Yunnan

Yunnan or Yun-nan [south of the clouds], province (1994 est. pop. 38,390,000), c.162,000 sq mi (419,600 sq km), SW China. It borders Myanmar on the west and Laos and Vietnam on the south. Kunming is the capital. The average altitude is c.6,500 ft (1,980 m). The eastern half of the province is a limestone plateau with karst scenery and unnavigable rivers flowing through deep mountain gorges; the western half is characterized by mountain ranges and rivers running north and south. These include the Thanlwin and the Mekong. The rugged, vertical terrain produces a wide range of flora and fauna, and the province has been called a natural zoological and botanical garden.

Yunnan has a mild climate with balmy and fair weather, but although the growing period is long, there is little arable land. Agriculture is restricted to the few upland plains, open valleys, and terraced hillsides. Rice is the main crop; corn, wheat, sweet potatoes, soybeans (as a food crop), tea, sugarcane, tobacco, and cotton are also grown. On the steep slopes in the west livestock is raised and timber is cut (teak in the southwest). Yunnan's chief source of wealth, however, lies in its vast mineral resources. It is the country's leading tin producer; other deposits include iron, coal, lead, copper, zinc, gold, mercury, silver, antimony, and sulfur.

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. Road and railroad traffic has been recently improved, and Kunming is now a transportation center; an important railroad runs from Kunming to Hanoi, Vietnam, while transportation to Myanmar is maintained by the Burma Road.

There are many minority groups in Yunnan. From ancient times the Chinese invaders gradually pushed the aboriginal tribes into mountain localities, where today, retaining their distinct languages and culture, they populate eight autonomous districts. The Miao, Yao, Lolo, Lao, Shan, Thai, and Lisu are some of the larger tribes; there is also a considerable Tibetan minority. Yunnan Univ. is in Kunming.

Separated by rugged mountains from the central authority in N China, Yunnan for centuries remained independent. In 1253 it was conquered by the Mongols of the Yüan dynasty, which destroyed the Thai kingdom of Nan Chao established there. Yunnan passed to the Manchus in 1659 and became a province of China under the control of the central government. It was the scene of a great Muslim revolt (1855-72). It was a major center of Chinese resistance in World War II, and in 1950 it passed to Communist control.

or Yün-nan

Province (pop., 2002 est.: 43,330,000), southern China. It is bordered by Vietnam, Laos, and Myanmar, Sichuan and Guizhou provinces, and Guangxi and Tibet autonomous regions. It has an area of 168,400 sq mi (436,200 sq km), and its capital is Kunming. Its population is one of China's most ethnically mixed, comprising more than 20 nationalities. The terrain is largely mountainous, especially in the north and west. It is crossed by three major river systems—the Yangtze (Chang; there known as the Jinsha), the Mekong, and the Salween—and is the source of two others—the Xi (there known as the Nanpan and Hongshui) and the Yuan. Because of its isolation, the region was independent during the historical development of China. The Mongols overran it in the 13th century. In 1855–73 it was the scene of the great Panthay (Muslim) rebellion. Part of the province was seized by the Japanese in World War II. Yunnan is now noted for its agricultural production, especially of rice, as well as for its extensive mining industry.

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(literally "south of the clouds") is a province of the People's Republic of China, located in the far south of the country spanning approximately 394,000 square kilometers (152,000 square miles). The capital of the province is Kunming. The name of Yunnan means "south of Yunling Mountains".

Emblem

Camellia reticulata, a plant native to Yunnan Province, is the emblem of this province.

Administrative divisions

Yunnan consists of sixteen prefecture-level divisions:

The prefecture-level cities:

• Baoshan City (保山市 | Bǎoshān Shì)
• Kunming City (昆明市 | Kūnmíng Shì)
• Lijiang City (丽江市 | Lìjiāng Shì)
• Lincang City (临沧市 | Líncāng Shì)
• Pu'er City (普洱市 | Pǔ'ěr Shì)
• Qujing City (曲靖市 | Qǔjìng Shì)
• Yuxi City (玉溪市 | Yùxī Shì)
• Zhaotong City (昭通市 | Zhāotōng Shì)

The autonomous prefectures:

