, agriculture/biology, mining, and tourism. The main manufacturing industries are iron and steel production and copper-smelting, commercial vehicles, chemicals, fertilizers, textiles, and optical instruments. Yunnan has trade contacts with more than seventy countries and regions in the world. Yunnan established the Muse (Shan State), Muse border trade zone (located in Ruili
Ruili (; tdd, ᥛᥫᥒᥰ ᥛᥣᥝᥰ; shn, မိူင်းမၢဝ်း; th, เมืองมาว; my, ရွှေလီ) is a county-level city of Dehong Prefecture, in the west of Yunnan province, People's Republic of China. It ...
) along its border with Burma. Yunnan mainly exports tobacco, machinery and electrical equipment, chemical and agricultural products, and non-ferrous metals. In 2008, its total two-way trade (imports and exports) reached US$9.6 billion. The province signed foreign direct investment contracts involving US$1.69 billion, of which US$777 million were actually utilized during the year.
Yunnan's employment rate remind stable. The total number of newly-entered-employee were 49.35 thousand people. The Unemployment, unemployment rate at the end of 2020 was 3.92%. Yunnan's nominal GDP in 2020 was 24521.9 billion Yuan( US$3850.92 billion), an annual growth rate of 4.0%. Its per capita GDP was 50,299 Yuan ( US$ 7,898.96). The share of GDP of Yunnan's Primary sector of the economy, primary, Secondary sector of the economy, secondary and Tertiary sector of the economy, tertiary industries were 3598.91 billion Yuan, 8287.54 billion Yuan, and 12635.45 billion Yuan respectively.
Yunnan is one of the major production bases of copper, lead, zinc, tin and aluminum in China. Gejiu is well known as "the Kingdom of Zinc" with the reserves ranked first in the country. The Yunxi brand refined tin is one of the main products in Gejiu, which is registered on the London Metal Exchange (LME). Besides, reserves of germanium, indium, zirconium, platinum, rock salt, sylvite, nickel, phosphate, mirabilite, arsenic and blue asbestos are also high. Significant copper deposits are found at Dongchuan District, Dongchuan, iron ore at Wuding, and coal at Xuanwei and Kaiyuan City, Honghe, Yunnan, Kaiyuan. Economic policy to locate new industry in interior areas with substantial mineral wealth, led to major industrial development in Yunnan, especially in the Kunming, Kunming area.
The electricity industry is another important economic pillar of Yunnan, which plays a key role in the "West-East Electricity Transmission Project". The electricity produced in Yunnan is mainly transported to Guangdong.
Economic and Technological Development Zones
*Kunming Economic and Technological Development Zone
First established in 1992, Kunming Economic & Technology Development Zone is a national-level zone approved by the State Council. Kunming is located in east-central Yunnan province with preferential location. After several years' development, the zone has formed its pillar industries, which include tobacco processing, machinery manufacturing, electronic information, and biotechnology.
*
The Kunming High-tech Industrial Development Zone (KMHNZ), is a state-level high-tech industrial zone established in 1992 in Northwest Kunming. It is administratively under Kunming Prefecture. It has covers an area of . KMHNZ is located in the northwest part of Kunming city, 4 kilometers from Kunming Railway Station, 5 kilometers from Kunming International Airport.
*Kunming
Kunming (; ), also known as Yunnan-Fu, is the capital and largest city of Yunnan province, China. It is the political, economic, communications and cultural centre of the province as well as the seat of the provincial government. The headquar ...
Dianchi Tourism & Vacation Zone
*Kunming Airport Economic Zone
*Ruili
Ruili (; tdd, ᥛᥫᥒᥰ ᥛᥣᥝᥰ; shn, မိူင်းမၢဝ်း; th, เมืองมาว; my, ရွှေလီ) is a county-level city of Dehong Prefecture, in the west of Yunnan province, People's Republic of China. It ...
