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Introduction:
Yunnan, on the Yunnan-Guizhou Plateau in the southwest of China, is a land of natural beauty and mystery, which covers an area of 394,000 square kilometers with a population of 40,000,000. Kunming is the capital city of Yunnan province. Yunnan represents the last great region to join the Chinese empire. Even today many Chinese think of it as a " frontier province " although it was Kublai and his successor, 200 years before Christopher Columbus, whose forces entered these mountainous lands that lie just below the Tibetan plateau and abut Vietnam, Laos and Burma.
In few provinces of China is so great a diversity of natural conditions and culture to be found as in Yunnan. Yunnan has an unique array of fascinating ecotourist resources, including year-round snow-capped mountains and glaciers, lakes and hot springs, highland landscape, primitive forests, and tropical rain forests where elephants and monkeys roam . Forests, totaling nearly 10 million hectares, or eight percent of the nation's total, cover 24.9 percent of the land of Yunnan, which is known as a kingdom of plants and animals. More than half of China's 30,000 kinds of high-grade plants can be found in Yunnan, which is also home to 3,000-plus kinds of rare animals (55 percent of the national total), 31 kinds of birds (64 percent of the national total), and 130 kinds of reptiles (42 percent of the national total).
The Meli Snow Mountain with an elevation of 6740 meters, magnificent and precipitous, has not been conquered by men. The Lunan Karst topography covers an area of 350 square kilometers and forms " the first wonder in the world "- Stone Forest. The Tiger Leaping Gorge , 3,200 meters height from side mountain tip to the water surface of Golden Sand River which is full of rapid currents and precipitous overhanging cliff. More than 40 highland lakes like beautiful pearls scatter in mountains. Many rare speices of plants and endangered animals live in Xishuangbanna. The flowers around Kunming, the City of Spring, always bloom all around four seasons. Cut off by precipitous mountains from easy communication with outside world, Shangri-la, referred to in James Milton's Lost Horizon, may be the last virgin land where one can observe cultural layers going back for thousands of years into the past. Picturesque Lijiang, listed as one of "World-class Cultural Legacy" by UNESCO, is a region of gorges, lakes and active horse breeding where Naxi people here still use hieroglyphic writing and wear sheepskin capes.
Yunnan is a rich area in subculture. In Yunnan live 26 ethnic minority groups which give a rich patina of diversity and color to the Yunnan scene, contributing with their colorful ethnic costumes, their traditional songs and dances, to the attractive life of the cities, the villages, the fairs and the festivals. The Splashing Water Festival of Dai nationality, the March Fair of Bai nationality, the Torch Festival of Yi nationality, makes traveler forget to leave.
Yunnan is also one of the human being's cradles. From as long as 1.7 million-years-old Yuanmou Apeman's fossils to dinosaur fossiles in Lufeng County, From Nanzhao Kingdom in Dali to Golden Temple, Black Dragon Pool and many other ancient temples most of which are amazingly intact, Yunnan is a wonderland with long history and splendid culture.
There is no end to the wonders of Yunnan . Stone drums, Jade Dragon snow Mountain, religious worshipping not gods but the sky, the earth, the mountains, languages whose origins are lost in the mists of antiquity and the Burma Road which once provided a gateway of American supplies and aid to war-time China in great years of World War II.
There is a Chinese old saying : " It is better to see once than hear a hundred times ". One of the favorite songs of hospitable and simple Yunnan people is " Guests from afar, please stay! "
Yunnan Basic Information:
Area: 394,000 sq.km.
Capital: Kunming
Population: Approximately 41 Million
Language: Mandarin. A local dialect is also spoken, not understood by outsiders. Outside large hotels, very little English is spoken.
Religion: Buddhism, Taoism, Islam and Christianity.
Local Time:
GMT +8
Currency:
Chinese Renminbi (RMB) is the medium of exchange. The basic unit of RMB is yuan, in denominations of 100, 50, 20, 10, 5, 2 and 1. The yuan is divided into 10 jiao, which is further divided into 10 fen.
Credit cards:
Accepted in large hotels, but generally not in wide use.
Travelers cheques:
Travelers cheques and currencies may be exchanged into Yuan in major banks and hotels.
Business hours:
Government Offices: 8:00-12:00, 14:30-18:30;
Businesses: 8:30-12:00, 14:30-18:00;
Banks: 8:30-12:00, 14:30-18:00.
Post Offices: 08:00-19:00 hrs
Electricity supply:
220V, 50 Hz
Tipping:
Small tips are expected, in addition to hotel and restaurant service charges.
Nightlife:
There are colorful nightlife suitable for tourists at present.
Photography:
Film is available but may have been poorly stored. You are advised to bring an adequate supply, including spare camera batteries.
Public Holidays (2002):
January 1-3: New Year's Day
February 12-19: Spring Festival and Chinese New Year
March 8: International Women's Working Day
May 1-7: International Labor Day
May 4: Chinese Youth Day
June 1: International Children's Day
October 1-7: National Day
Neighboring areas:
Sichuan and Guizhou Provinces; Tibet and Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Regions
Neighboring countries:
Burma, Laos, and Vietnam
Altitude:
4,000 meters in the northern mountain region; 2,000 meters on the southern highland
Population:
38.9 million
Urban Population:
10 million
Nationalities:
Han, Yi, Bai, Hani, Zhuang, Dai, Miao, Lisu, Hui, Lahu, Va, Naxi, Yao, Tibetan, Jingpo, Blang, Pumi, Nu, Achang, Deang (Penglong), Mongolian, Drung and Jino
Tourist Attractions:
Kunming, city of 'eternal spring'; hot springs of Anning in Kunming; Dianchi Lake, south of Kunming; Stone Forest, a typical karst area, about 80 kilometers east of Kunming
Climatic Features:
from north to south the province spans three climatic zones ; temperate, subtropical, and tropical - conspicuous changes in climate; two clear-cut seasons, dry and humid rainy season from May to October.
Average Temperature:
8 ºC to 17 ºC in January,11
ºC to 29 ºC in July
Annual Average Rainfall:
600-2,300 mm; low precipitation in the northwest, high in the southeast; 60 percent of the rain falls from June to August.
Physical Features:
high in the northwest and low in the southeast; over 90 percent of the province is mountainous; the relative height of mountain peaks from river valleys can be as much as 3,000 meters.
Rivers:
Nujiang, Lancang, Jinsha, Yuanjiang, and Nanpan Rivers.
Products:
rice, wheat, corn, sorghum, potatoes, sugar cane, peanuts, soybeans, peas, rape, tea, oranges, bananas, pineapples, cocoanuts, walnuts; cotton, silk cocoons; flue-cured tobacco, timber; tropical plants; tin, copper, zinc, marble, phosphorus
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