• Chuxiong Yi Autonomous Prefecture (楚雄彝族自治州 | Chǔxióng Yízú Zìzhìzhōu)
• Dali Bai Autonomous Prefecture (大理白族自治州 | Dàlǐ Báizú Zìzhìzhōu)
• Dehong Dai and Jingpo Autonomous Prefecture (德宏傣族景颇族自治州 | Déhóng Dǎizú)
• Diqing Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture (迪庆藏族自治州 | Díqìng Zàngzú Zìzhìzhōu)
• Honghe Hani and Yi Autonomous Prefecture (红河哈尼族彝族自治州 | Hónghé Hānízú/Yízú Zìzhìzhōu)
• Nujiang Lisu Autonomous Prefecture (怒江傈僳族自治州 | Nùjiāng Lìsùzú Zìzhìzhōu)
• Wenshan Zhuang and Miao Autonomous Prefecture (文山壮族苗族自治州 | Wénshān Zhuàngzú)
• Xishuangbanna Dai Autonomous Prefecture (西双版纳傣族自治州 | Xīshuāngbǎnnà/Dǎizú Zìzhìzhōu)

Of those 16 prefecture-level divisions, Yunnan has 129 county-level divisions, and 1455 township-level divisions.

History

The Yuanmou Man, a Homo erectus fossil unearthed by railway engineers in the 1960s, has been determined to be the oldest known hominid fossil in China. By the Neolithic period, there were human settlements in the area of Lake Dian. These people used stone tools and constructed simple wooden structures.

Around the third century BC, the central area of Yunnan around present day Kunming was known as Dian. The Chu general Zhuang Qiao (庄跤) entered the region from the upper Yangtze River and set himself up as "King of Dian". He and his followers brought into Yunnan an influx of Chinese influence, the start of a long history of migration and cultural expansion.

In 221 BC, Qin Shi Huang unified China and extended his authority south. Commanderies and counties were established in Yunnan. An existing road in Sichuan the "Five Foot Way" was extended south to around present day Qujing (曲靖), in eastern Yunnan. In 109 BC, Emperor Wu sent General Guo Chang (郭昌) south to Yunnan, establishing Yizhou commandery and 24 subordinate counties. The commandery seat was at Dianchi county (present day Jinning 晋宁). Another county was called "Yunnan", probably the first use of the name. To expand the burgeoning trade with Burma and India, Emperor Wu also sent Tang Meng (唐蒙) to maintain and expand the Five Foot Way, renaming it "Southwest Barbarian Way" (西南夷道). By this time, agricultural technology in Yunnan had improved markedly. The local people used bronze tools, plows and kept a variety of livestock, including cattle, horses, sheep, goats, pigs and dogs. Anthropologists have determined that these people were related to the people now known as the Tai. They lived in tribal congregations, sometimes led by exile Chinese.

In the Records of the Grand Historian, Zhang Qian (d. 113 BC) and Sima Qian (145-90 BC) make references to "Shendu", which may have been referring to the Indus Valley (the Sindh province in modern Pakistan), originally known as "Sindhu" in Sanskrit. When Yunnan was annexed by the Han Dynasty, Chinese authorities reported an Indian "Shendu" community living there.

During the Three Kingdoms, the territory of present day Yunnan, western Guizhou and southern Sichuan was collectively called Nanzhong. The disollution of Chinese central authority led to increased autonomy for Yunnan and more power for the local tribal structures. In AD 225, the famed statesman Zhuge Liang led three columns into Yunnan to pacify the tribes. His seven captures of Meng Huo, a local magnate, is much celebrated in Chinese folklore.

In the fourth century, northern China was largely overrun by nomadic tribes from the north. In the 320s, the Cuan (爨) clan migrated into Yunnan. Cuan Chen (爨琛) named himself king and held authority from Lake Dian (then called Kunchuan [昆川]). Henceforth the Cuan clan ruled Yunnan for over four hundred years. In 738, the kingdom of Nanzhao was established in Yunnan by Piluoge (皮罗阁), who was confirmed by the imperial court of the Tang Dynasty as king of Yunnan. Ruling from Dali, the thirteen kings of Nanzhao ruled over more than two centuries and played a part in the dynamic relationship between China and Tibet. In 937, Duan Siping (段思平) overthrew the Nanzhao and established the Kingdom of Dali. The kingdom was conquered by the Mongol and Chinese armies of Kublai Khan.

In 1894, George Ernest Morrison, an Australian correspondent for The Times, travelled from Beijing to British-occupied Burma via Yunnan. His book, An Australian in China, details his experiences.