Ruili Border Economic Cooperation Zone, Border Trade Economic Cooperation Zone
Ruili Border Economic Cooperation Zone (RLBECZ) is a Chinese State Council-approved Industrial Park based in Ruili, Dehong Prefecture, founded in 1992 and was established to promote trade between China and Burma. The area's import and export trade include the processing industry, local agriculture and biological resources are very promising. Sino-Burmese business is growing fast. Burma is now one of Yunnan's biggest foreign trade partners. In 1999, Sino-Burmese trade accounted for 77.4% of Yunnan's foreign trade. In the same year, exports for electromechanical equipments came up to US$55.28 million. Main exports here include fiber cloth, cotton yarn, ceresin wax, mechanical equipments, fruits, rice seeds, fiber yarn and tobacco.
*Wanding Border Economic Cooperation Zone
Wanding Border Economic Cooperation Zone (WTBECZ) is a Chinese State Council-approved Industrial Park based in Wanding Town, Ruili, Dehong, founded in 1992 and was established to promote trade between China and Burma. The zone spans and is focused on developing trading, processing, agriculture resources and tourism.
*Qujing
Qujing () is a prefecture-level city in the east of Yunnan province, China, bordering Guizhou province to the east and the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region to the southeast; thus, it was called "Key between Yunnan and Guizhou" () and "Throat of Yu ...
Economic and Technological Development Zone
Qujing Economic and Technological Development Zone (QETDZ) is a provincial development zone approved by Yunnan Provincial Government in August 1992. It is located in the east of urban Qujing, the second largest city in Yunnan in terms of economic strengths. The location of the development zone is the economic, political and cultural center of Qujing. As an agency under Qujing municipal Party committee and municipal government, the administrative commission of QETDZ functions as an economy supervising body at the prefecture level and an administration body at the county level. It has under its jurisdiction. It shoulders the task of building a new 40-square-kilometer city area and providing service for a population of 400,000 in the upcoming 10 years.
*Yuxi
Yuxi () is a prefecture-level city in the central part of Yunnan province of the People's Republic of China. The administrative center of Yuxi is Hongta District. Yuxi is approximately south of Kunming.
Geography
Yuxi is located in the center ...
Economic and Technological Development Zone
*Dali City, Yunnan, Dali Economic and Technological Development Zone
*Chuxiong Yi Autonomous Prefecture, Chuxiong Economic and Technological Development Zone
Chuxiong Economic Development Zone is an important zone in Yunnan. Now the zone has attracted a number of investment projects. It is an important industry for the development of new-type industry platform. The zone covers an area of , composed of four parks.
*Songming Yanglin Experimental Zone for County & Township Industries
* Hekou Border Economic Cooperation Zone
First established in 1992, Hekou Border Economic Cooperation Zone is a border zone approved by State Council to promote Sino-Vietnamese trade. It has a planned area of . The zone implemented several policies to serve its clients in China from various industries and sectors including investment, trade, finance, taxation, immigration, etc.
Jiegao
Border Trade Economic Zone
*Old Town of Lijiang, Lijiang Yulong Snow Mountain Tourism Zone
*Cang Mountain
Cangshan or Cang Mountain () is a mountain range immediately west of Dali City in Yunnan province of Southwest China.
The highest summit, Malong, is 4,122 m, but the range includes another 18 peaks that are over 3,500 m elevation.
History
The mo ...
& Erhai Lake
Erhai or Er Lake (), is an alpine fault lake in Yunnan province, China. Erhai was also known as Yeyuze () or Kunming Lake () in ancient times.
Etymology
The character "洱" (er) does not have the same meaning as ear (耳). During the Han to Tan ...
