Yunnan 云南
Yunnan has a total population of 43.33 million residents, with an area of 394,000 sq km. Yunnan, whose name means “south of the clouds” is characterized by its immense climatic and geological variety ; it is the most biologically diverse province in China. The province borders Tibet and Vietnam, Laos, and Myanmar (Burma). Yunnan houses more than 30 of China’s 55 minorities; the cultural variety is unique. Minorities such as Tibetans, Bai, Dai, Naxi, Zhuang, Miao, Hani, Hui, Lisu and others spread across the province providing a landscape of tribal customs and interesting peoples. Almost half of the province’s 43 million belong to an ethnic group, each has its own customs, festivals, clothing, food and history that set it apart from its neighbors.
Yunnan’s geographic profile is also very diverse, with snow-topped mountains spilling over from Tibet in the northwest and tropical jungle in the south along the border with Myanmar, Laos and Vietnam. There is rare Karst topography outside of provincial capital Kunming and numerous active volcanoes and hot springs in Tengchong, as well as almost evry corner of Yunnan. The pristine Nujiang River valley bordering Myanmar is one of the most unspoiled ecosystems in the country. The list goes on and on. Tourism is one of the pillars of Yunnan’s economy, driven primarily by the province’s geographic, environmental and ethnic variety.
The capital city Kunming, also known as China’s “spring city” for its cool climate year-round, is one of the most pleasant cities in China. The combination of its high altitude and tropical latitude produce a climate with warm sun and cool breezes during the day and a slight chill at night. Perhaps as a result of its nice weather, Kunming is also one of China’s most laid-back cities. It has a population of 3.8 million people, sitting below the cliffs of the Western Mountain, and the along the shores of Dian Chi lake. Warm smiles and friendly people make Kunming, and Yunnan, the best choice for learning Oriental medicine
Capital: Kunming
Airports: Kunming, Lijiang, Dali, Zhongdian, Diqin, Xishuangbanna, Mangshi, Simao, Zhaotong, Baoshan
Border Crossings: Ruili, Leiduo, Hekou
History
A Chinese phrase often used to describe Yunnan is “/shan gao, huangdi yuan/”, which means “the mountains are high and the emperor is far away”. Due to its geographic position at the edge of the traditionally Han-controlled areas of China, its mountainous terrain and its ethnic diversity, Yunnan had not until the last century been secured by any government for very long.
In 1855 Yunnan’s sizable Muslim population, which had moved to the province during the Mongols’ Yuan Dynasty during the 13th Century, staged an uprising against the ruling Qing Dynasty. The Qing government in Beijing had imposed high land taxes and other levies upon Yunnan’s Muslims, who controlled a large portion of the region’s gold and silver mines, which the Han Chinese were keen to acquire. After fending off attacks from Han Chinese, area Muslims retaliated, going on the offensive and capturing the city of Dali in Yunnan’s northwest. They then proceeded to besiege Kunming, which they eventually captured but held for a very brief period before losing it to the Qing and retreating to Dali, where they were eventually defeated.
Yunnan attracted significant interest from European colonial powers during the mid-19th Century. Countries including France and England, who were establishing themselves to the region’s south in Indochina and Burma, respectively, coveted Yunnan’s abundant resources. French missionaries explored much of Yunnan during the period and by 1899 France had claimed special rights in the province.
During World War II, as invading Japanese forces pushed Chiang Kai-shek and his Guomindang forces further inland, Yunnan became a crucial supply line. In 1937, after Chiang Kai-shek and his Guomindang forces fled the capital of Nanjing, leaving it to be ravaged by the Japanese, they established a new capital in Chongqing, then part of Sichuan.
In an attempt to consolidate a regional power base, Chiang made an alliance with the warlord who controlled neighboring Yunnan, which had already enjoyed a decade of independence from Chiang’s government. Via this alliance, Chiang was later able to procure supplies from Burma after the Yangtze and Mekong supply routes were choked off by the Japanese. The supplies came via a road built over the mountainous terrain between Lashio in Burma and Yunnan’s capital and largest city, Kunming. The Burma Road, completed in 1938, was the only supply route left for Chiang, but it was enough to allow him to maintain some sort of control over most of southern China.
Economy
Yunnan is endowed with a wealth of mineral resources but foreign investment, particularly by Canadian firms, has been primarily interested in gold. Yunnan has China’s largest deposits of zinc, particularly in the area around the city of Gejiu. Yunnan also has China’s largest deposits of lead, tin, cadmium and several other minerals.
As one of the most important energy sources in China’s West-East Power Transmission Project, Yunnan has poured hundreds of millions of dollars into power infrastructure in the last few years. Hydropower stations are being built on the upper and lower reaches of the Lancang River and the province has built a new ultrahigh voltage supergrid, new converting stations and new transmission lines to send power eastward to Guangdong province. A proposed dam project on the Nujiang River was suspended in 2004 due to an outcry from environmentalists who feared the virgin ecosystem would be damaged.