From 1916 to 1917, Roy Chapman Andrews and Yvette Borup Andrews led the Asiatic Zoological Expedition of the American Museum of Natural History through much of western and southern Yunnan, as well as other provinces of China. The book, Camps and Trails in China, records their experiences.

Other notable explorers include Joseph Francis Charles Rock who from 1922–1949 spent most of his time studying the flora, peoples and languages of southwest China, mainly in Yunnan, and, Peter Goulart, a White Russian who studied Naxi culture and lived in Lijiang from 1940 to 1949.

Geography

Yunnan is the most southwestern province in China, with the Tropic of Cancer running through its southern part. The province has an area of 394,000 square km, 4.1% of the nation's total. The northern part of the province forms part of the Yunnan-Guizhou Plateau. The province borders Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region and Guizhou Province in the east, Sichuan Province in the north, and Tibet Autonomous Region in the northwest. It shares a border of 4,060 km with Burma in the west, Laos in the south, and Vietnam in the southeast.

Climate

Yunnan has a mild climate with pleasant and fair weather, but although the growing period is long, there is little arable land. See Agriculture.

Topography

The terrain is largely mountainous, especially in the north and west. The average altitude is c.6,500 ft (1,980 m). The highest point in the north is the Kawagebo Peak in Deqin County on the Diqing Plateau, which is about 6,740 meters high; and the lowest is in the Honghe River Valley in Hekou County, with an elevation of 76.4 meters.

The eastern half of the province is a limestone plateau with karst scenery and unnavigable rivers flowing through deep mountain gorges; the western half is characterized by mountain ranges and rivers running north and south. These include the Thanlwin and the Mekong. The rugged, vertical terrain produces a wide range of flora and fauna, and the province has been called a natural zoological and botanical garden.

Borders

Bordering provinces are Tibet, Sichuan, Guizhou and Guangxi. Bordering countries are Vietnam (the main border crossing by road and rail is at Hekou-Lao Cai, the only land border crossing open to non-Chinese/non-Vietnamese), Laos (at Boten) and Burma (with the main border crossing at Ruili, the only land border open to non-Chinese/non-Burmese).

Rivers

Yunnan is the source of two rivers - the Xi River (there known as the Nanpan and Hongshui) and the Yuan River.

The Hongshui is a principal source stream of the Xi River. Rising as the Nanpan in eastern Yunnan province, it flows south and east to form part of the boundary between Guizhou province and Guangxi autonomous region. Flowing for 345 km, it unites with the Yu River at Guiping to form what eventually becomes the Xi River.

The province is drained by six major river systems:

• Yangtze, here known as the Jinsha Jiang (River of Golden Sands), drains the province's north.
• Pearl River, with its source near Qujing, collects the waters from the east.
• the Mekong (Lancang), which flows from Tibet into the South China Sea forming the boundaries between Laos and Burma, between Laos and Thailand, through Cambodia and Vietnam
• the Red River (Yuan) has its source in the mountains south of Dali and enters the South China Sea through Hanoi, Vietnam
• Salween, which flows into the Gulf of Martaban and the Andaman Sea through Burma
• the Irrawaddy has a few small tributaries in Yunnan's far west, such as the Dulongjiang, and rivers in the prefecture of Dehong.

Geology

The eastern half of the province is a limestone plateau with karst scenery and unnavigable rivers flowing through deep mountain gorges; the western half is characterized by mountain ranges and rivers running north and south. These include the Salween and the Mekong River. The rugged, vertical terrain produces a wide range of flora and fauna, and the province has been called a natural zoological and botanical garden.

Yunnan's has vast mineral resources that are its chief source of wealth. It is China's leading tin producer and has large deposits of iron, coal, lead, copper, zinc, gold, mercury, silver, antimony, and sulfur.

Paleontology

• Yunnanozoon - Lower Cambrian possible chordate
• Jingshanosaurus - Early Jurassic dinosaur

Biodiversity

Yunnan is China's most diverse province, biologically as well as culturally. The province contains snow-capped mountains and true tropical environments, thus supporting an unusually full spectrum of species and vegetation types. During summer, the Great Plateau of Tibet acts as a barrier to monsoon winds, trapping moisture in the province. This gives the alpine flora in particular what one source has call a "lushness found nowhere else."

This topographic range combined with a tropical moisture sustains extremely high biodiversity and high degrees of endemism, probably the richest botanically in the world's temperate regions. Over 15,000 species of higher plants, of which perhaps 2,500 are endemic, can be found in the province. The fauna is nearly as diverse. Yunnan Province has less than 4% of the land of China, yet contains about half of China's birds and mammals.

