Yunnan is a province located in the far southwest of the People’s Republic of China . It spans approximately 394,000 square kilometers (152,000 square miles) and has a population of 48.3 million (as of 2018). The capital of the province is Kunming. The province borders Myanmar, Laos, and Vietnam.
Yunnan is situated in a mountainous area, with high elevations in the northwest and low elevations in the southeast. Most of the population lives in the eastern part of the province. In the west, the relative height from mountain peaks to river valleys can be as much as 3,000 m. Yunnan is rich in natural resources and has the largest diversity of plant life in China. Of the approximately 30,000 species of higher plants in China, Yunnan has perhaps 17,000 or more. Yunnan has over 600 rivers and lakes, its reserves of aluminum, lead, zinc and tin are the largest in China, and there are also major reserves of copper and nickel.
Ethnic minorities in Yunnan account for about 34 percent of its total population. Major ethnic groups include Yi, Bai, Hani, Zhuang, Dai and Miao. With enviable diverse landscapes and colorful ethnic minority cultures, Yunnan, the “Colored Clouds in the South”, is always ready to welcome worldwide travelers with endless tourist treasures like time-honored ancient towns, other-worldly stone forests, majestic gorges, stunning rice terraces, sacred snow-capped mountains and monasteries and mazy tropical forests.
Yunnan has also been identified as “the birthplace of tea … the first area where humans figured out that eating tea leaves or brewing a cup could be pleasant”, and as the region of origin of the genus Cannabis plant.
Located in subtropical southwest China, Yunnan boasts a rich variety of wildlife. With just four percent of China’s territory, it is home to more than half of the nation’s higher plant and vertebrate species. A total of 2,519 new species have been discovered in Southwest China’s Yunnan province during the past three decades, representing over one-third of new species found in China and contributing to the preservation of biological diversity worldwide, consolidating the province as a deemed “Kingdom of Animals and Plants” and “Gene Bank of Species”.
The province has established 166 nature reserves at different levels, protecting about 90 percent of the typical ecosystem and 85 percent of important species, data from the local government showed.
Yunnan has a reputation of the Most Colorful Province in China, which has been proved by its diverse ethnic minority, cultures and customs. Yunnan also gains its title “colorful” for its rich natural landscapes, such as stone forest, Snow Mountains, gorges, lakes, rice terraces, meadows and national parks. There are many places worthy of visiting in Yunnan. Here are some pictures of some top destinations.
Left top: Lophophorus sclateri
Left bottom: Nujiang golden snub-nosed monkey
Right:
Blood Pheasant
Lijiang
Exceptional Ancient Town
Shangri-La
Our Ideal Home
Luoping
Magnificent Sea of Rapeseed Blossom