Tourism and Vacation Zone at Dali
*Xishuangbanna Tourism and Vacation Zone
*Tengchong Tourism and Vacation Zone
*Yangzonghai Lake Tourism and Vacation Zone
*Fuxian Lake
Fuxian Lake () stretches out through Chengjiang, Jiangchuan and Huaning Counties in Yunnan Province, spanning an area of 212 square kilometers. The lake is ranked third-largest in Yunnan, after Dian Lake and Erhai Lake. Also the deepest lake i ...
Tourism and Vacation Zone
Education
Since the 1960s, improvements have been achieved in the overall educational level, which can be seen in the increase in average years of regular education received. The development of part-time school education, schools have brought adult education, adult, distance education, distance and continuing education to farms, factories, offices, and other places. Evening, time off work / study leave classes allow people to receive education without leaving their jobs. Policies to upgrade adult education have begun to complement the campaign against illiteracy. A basic Chinese vocabulary in Simplified Chinese characters, simplified Stroke order, strokes is taught to millions of illiterate people in short, intensive courses. Despite progress made, Yunnan's List of Chinese administrative divisions by illiteracy rate, illiteracy rate remains one of the highest in China mainly due to insufficient education among minority peoples.
In Higher education in China, higher education, Yunnan has one "National Key University"—Yunnan University in Kunming
Kunming (; ), also known as Yunnan-Fu, is the capital and largest city of Yunnan province, China. It is the political, economic, communications and cultural centre of the province as well as the seat of the provincial government. The headquar ...
. There is also a growing number of technical schools, among which the most prominent are the Yunnan Normal University, the Southwest Forestry University, Yunnan Agricultural University
Yunnan Academy of Agricultural Sciences
Kunming Medical University, Yunnan University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, and Kunming University of Science and Technology. Other notable establishments of learning are the Template:CAS Kunming, Kunming branch of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, the Yunnan Astronomical Observatory, and the Yunnan Provincial Library. As of 2000, there were 24 institutions of higher learning in Yunnan, with an enrollment of over 90,400 students and a faculty of 9,237; 2,562 secondary schools with an enrollment of more than 2,137,400 students and 120,461 teachers; and 22,151 primary schools with an enrollment of 4,720,600 pupils and a faculty of 210,507. The gross enrollment rate of school-age children was 99.02%.
''See also'': List of universities and colleges in Yunnan
Health
Yunnan Province is responsible for about 50% of officially reported malaria cases in China.
It is presently considered to be the main source of Plague (disease), plague in China.[Zhang Z, Hai R, Song Z, Xia L, Liang Y, Cai H, Liang Y, Shen X, Zhang E, Xu J, Yu D, Yu XJ. (2009) Spatial variation of ''Yersinia pestis'' from Yunnan Province of China. Am J Trop Med Hyg. 81(4):714-717]
HIV-AIDS
*HIV/AIDS in Yunnan
Transport
Railways
The first railway in Yunnan was the narrow gauge Yunnan–Vietnam Railway built by France from 1904 to 1910 to connect Kunming
Kunming (; ), also known as Yunnan-Fu, is the capital and largest city of Yunnan province, China. It is the political, economic, communications and cultural centre of the province as well as the seat of the provincial government. The headquar ...
with Vietnam
Vietnam or Viet Nam ( vi, Việt Nam, ), officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam,., group="n" is a country in Southeast Asia, at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of and population of 96 million, making i ...
, then a French colony. In Yunnan, the Chinese section of this railway is known as the Yunnan-Hekou Railway and the line gave Yunnan access to the seaport at Haiphong. During the Second World War, Britain and the United States began building a Yunnan–Burma Railway, railway from Yunnan to Burma but abandoned the effort due to Japanese advance.
