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Travel in Yunnan
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.
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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