Yunnan Snub-nosed Monkey, also known as the Black Snub-nosed Monkey, is an endangered species of primate in the Cercopithecidae family.

Designation

Yunnan has been designated:

• a "Center of Plant Diversity" (IUCN/WWF: Davis et al. 1995)
• a "Global 200 List Priority Ecoregion" for biodiversity conservation (WWF: Olsen and Dinerstein 1998)
• an "Endemic Bird Area" (Birdlife International: Bibby, C. et al. 1992) and
• a "Global Biodiversity Hotspot,"as a part of the Hengdu Mountain Ecosystem (Conservation International: Mittermeier and Mittermeier 1997)

Natural resources

Yunnan not only has more plant species of tropical, subtropical, temperate, and frozen zones than any other province in the country, but also has many ancient, endemic plants, as well as species introduced from foreign countries. Among the 30,000 species of plants in China, 18,000 can be found in Yunnan. Yunnan is also home to a variety of animal species, most notably the southeast Asian gaur, a giant forest-dwelling ox, the tiger, and the Asian elephant.

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.

A main source of wealth lies in its vast mineral resources. 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, lead, tin, cadmium, indium, thallium, and crocidolite. Other deposits include iron, coal, copper, gold, mercury, silver, antimony, and sulfur.

Yunnan has sufficient rainfall and many rivers and lakes. The annual water flow originating in the province is 200 cubic kilometers, three times that of the Yellow River. The rivers flowing into the province from outside add 160 cubic kilometers, which means there are more than ten thousand cubic meters 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.

Demographics

Ethnicity

Yunnan is noted for a very high level of ethnic diversity. It has the highest number of ethnic groups among all provinces and autonomous regions in China. Among the country's fifty-six recognised ethnic groups, twenty-five are found in Yunnan. Some 38% of the province's population are members of minorities, including the Yi, Bai, Hani, Tai, Dai, Miao, Lisu, Hui, Lahu, Va, Nakhi, Yao, Tibetan, Jingpo, Blang, Pumi, Nu, Achang, Jinuo, Mongolian, Derung, Manchu, Shui, and 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, 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, Manchu (the Manchu, remnants of the Qing administration, do not live in compact settlements and are in all respects indistinguishable from the Han), Bai, Naxi, Mongolian, Zhuang, Dai, Achang, Buyei and Shui, with a combined population of 4.5 million; those in low mountainous areas are the Hani, Yao, Lahu, Va, Jingpo, Blang and Jino, with a combined population of 5 million; and those in high mountainous areas are Miao, Lisu, Tibetan, Pumi and Drung, with a total population of four million.

An oft-repeated proverb tells the story of three brothers who were born speaking different languages: Tibetan, Naxi, and Bai. Each settled in different areas of Yunnan and Tibet, respectively, the high area, the middle area, and the low area.

Languages

Most dialects of the Chinese language spoken in Yunnan belong to the southwestern subdivision of the Mandarin group, and are therefore very similar to the dialects of neighbouring Sichuan and Guizhou provinces. Notable features found in many Yunnan dialects include the partial or complete loss of distinction between finals /n/ and /ŋ/, as well as the lack of /y/. 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, Tibetan, Hani, Jingpo, Lisu, Lahu, Naxi; Tai languages like Zhuang, Bouyei, Dong, Shui, Tai Lü and Tai Nüa or northern lao dialect; as well as Hmong-Mien languages.

The Naxi, in particular, use the Dongba script, which is the only ideographic 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. The most famous 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, illiterate or semi-literate.

Politics

Secretaries of the CPC Yunnan Committee: The Secretary of the CPC is the highest ranking and most important position in Yunnan.

1. Song Renqiong (宋任穷): 1950-1952
2. Xie Fuzhi (谢富治): July 1952-August 1959
3. Yan Hongyan (阎红彦): August 1959-January 1967
4. Zhou Xing (周兴): June 1971-October 1975
5. Jia Qiyun (贾启允): October 1975-February 1977
6. An Pingsheng (安平生): February 1977-July 1985
7. Pu Chaozhu (普朝柱): July 1985-June 1995
8. Gao Yan (高严): June 1995-August 1997
9. Linghu An (令狐安): August 1997-October 2001
10. Bai Enpei (白恩培): October 2001 - incumbent

Governors of Yunnan: The Governor is the second highest office in Yunnan, after the Secretary of the CPC Yunnan Committee. The Governor, who is elected by the Yunnan Provincial People's Congress, is responsible for all economic, environmental, political, personnel and foreign affairs issues concerning Yunnan.