Due in part to difficult terrain both locally and in surrounding provinces and the shortage of capital for rail construction, Yunnan remained outside of China's domestic rail network until 1966 when the Shanghai–Kunming Railway, Guiyang–Kunming Railway was completed. The line would not enter into operation until 1970, the same year that the Chengdu–Kunming Railway, Chengdu-Kunming was completed. The Nanning–Kunming Railway to Guangxi
Guangxi (; ; Chinese postal romanization, alternately romanized as Kwanghsi; ; za, Gvangjsih, italics=yes), officially the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region (GZAR), is an Autonomous regions of China, autonomous region of the People's Republic ...
was completed in 1997, followed by the Neijiang–Kunming Railway in 2001. The Pan County West Railway, Panxi Railway, originally built in 1975 to draw coal from neighboring Guizhou, was electrified in 2001 and adds to eastern Yunnan's outbound rail transport capacity.
Within the province, the Kunming–Yuxi Railway, Kunming–Yuxi, opened in 1993, and the Guangtong–Dali Railway, Guangtong–Dali, opened in 1998, expanded the rail network to southern and western Yunnan, respectively. The Dali–Lijiang Railway, opened in 2010, brought rail service to northwestern Yunnan. That line is planned to be Lijiang–Xamgyi'nyilha Railway, extended further north to Xamgyi'nyilha County.
The province is extending the railway network to neighboring countries in Southeast Asia. From Yuxi
Yuxi () is a prefecture-level city in the central part of Yunnan province of the People's Republic of China. The administrative center of Yuxi is Hongta District. Yuxi is approximately south of Kunming.
Geography
Yuxi is located in the center ...
, the Yuxi–Mengzi Railway, built from 2005 to 2013, and the Mengzi–Hekou Railway, under construction since 2008, will form a standard gauge railway connection with Vietnam
Vietnam or Viet Nam ( vi, Việt Nam, ), officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam,., group="n" is a country in Southeast Asia, at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of and population of 96 million, making i ...
. The Dali–Ruili Railway, under construction since May 2011, will bring rail service to the border with Myanmar
Myanmar, ; UK pronunciations: US pronunciations incl. . Note: Wikipedia's IPA conventions require indicating /r/ even in British English although only some British English speakers pronounce r at the end of syllables. As John C. Wells, Joh ...
. Also under planning is a rail line from Yuxi to Mohan, in Xishuangbana Prefecture, on the border with Laos. This line could be extended further south to Thailand
Thailand ( ), historically known as Siam () and officially the Kingdom of Thailand, is a country in Southeast Asia, located at the centre of the Indochinese Peninsula, spanning , with a population of almost 70 million. The country is bo ...
, Malaysia and Singapore.
Burma Road
The Burma Road
The Burma Road () was a road linking Burma (now known as Myanmar) with southwest China. Its terminals were Kunming, Yunnan, and Lashio, Burma. It was built while Burma was a British colony to convey supplies to China during the Second Sino-J ...
was a highway extending about through mountainous terrain from Lashio
Lashio ( ; Shan: ) is the largest town in northern Shan State, Myanmar, about north-east of Mandalay. It is situated on a low mountain spur overlooking the valley of the Yaw River. Loi Leng, the highest mountain of the Shan Hills, is located ...
, northeast Burma northeastward to Kunming, China. Undertaken by the Chinese after the start of the Sino-Japanese War in 1937 and completed in 1938, it was a vital transportation route for wartime supplies to the Chinese government from Rangoon and shipped by railroad to Lashio from 1938 to 1946. An extension runs east through China from Kunming, then north to Chongqing. This traffic increased in importance to China after the Japanese took effective control of the Chinese coast and of Indochina. It was seized by the Japanese in 1942 and reopened when it was connected to the Stilwell Road from India. The Ledo Road (later called the Stilwell Road) from Ledo, Assam, Ledo, India, into Burma was begun in December 1942. In 1944 the Ledo Road reached Myitkyina and was joined to the Burma Road. Both roads have lost their former importance and are in a state of disrepair. The Burma Road's importance diminished after World War II, but it has remained a link in a 3,400-km road system from Yangon, Burma
Myanmar, ; UK pronunciations: US pronunciations incl. . Note: Wikipedia's IPA conventions require indicating /r/ even in British English although only some British English speakers pronounce r at the end of syllables. As John Wells explai ...
