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Kunming Brief

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Kunming of China Map of Kunming

Prefecture-level city: Kunming · 昆明市 Nickname(s): City of Eternal Spring Coordinates: 25°04′N 102°41′E Country: People's Republic of China Province: Yunnan GB/T 2260: 530100 County-level divisions: 14 Township divisions: 137 Settled: c.279 BCE Admin HQ: Panlong Admin units: List Government: Party Secretary: Qiu He (仇和) Mayor: Zhang Zulin (张祖林) Vice Mayor: Wang Xiaoguang (王晓光) Area: Prefecture-level city: 21,473 km2 (8,290.8 sq mi) Urban: 330 km2 (127.4 sq mi) Elevation: 1,892 m (6,207 ft) Population (2009 est.): Prefecture-level city: 6,800,000 Density: 316.7/km2 (820.2/sq mi) Urban: 3,200,000 Urban Density: 9,697/km2 (25,115/sq mi) Rank in China: 16th Time zone: China Standard Time (UTC+8) Postal code: 650000 Area code(s): 0871 License plate prefixes: 云A GDP (2008): CNY 160.5 billion per capita: CNY 25,826 Website: http://www.km.gov.cn (Chinese)

Kunming ( Chinese: 昆明; pinyin: Kūnmíng), the "Spring City",which is situated in central Yunnan and north of the Dianchi Basin, is skirted on three sides by mountains, with one side opening onto the Dianchi Lake. The city is nicknamed City of Spring due to the fact that it is covered all the year round with the rich verdure of trees and plants. Endowed with a pleasant climate, Kunming is world-famous for its abundance of camellias, orchids, azaleas and Primula malacoides , which can be found in the Kunming Botanical Garden, where 4,000 varieties of tropical and subtropical plants grow profusely.

The "Spring City" is one of the most beautiful places in China, cradled in the foothills of the Himalayas and decorated with diverse flora and Fauna-all wrapped up with a culturally rich history.

In ancient times it was an important gateway to the celebrated Silk Road which conducted to Tibet, Sichuan, Myanmar and India.

Marco Polo may have been the first Westerner to be captivated by Yunnan's awesome natural beauty, cultural diversity and food.Wandering the city, one sees minority peoples in embroidered garb selling fruit and a huge variety of beautiful tropicaI flowers from baskets carried on bamboo poles slung across their shoulders,towering mountains, and clean fresh air contrasted with a bustling rapidly modernizing Chinese city with large scale construction projects.

The citys highland scenery is alluring; its karst landform is bewitching. Its people are known for their varied and exotic habits and customs, and its land is pockmarked with historical artifacts, places of cultural interest, and gardens landscaped with a picturesque taste. Among the major scenic spots of Kunming are the Dianchi Lake, the Cuihu Lake, the Village of Ethnic Culture, the Jindian (Golden Temple) Park, the Western Mountain Forest Reserve, the Stone Forest, the Jiuxiang Scenic Belt, the Yuantong Mountain, the Grand View Pavilion, and the Qiongzhu Temple.

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Kunming History

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Early townships in the southern edge of (outside the comtemporary city perimeter) can be dated back to, although long since lost to history.

In AD, Tuodong city was founded.

In the 13th century, Marco Polo is thought to have traveled to this area and written about his fascination. The city was renamed Kunming by the rulers of the Yuan dynasty in 1276.

In the 14th century, Kunming was retaken by the Ming Dynasty, which built a wall surrounding present-day Kunming...

Kunming History

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Kunming Climate

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Kunming, the capital city of yunnan Province, is low-latitude monsoon climate with sunlight of 2250 hours, frost-free of 230 days; no bitter cold in winter or no extreme hot in summer, 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.

Controlled by a temperate plateau monsoon climate (Koppen classification Cwb), average highs are 15 C in winter and 24 C in summer...

Kunming Climate

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Kunming Culture

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The city has 275 scientific research institutions employing 205,000 scientists and technicians. Included were 68,500 people with middle-level and senior professional titles. In 1995, the city achieved 60 research findings, of which one reached the advanced international standard, 17 advanced domestic standard and 21 advanced provincial standard. The contribution by scientific progress accounted for 32% of the city's economic growth, 36.6% of its industrial growth and 36.4% of its agricultural growth. The city has spent more improving teaching conditions and raising the standard of education. It provides 560,000 tons of tapped water a day. Altogether 195,000 households are supplied with piped gas for cooking and 170,000 families use liquefied gas to cook. The rate of the urban gasification reached 87%...

Kunming Culture

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Kunming Food

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Food in Yunnan, as everywhere in China, is as varied as the local ingredients. Yunnan's diverse environment, from mountains in the west to subtropical forests in the south inspires an extremely palatable, although strange range of dishes. True to Chinese style, the thousands of varieties of plants and animals are well represented in cooking.

Cross-the-bridge noodles (Guoqiao Mixian) are prepared at the table by adding raw ingredients into a hot broth. The ingredients in the soup are seemingly unlimited, except by what your palate can handle...

Kunming Food

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Kunming Geography

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Kunming is situated atop a plateau in Yunnan Province. It enjoys a protected location with mountains surrounding the city on three sides, and a lake to the south.

Elevation: 1900 meters (6200 feet) above sea level.

Kunming is located in east-central Yunnan province. It is located between north latitude 24°23´ and 26°22´N, and east longitude 102°10´and 103°40´E, with a total area of 21,600 square km. Its widest stretch from the east to the west amounts to 140 km and its largest expansion from the north to the south amounts to 220 km...

Kunming Geography