1. Chen Geng (陈赓): March 1950-February 1955
2. Guo Yingqiu (郭影秋): February 1955-November 1958
3. Ding Yichuan (丁一川): November 1958-January 1965
4. Zhou Xing (周兴): January 1965-1966
5. Tan Furen (谭甫仁): August 1968-October 1970
6. Zhou Xing: October 1970-October 1975
7. Jia Qiyun (贾启允): October 1975-February 1977
8. An Pingsheng (安平生): February 1977-December 1979
9. Liu Minghui (刘明辉): December 1979-April 1983
10. Pu Chaozhu (普朝柱): April 1983-August 1985
11. He Zhiqiang (和志强): August 1985-January 1998
12. Li Jiating (李嘉廷): January 1998-June 2001
13. Xu Rongkai (徐荣凯): June 2001- November 2006
14. Qin Guangrong (秦光荣): January 2007 -incumbent

Economy

Yunnan is one of China's relatively undeveloped provinces with more poverty-stricken 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's four pillar industries include tobacco, agriculture/biology, mining, and tourism. Yunnan has trade contacts with more than seventy countries and regions in the world. Yunnan will also establish the Muse border trade zone (located in Ruili) along its border with Myanmar. Yunnan mainly exports tobacco, machinery and electrical equipment, chemical and agricultural products, and non-ferrous metals. In 2002, its total two-way trade (imports and exports) reached US$2.23 billion. In 2002, the province signed foreign direct investment contracts involving US$333 million, of which US$112 million were actually utilized during the year. Yunnan's unemployment rate in 2002 was 4%.

Yunnan's nominal GDP in 2006 was 400.2 billion yuan (US$51.7 billion), an annual growth rate of 11.9%. Its per capita GDP was 8,961 yuan (US$1,160). The share of GDP of Yunnan's primary, secondary, and tertiary industries were 21.1%, 42.8%, and 36.1% respectively.

Yunnan is one of the major production bases of copper, lead, zinc, tin and aluminum in China. Gejiu city 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 Nonferrous Metal Exchange. Besides, reserves of germanium, indium, zirconium, platinum, rock salt, sylvite, nickel, phosphate, mirabilite, arsenic and blue asbestos are also high.

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 hereby mainly transported to Guangdong Province.

Agriculture

The region maintains a strong agricultural focus. Agriculture is restricted to the few upland plains, open valleys, and terraced hillsides. Rice is the main crop; corn, wheat, sweet potatoes, soybeans (as a food crop), tea, sugarcane, tobacco, and cotton are also grown. On the steep slopes in the west livestock is raised and timber is cut (teak in the southwest).

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.

Another interesting industry with a clear growth potential is the coffee sector. Yunnan is currently China's most important producer of Arabica coffee. Besides the export of roasted coffee, coffee-related products such as extracts, essences and substitutes may be promising products. Yunnan's the birthplace of tea. Still, ancient tea trees can be found in Yunnan of which tealeaves are processed. Tea is becoming an important export product. Especially in the US and Japan the demand is growing.

Due to China's growing consumption of dairy products (a trend heavily supported by the national government), Yunnan's dairy industry is also developing more rapidly and receiving large subsidies from the government develop a competitive edge in Southwest China, but is also aiming to export to its ASEAN neighbors.

Then last but not least, a growing sector, heavily supported by the local government is the horticultural sector. The flower industry in Yunnan province started to develop towards the end of the 1980s. Currently, Yunnan is the most important province nationwide in the field of flower growing. 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 USD 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.

The rapid developments in this field soon attracted the attention of Dutch horticultural companies and Dutch investments in flower related projects and businesses are steadily growing.

Education

Universities and Colleges

• Kunming Medical University
• Kunming University of Science and Technology
• Yunnan Agricultural University
• Yunnan Nationalities University
• Yunnan Normal University
• Yunnan University
• Yunnan University of Finance and Economics

Health

Yunnan Province is responsible for about 50% of officially reported malaria cases in China.