, to Chongqing.
Highways
Road construction in Yunnan continues unabated: over the last years the province has added more new roads than any other province. Today expressways link Kunming through Dali to Baoshan, Kunming to Mojiang (on the way to Jinghong), Kunming to Qujing, Kunming to Shilin (Stone Forest). The official plan is to connect all major towns and neighbouring capitals with expressways by 2010, and to complete a high-speed road network by 2020.
All county towns are now accessible by paved, all-weather roads from Kunming, all townships have a road connection (the last to be connected was Yangla, in the far north, but Dulongjiang remains cut off for about six months every year), and about half of all villages have road access.
Second-level national highways stretch , third-level highways, and fourth-level highways, . The province has formed a network of communication lines radiating from Kunming to Sichuan and Guizhou provinces and Guangxi and Tibet autonomous regions, and further on to Burma, Laos, Vietnam and Thailand.
National highways running through Yunnan province are:
*China National Highway 108
*China National Highway 213
*China National Highway 214
*China National Highway 320
*China National Highway 323
*China National Highway 324
*China National Highway 326
Expressways
After the opening of the Suolongsi to Pingyuanjie section, Luofu expressway, the first between Yunnan and Guangxi
Guangxi (; ; Chinese postal romanization, alternately romanized as Kwanghsi; ; za, Gvangjsih, italics=yes), officially the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region (GZAR), is an Autonomous regions of China, autonomous region of the People's Republic ...
Province, opened in October 2007. It has made material and passenger transportation between the two provinces much more convenient. Moreover, Luofu Expressway has also become the main road from Yunnan to Guangxi and the coastal ports. Luofu Expressway begins from the crossroads of Luo Village between Yunnan and Guangxi Provinces and ends at Funing County, Yunnan, Funing County of Wenshan State. The total length of the expressway is 79.3 kilometers which has shortened the commuting, commute between Yunnan and Guangxi from the previous 3 and half hours to just 50 minutes.
Expressways running through Yunnan province are:
*Kunming–Bangkok Expressway (G8511 Kunming–Mohan Expressway, G8511 Kunmo Expressway)
*G5611 Dali–Lijiang Expressway, G5611 Dali Expressway from Dali to Lijiang
Lijiang (), also known as Likiang, is a prefecture-level city in the northwest of Yunnan Province, China. It has an area of and had a population of 1,253,878 at the 2020 census whom 288,787 lived in the built-up area (metro) made of Gucheng ...
*G78 Shantou–Kunming Expressway, G78 Shankun Expressway from Shantou to Kunming
*G80 Guangzhou–Kunming Expressway, G80 Guangkun Expressway from Guangzhou to Kunming
*G8011 Kaiyuan–Hekou Expressway, G8011 Kaihe Expressway from Kaiyuan City, Honghe, Yunnan, Kaiyuan to Hekou on the Vietnamese border
Waterways
Generally, rivers are obstacles to transport in Yunnan. Only very small parts of Yunnan's river systems are navigable. However, China is constructing a series of dams on the Mekong
The Mekong or Mekong River is a trans-boundary river in East Asia and Southeast Asia. It is the world's List of rivers by length, twelfth longest river and List of longest rivers of Asia, the third longest in Asia. Its estimated length is , ...
to develop it as a waterway and source of power; the first was completed at Manwan in 1993.
In 1995, the province put an investment of 171 million yuan to add another of navigation lines. It built two wharfs with an annual handling capacity of 300,000 to 400,000 tons each and four wharfs with an annual handling capacity of 100,000 tons each. The annual volume of goods transported was two million tons and that of passengers transported, two million.
