Yunnan

Yunnan Introduction

Yunnan (Beautiful Clouds in the South) Province is the most southwest region of China bordering the countries of Vietnam, Laos, and Burma. Yunnan Province borders Guizhou Province and Guangxi Zhang Autonomous Region to the east, Chongqing and Sichuan to the north, and Tibet Autonomous Region to the northwest. Yunnan encompasses 394,000 square kilometers (152,084 square miles) and has a population of more than 42 million people.
Within these borders, Yunnan has a diverse topography that ranges from alpine mountain ranges to tropical rainforests and the greatest number of plant species in China (more than 18,000) as well as an incredible array of animals, including the Asian elephant and the protected Yunnan golden monkey. There is even a rainforest in the area known as Xishuangbanna where you will find many rare and endangered species of plants and animals.
Yunnan Province is endlessly fascinating. There are 25 different ethnic minorities in Yunnan, making it the most culturally diverse province in China. This multiplicity of cultures has endowed the province with a rich heritage that it shares with all who come to visit. There is always something wonderful to see and do here. Whether you are visiting a Dongba village, the Dai Water Splashing Festival, the Third Month Fair of the Bai Nationality, or the Torch Festival of the Yi people, you will find that Yunnan is a place that celebrates life.

Yunnan Traffic

Civil Aviation
         Yunnan’s Airlines has developed rapidly in recent years. There are more than 80 domestic lines and 8 international lines. Now there is an aviation network with Kunming as its base radiating to the whole country, and 9 international lines to Singapore, Bangkok, Kuala Lumpur, Yangon, Vientiane, Chiangmai, Osaka, Seoul,Hochiminh city and 2 regional airlines to Hongkong and Macao. In the province there are 10 airports of Kunming, Xishuangbanna, Mangshi, Simao, Zhaotong, Baoshan, Dali, Lijiang, Shangarila, Lincang(TBA). Kunming Airport is o­ne of the 5 largest airports in China. Now, all the airports are equiped with advanced communication and navigation apparatus and can receive nearly 4.5 million passengers a year.
·Railway
        The railway of Yunnan province has a long history since 1900. Now there are 6 trunk lines of Kunming-Hekou, Guiyang-Kunming, Chenddu-Kunming, Nanning-Kunming, Kunming-Yuxi, Guangtong-Dali railways, passenger trains and cargo trains run between Beijing, Shanghai, Xi’an, Chongqing, Guangzhou, Beihai as well as Hanoi in Vietnam. The annual passenger transport reaches 12,568,000 persons and cargo transport 11,190,000t.
·Highway
        Yunnan has formed a fairly good communication network with Kunming as its center, the national and provincial highways as the trunk lines linking up sub-trunk lines, cities and the countryside, radiating to all parts of the province, connecting to Sichuan, Guizhou, Guangxi and Tibet as well as the neighbor countries such as Vietnam, Laos, and Myanmar etc. By the end of 2001, the mileage of Yunnan highways has reached 163,953 km, second o­nly to Sichuan Province in China, among which there are 7 national highway lines, 6,081 km; second Class highways 2,106 km, third Class highway 9,787 km, fourth Class highway 93,822 km, highway below Class IV 57,557 km, and now highway lead to every township.
The highway trunk lines from Kunming, the provincial capital, to the whole province or other provinces and the border are as follows: Kunming-Wanding Highway(from Kunming to Wanding, namely the Yunnan-Burma Road, 870 km), Yunnan-Tibet Highway(Kunming to Yanjing in Tibet, 992km via Dali, Lijiang, and Diqing), Kunming-Hekou Highway(Kunming to Hekou via the Stone Forest, Kaiyuan and Mengzi, 471km), Kunming-Daluo Highway(Kuming to Daluo via Yuxi, Mojiang, Simao dn Jinghong, 865km), Yunnan-Guizhou Highway(Kunming to Guiyang via Qujing, 653km), Kunming-Baise Highway(Kunming to Baise in Guangxi via Stone Forest, Kaiyuan, Yanshan, Wenshan and Funing), and Kunming-Suijiang Highway (Kunming to Suijiang via Dongchuan and Zhaotong, 690km).
·Navigation
        There are 6 river systems as Jinsha-Yangzte River, Lancang-Mekong River, Yuanjiang-Honghe River, Nanpan-Zhujiang River, Nujiang-Salween River and Dulong-Daying-Ruili-Irrawaddy River in Yunnan province, which ranks first in terms of water systems in China and is very rich in water resources. Exploitable water ways are over 8,000km, but being short of technology, the navigable mileage is o­nly 1,324km. The local point of river navigation development is o­n the Jinsha River (the upper Yangtze) and Lancang River (the upper Mekong). There is Shuifu Port and Suijiang Port o­n the Jinsha River and Shuifu Port is at present the No.1 river port in Yunnan. From Shuifu Port down the Jinsha River, the boat can reach Chongqing, Wuhan, Nanjing, Shanghai,etc., which is the longest inland waterway in China. The Lancang River with its lower reaches called Mekong is the o­nly international river linking 6 countries in Asia. Its total water course is 4,880km with 2,130km in China and 1,200 km in Yunnan, and the China-Myanmar border river is 31km, with a very good perspective for river navigation. Now there are two big good river ports, Simao port and Jinghong Port o­n the Lancang River, and they are also the state-level trading ports in Yunnan province.

Yunnan Festivals

Major Festival of Yunnan Minority Nationlitiests

Yunnan Service Telephones

Yunnan has a diverse climate, embracing temperate, tropical and rigid zones in o­ne province. Kunming, the capital city, is marked by a pleasant spring weather which prevails year round while it is also notable for the abrupt change into winter weather caused by rain.

Yunnan tourism complaints Tel: 0871-4608315
National Tourism complaints Tel:010-65275315