Kunming
Set in the foothills of the Himalayas, Yunnan is the most varied of all of
China's provinces, with terrains as widely divergent as tropicall rainforest
in the east boardering Mayanmar and Laos to the icy Tibetan highlands of the
western frontier. It is alos the sixth largest provinces in China and the
home of almost half of China's ethnic minorities, and it harbours half of
all China's plant and animal species.The jurisdiction of Kunming covers
6,200 sq.km.
Yunnan's Chinese name means "South of the Clouds," which is especially apt
considering the dreary weather in Sichuan, the province immediately to the
north. Known throughout the country as the City of Eternal Spring, Yunnan's
capital city of Kunming enjoys some of the most temperate weather in China.
With the average summer temperature peaking out at 27 degrees Celsius (80¢XF)
and the winter's coldest temperatures around 3 Celsius (35¢XF), Kunming's
climate makes it a popular destination for foreigners and Chinese alike.
Dali
Yunnan is well known as a nature lover's paradise. Visiters will find this is a place of picturesque scenery, affluence, and mystery, thanks to its diverse ethnic population and traditions that had been preserved. Some historians have found evidence to suggest that James Hilton's novel, Lost Horizon, depicting the exotic "Shangri-La", was based in northwest Yunnan.