Airports
The province has twenty domestic air routes from Kunming
Kunming (; ), also known as Yunnan-Fu, is the capital and largest city of Yunnan province, China. It is the political, economic, communications and cultural centre of the province as well as the seat of the provincial government. The headquar ...
to Beijing
}
Beijing ( ; ; ), alternatively romanized as Peking ( ), is the capital of the People's Republic of China. It is the center of power and development of the country. Beijing is the world's most populous national capital city, with over 21 ...
, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Chengdu
Chengdu (, ; Simplified Chinese characters, simplified Chinese: 成都; pinyin: ''Chéngdū''; Sichuanese dialects, Sichuanese pronunciation: , Standard Chinese pronunciation: ), Chinese postal romanization, alternatively Romanization of Chi ...
, Haikou, Chongqing, Shenyang, Harbin, Wuhan, Xi'an, Lanzhou, Hangzhou, Xiamen, Nanning, Shenzhen, Guiyang, Changsha
Changsha (; ; ; Changshanese pronunciation: (), Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ) is the capital and the largest city of Hunan Province of China. Changsha is the 17th most populous city in China with a population of over 10 million, an ...
, Guilin, Lhasa and Hong Kong; eleven provincial air routes from Kunming
Kunming (; ), also known as Yunnan-Fu, is the capital and largest city of Yunnan province, China. It is the political, economic, communications and cultural centre of the province as well as the seat of the provincial government. The headquar ...
to Jinghong, Mangshi, Lincang, Tengchong, Lijiang City, Lijiang, Dali, Shangri-la, Xamgyi'nyilha, Zhaotong, Baoshan, Yunnan, Baoshan, Pu'er City, Simao, and Ninglang Luguhu Airport, Ninglang Luguhu; and ten international air routes from Kunming
Kunming (; ), also known as Yunnan-Fu, is the capital and largest city of Yunnan province, China. It is the political, economic, communications and cultural centre of the province as well as the seat of the provincial government. The headquar ...
to Bangkok, Kolkata, Chiang mai, Chiang Mai, Yangon, Singapore, Seoul, Hanoi
Hanoi or Ha Noi ( or ; vi, Hà Nội ) is the capital and second-largest city of Vietnam. It covers an area of . It consists of 12 urban districts, one district-leveled town and 17 rural districts. Located within the Red River Delta, Hanoi is ...
, Ho Chi Minh City, Kuala Lumpur and Vientiane.
Replacing Kunming Wujiaba International Airport is Kunming Changshui International Airport, which opened June 28, 2012.
Bridges
Bridge-building in Yunnan date back at least 1,300 years when the Tibetan Empire
The Tibetan Empire (, ; ) was an empire centered on the Tibetan Plateau, formed as a result of imperial expansion under the Yarlung dynasty heralded by its 33rd king, Songtsen Gampo, in the 7th century. The empire further expanded under the 38 ...
built an iron chain bridge over the Yangtze
The Yangtze or Yangzi ( or ; ) is the longest river in Asia, the third-longest in the world, and the longest in the world to flow entirely within one country. It rises at Jari Hill in the Tanggula Mountains (Tibetan Plateau) and flows ...
to the neighboring Nanzhao Kingdom at what is today Weixi Lisu Autonomous County during the Tang dynasty
The Tang dynasty (, ; zh, t= ), or Tang Empire, was an Dynasties in Chinese history, imperial dynasty of China that ruled from 618 to 907 AD, with an Zhou dynasty (690–705), interregnum between 690 and 705. It was preceded by the Sui dyn ...
. Iron chain bridges are still found across high river valleys of Yunnan. The Jinlong Bridge on the Jinsha River in Lijiang remains the oldest bridge over the Yangtze. With the expansion of the highway and railway network in Yunnan, numerous large-scale bridges have been built across the region's myriad of rivers, including the Yangtze River bridges and tunnels, Yangtze which has dozens of crossings in Yunnan.
Metro
Kunming Rail Transit, Kunming is the only city in Yunnan that has a metro system. As of August 2021, it has 5 lines in operation.