Hiv-Aids

• HIV/AIDS in Yunnan

Transportation

Railways

Yunnan was first connected by railway not to the rest of China, but to the port of Haiphong by a French engineered narrow gauge railway completed in 1910. It took another fifty years for the province to be connected by rail to the rest of China with the completion of the Chengdu-Kunming line. Later a line connecting Kunming to Guiyang followed. Two further lines have been added recently: a southern line connecting to Nanning and a north-eastern line connecting to Sichuan.

An extension now also links Kunming to Dali, with the stretch to Lijiang nearing completion. Plans are underway on extending the old line to Vietnam, while a new and very ambitious plan to link from Dali to Ruili has been announced in 2006. Another plan to extend the railway line from Kunming all the way to Singapore, with connections to the other South East Asian countries, will be opened in 2017.

Road and railroad traffic has been recently improved, and Kunming is now a transportation center; an important railroad runs from Kunming to Hanoi, Vietnam, while transportation to Myanmar is maintained by the Burma Road.

Burma Road

The Burma Road was a former highway extending about 1,126 km (700 mi) through mountainous terrain from [[Lashio], 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, India, into Myanmar 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, Myanmar, 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 958 km, third-level highways, 7,571 km and fourth-level highways, 52,248 km. 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 Myanmar, Laos, Vietnam and Thailand.

Luofu Expressway

After the opening of the Suolongsi to Pingyuanjie expressway, Luofu expressway, the first between Yunnan and Guangxi Province, opened on 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 of Wenshan State. The total length of the expressway is 79.3 kilometers which has shortened the commute between Yunnan and Guangxi from the previous 3 and half hours to just 50 minutes.

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 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 807 km 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 to Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Chengdu, Haikou, Chongqing, Shenyang, Harbin, Wuhan, Xi'an, Lanzhou, Hangzhou, Xiamen, Nanning, Shenzhen, Guiyang, Changsha, Guilin, Lhasa and Hong Kong; eight provincial air routes from Kunming to Jinghong, Mangshi, Lijiang, Dali, Zhongdian (Shangri-la), Zhaotong, Baoshan and Simao; and nine international air routes from Kunming to Bangkok, Chiang Mai, Yangon, Singapore, Seoul, Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City, Kuala Lumpur and Vientiane.

The Wujiaba Airport in Kunming is a national first-class airport and the other airports are second-class terminals. A new airport for Kunming, build east of the city, at Dabanqiao began construction in 2006, but is not expected to be completed until 2015.

Culture

Eighteen Wonders of Yunnan

Cuisine

Tea

One of Yunnan's famous products is Pu-erh tea, named after the old tea trading town of Pu-erh, as well as the Yunnan Golden Needle tea.

Music

Tourism

Yunnan Province, due to its beautiful landscapes, mild climate and colorful ethnic minorities, 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.

Tourist centres in Yunnan include:

• Dali, the historic center of the Nanzhao and Dali kingdoms.
• 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, a Naxi minority city. It has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1997.
• Shangri-La County (formerly Zhongdian), an ethnic Tibetan township and county set high in Yunnan's north-western mountains.
• The Stone Forest, a series of karst outcrops east of Kunming.
• Yuanyang, a Hani minority settlement with vast rice-terraces.
• Xishuangbanna

Places of interest

• Black Dragon Pool
• Cangshan
• Erhai Lake
• Ganlan Basin
• Green Lake Park
• Jade Dragon Snow Mountain
• Lancang River
• Manting Park (Chunhuan Park) in Jinghong
• Meili Snow Mountain in Deqin
• Pujian Temple
• Sanchahe Nature Reserve in Jinghong
• ShaPing Market, Dali
• Stone Forest
• Three Pagodas
• Tiger Leaping Gorge
• Visitor Center for Nature and Culture in Northwest Yunnan
• Wase markets, near Dali
• Xishuangbanna Tropical Flower & Plant Garden
• Xizhou
• Yuantong Temple
• Yunnan Provincial Museum

Sport

Professional sporting teams in Yunnan include, Yunnan Bulls in the Chinese Basketball Association.

Football:

• Yunnan Hongta, defunct
• Yunnan Lijiang Dongba

See also

• 1996 Lijiang earthquake
• Burma Road, Ledo Road

References

External links

• Yunnan Province E-government website
• Infrastructure development of Yunnan Province - Yunnan Department of Commerce
• Yunnan Daily newspaper
• Yunnan Astronomical Observatory (YNAO)
• Yunnan at Google Maps
• Yunnan
• Yunnan at Open Directory Project
• Images at flickr