Kunming Travel Guide

China City Guide

Kunming Brief

Kunming, 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.

Kunming History
Kunming Climate
Kunming Culture
Kunming Food
Kunming Geography

Kunming History

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...

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Kunming Climate

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...

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Kunming Culture

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%...

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Kunming Food

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...

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Kunming Geography

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...

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