Culture
Yunnan's cultural life is one of remarkable diversity. Archaeological findings have unearthed sacred burial structures holding elegant bronzes in Jinning, south of Kunming
Kunming (; ), also known as Yunnan-Fu, is the capital and largest city of Yunnan province, China. It is the political, economic, communications and cultural centre of the province as well as the seat of the provincial government. The headquar ...
. In northeastern Yunnan, frescoes of the Jin dynasty (266–420) have been discovered in the city of Zhaotong, Zhatong. Many Chinese cultural relics have been discovered in later periods. The lineage of tribal way of life of the indigenous peoples persisted uninfluenced by modernity until the mid-20th century. Tribal traditions, such as Yi slavery, slaveholding and Wa people, Wa headhunting, have since been abolished. After the Cultural Revolution (1966–76), in which several minority cultural and religious practices were suppressed, Yunnan has come to celebrate its cultural diversity and subsequently many local customs and festivals have flourished.
Eighteen Oddities of Yunnan
Cuisine
Tea
Yunnan has several different tea growing regions. One of Yunnan's best known products is Pu-erh tea (or Puer), named after the old tea trading town of Pu-erh Yunnan, Pu-erh (Puer). The province is also known for its Golden Needle tea, Yunnan Gold and other Dian hong tea, Dianhong teas, developed in the 20th century.
Music
Chinese medicine
Yunnan is host to more than 19,000 species of plants, including 60 percent of the plants used in traditional Chinese medicine.
*Yunnan Baiyao
Tourism
Yunnan Province, due to its landscapes, mild climate and cultural diversity, is one of China's major tourist destinations. Most visitors are Chinese tourists, although trips to Yunnan are organized by an increasing number of foreign travel agencies as well. Mainland tourists travel by the masses; 2.75 million Chinese visited Yunnan last October during National Holiday. Also a different trend is slowly developing; small scale and environmentally friendly ecotourism. At the moment projects in this field are often being set up with help of NGO's.
In 2004, tourism revenues amounted to 37 billion RMB, and thus accounting for 12.6% of the provincial GDP. Another fact indicating the importance of tourism in Yunnan Province is capital Kunming hosting the China International Travel Mart every two years. This tourism trade fair is the largest of its kind in Asia and serves as an important platform for professionals in the sector. More than 80 countries and regions were present during the 2005 edition.
Tourism is expected to grow further. In 2010, the province welcomed over 2.3 million overseas tourists and the Yunnan Provincial Tourism Bureau aims to draw 4.3 million overseas arrivals under the 12th Five-Year Tourism Development Plan. Kunming city is expected to add 11 new mid- to high-end hotels with an inventory of under 4,000 rooms between 2012 and 2016.
The Nature Conservancy and the Chinese government came together to form a partnership and explore the possibility of bringing adventure tourism onto the rivers of Southwest China.
two-month white-water expedition
explored from the Mekong River's Moon Gorge to Yangze River's Great Bend. The expedition provided valuable information to the partnership, encouraging them to take into account the safety, culture, economics, and conservation of the Yunnan Province. Creating an adventure tourism sector would bring valuable economic resources to the economically struggling population, who had once relied on logging as income prior to it being banned due to deforestation.
Tourist centres in Yunnan include:
* Dali, the historic center of the Kingdom of Nanzhao, Nanzhao and Kingdom of Dali, Dali kingdoms.
*Chuxiong Yi Autonomous Prefecture, Chuxiong, the first stop on the way to Dali and Lijiang. Home of the Yi ethnic minority and their respective ancient town.
*Jinghong, the center and prefectural capital of the Xishuangbanna Dai minority autonomous prefecture.
*Lijiang City, Lijiang, a Naxi people, Naxi minority city. It has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1997.
*Shangri-La County, Xamgyi'nyilha County (also known as Shangri-La and formerly Zhongdian), an ethnic Tibetan people, Tibetan township and county set high in Yunnan's northwestern mountains.