Yunnan is still a primarily agrarian region. The topographic variety in Yunnan allows for a wide range of agriculture and enough arable land that Yunnan boasts the highest agricultural output in all of China, in addition to one third of the country’s plant species. Terrace farming covers a large proportion of hills and mountains in the province. Major food crops include rice, corn, wheat, beans, potatoes and garlic.
Cash crops are important to the provincial economy, primarily tobacco, of which Yunnan is the country’s largest producer. The small city of Yuxi, home to China’s largest cigarette manufacturer, is one of the country’s largest tobacco production bases. Yunnan’s tropical south is China’s second largest rubber production base after Hainan province. Other major cash crops include coffee, tea, sugarcane, fruit, medicinal herbs and vegetables.
Yunnan also has significant timber resources, with its forest area constituting 24% of the total for all of China. Indonesia-based Asia Pulp & Paper announced in 2004 that it will build a US$2bn pulp paper production base in Yunnan Province. The Indonesia-based paper company expects the base to produce 1.2m tons of pulp and 0.5m tons paper yearly. It began a forestation plan for the region in early 2004.
Fresh flowers are also an important cash crop for the province, which is gaining international recognition in the horticultural world. In 1999, Kunming hosted the International Horticultural Exposition.
Yunnan has the most developed tourism sector in western China. With numerous high-potential destinations still lacking access, the province’s tourism infrastructure still has plenty of development ahead of it. Main tourist draws include Kunming and the Stone Forest in the province’s center, Xishuangbanna’s rain forests and wild border town Ruili in the south and Dali, Lijiang, Tiger Leaping Gorge, Zhongdian and Diqin in the northwest. Yunnan’s extreme northwest, which includes Zhongdian and Diqin, is considered by many to be Shangri-la, the fantastic land described in James Hilton’s famous novel /Lost Horizon/.
Because of its remote location and its position near Southeast Asia’s Golden Triangle Yunnan is experiencing rapid growth in two social problems that are increasingly threatening Chinese society: HIV/AIDS and heroin. Yunnan officially has slightly over 16,000 HIV-positive residents, but most outsiders expect the actual number to be much higher. The province’s HIV infections are chiefly linked to widespread prostitution and intravenous drug use – especially heroin. Heroin coming up from Southeast Asia is generally smuggled to Dali, from where it fans out to the rest of the country. These closely linked social problems are poised to pose a greater challenge to the provincial government as well as Beijing.
Kunming's signature slow pace is likely to change as it becomes a key city in the proposed free trade zone between China and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), which is scheduled to begin in 2010. Over the last 15 years, trade between China and Southeast Asia has increased an average of 20% each year. With the lowering of tariffs between China and ASEAN member states, the trend is expected to continue.
Aside from the lowering of tariffs, transport infrastructure improvements are expected to boost China-ASEAN trade ties. Two of the most important projects are a highway linking Kunming with Singapore and a rail network that will link Kunming to Singapore via three trunk lines that will pass through Myanmar, Laos, Vietnam, Cambodia, Thailand and Malaysia.
Transport infrastructure improvements and the Southeast Asia factor have created investor interest in Kunming’s transport sector. Hong Kong-based New World First Bus formed a JV with Kunming Bus Group to operate bus service in Kunming beginning in January 2004. The bus company holds a 51% stake in the JV, which is capitalized at US$36m. New World confirmed that it is hoping to provide tour bus services on the highway currently being built from Kunming to Bangkok and then on to Singapore.
Kunming’s economy is essentially a microcosm of the provincial economy. Agriculture is a major contributor to many residents’ incomes and tobacco-related ventures employ a large number of locals. Mining is also important – one of China’s top five phosphate mines is located on the city’s outskirts – and the area also holds significant iron ore and bauxite deposits. Growth in the tourism sector is driving the local economy in addition to international awareness of the city. Other pillar industries include food processing, machinery production, textiles, construction materials and chemicals.
In 1937 and 1938, Kunming absorbed 60,000 refugees who fled the fighting between Japan and the Guomindang. This population influx was to have a profound impact on Kunming, which had approximately 150,000 residents at the beginning of 1937. After Chiang Kai-shek, by then based in Chongqing, formed his alliance with Yunnan’s warlord ruler, Kunming emerged as an intellectual center. The city was not subject to the scrutiny or censorship of the Guomindang and it became the new home of the Consolidated University, which was home to scholars from Japanese-occupied north China. To this day, Kunming is a top intellectual center in southwestern China, with universities like Yunnan University and Yunnan Normal University leading the region in research and development, as well as agricultural and minority research.
Most of old Kunming is falling victim to the wrecking ball, but there are still a few of the city’s unique old buildings left standing – for now. Highlights of the city’s center include a stroll around the bird and flower market, sipping tea near the water at Cuihu Park and catching a meal or a drink in the area between the park and Yunnan University, which is packed with unique teahouses, cafes, restaurants and bars that cater to foreigners as well as Chinese.
Information provided by Christopher Horton