*Shilin (Stone Forest), a series of karst
Karst is a topography formed from the dissolution of soluble rocks such as limestone, dolomite, and gypsum. It is characterized by underground drainage systems with sinkholes and caves. It has also been documented for more weathering-resistant ro ...
outcrops east of Kunming
Kunming (; ), also known as Yunnan-Fu, is the capital and largest city of Yunnan province, China. It is the political, economic, communications and cultural centre of the province as well as the seat of the provincial government. The headquar ...
.
*Yuanyang County, Yunnan, Yuanyang, a Hani minority settlement with vast rice-terraced mountains.
*Xishuangbanna, a national scenic resort, noted for its natural and cultural attractions.
Places of interest
*Black Dragon Pool
*Baishuitai
*Cang Mountain, Cangshan
*Erhai Lake
Erhai or Er Lake (), is an alpine fault lake in Yunnan province, China. Erhai was also known as Yeyuze () or Kunming Lake () in ancient times.
Etymology
The character "洱" (er) does not have the same meaning as ear (耳). During the Han to Tan ...
*Ganlan Basin
*Green Lake (Kunming), Green Lake Park
*Jade Dragon Snow Mountain
*Lancang River (Mekong River)
*Manting Park (Chunhuan Park) in Jinghong
*Meili Snow Mountain in Deqin
*Pujian Temple
*Sanchahe Nature Reserve in Jinghong
*ShaPing Market, Dali
*Shaxi, Yunnan, Shaxi
*Shilin (Stone Forest), Stone Forest
*Three Pagodas
*Tengchong (hot springs)
*Tiger Leaping Gorge
*Visitor Center for Nature and Culture in Northwest Yunnan
*Wase markets, near Dali
Xishuangbanna Tropical Flower & Plant Garden
*Yuantong Temple
*Yunnan Provincial Museum
Sport
Professional sporting teams in Yunnan have included the now defunct Yunnan Bulls in the Chinese Basketball Association and Yunnan Hongta F.C., Yunnan Hongta in the Chinese Jia-A League. The Yunnan Lijiang Dongba football team currently competes in China League Two.
Notes
References
Further reading
; Books
*
*Forbes, Andrew ; Henley, David (2011). ''Traders of the Golden Triangle''. Chiang Mai: Cognoscenti Books. ASIN: B006GMID5K
*Forbes, Andrew ; Henley, David (2011). ''China's Ancient Tea Horse Road''. Chiang Mai: Cognoscenti Books. ASIN: B005DQV7Q2
*
*Jim Goodman (2002). ''The Exploration of Yunnan''. .
*Stephen Mansfield (2007). ''China: Yunnan Province''. (Bradt Travel Guide China: Yunnan Province) .
*Ann Helen Unger and Walter Unger. (2007) ''Yunnan: China's Most Beautiful Province''. (Orchid Press) .
*Damien Harper (2007). ''China's Southwest''. (Lonely Planet Country & Regional Guides) .
*Patrick R. Booz (1998). ''Yunnan''. (Odyssey Passport: McGraw-Hill Contemporary) .
*Susan K. McCarthy (2009). ''Communist Multiculturalism: Ethnic Revival in Southwest China'' (University of Washington Press) .
*Tim Summers (2013), "Yunnan - A Chinese Bridgehead to Asia: A case study of China's political and economic relations with its neighbours" (Chandos) .
;Web
Population Profile of Yunnan
– United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific
Economic Profile of Yunnan
– Hong Kong Trade Development Council
Economic Integration of Yunnan with the Greater Mekong Subregion
''Asian Economic Journal'' Volume 20 Issue 3, Pages 303–317
External links
Yunnan Province
e-Government website
Yunnan Statistical Yearbook
{{Authority control
Yunnan,
Populated places on the Mekong River
Provinces of the People's Republic of China
South China
Western China