Yunnan covers an area of 394,000 square kilometers with the average altitude ranging from 2,500 to 3,000 meters above the sea level, includes 16 prefectures and municipalities, and has a total population of 44 million of which 30 percent are minorities; there are 26 nationalities with a population of more than 5,000 respectively and 25 ones are minorities, for which Yunnan Province ranks first in China. Yunnan Province is rich in resources too; thanks to its variety of species, it is appropriately called The World's Gene Databank by zoologists and botanists; endowed with the prototypes of its ethnic cultures, it fascinates anthropologists all over the world who praise it as the Living Fossils of Human Evolution; it is also vividly named as the Red Land due to its red soil.
The cultural genes revealing the same origin of Yunnan and the interior of China find full expression in different parts of Yunnan Province. The archaeological discoveries have proved that Yunnan is not only one of the birthplaces of mankind in Asia and in the world but also a birthplace of the ancient civilization of China. The bronze wares unearthed in Yunnan have proved that as early as the Warring States Periods and the Qin and Han Dynasties, Yunnan created wonderful cultural treasures.
In 1997, Lijiang Old Town was inscribed upon the World Heritage List by UNESCO; since 2001, Sideng Street of Shaxi Town in Jianchuan County of Yunnan has been on the World Heritage List of Memorial Architecture and in August of 2003, the Dongba Classics were inscribed upon the World Memory Heritage List. With its unique and mysterious ethnic histories and cultures, Yunnan also fascinates scholars, experts and tourists as well. Yunnan has wonderful natural landscapes; its gorgeous mountains and rivers have become natural tourism resources: the karst landscapes in the east, the snowcapped mountains and glaciers in the north, the terrestrial-heat springs and volcanoes in the west, the tropical rainforests in the south and the plateau lakes in central Yunnan; especially, Kunming, its capital city, is regarded as a city of eternal spring with pleasant and mild weather conditions all the year round. In July of 2003, owing to its natural values, the Three Rivers on Parallel Area of Yunnan was inscribed upon the World Heritage List by UNESCO, which has a total area of 34,000 square kilometers, the largest of its kind in China and is a famous scenic resort. Yunnan's colorful ethnic customs have created its rich and unique cultures which are perfectly and harmoniously merged with its wonderful natural landscapes, revealing an image of Everlasting Shangri-La and attracting numerous tourists from all over the world.
The natural beauties, ethnic customs and local cultures of Yunnan comprise its exclusive tourism treasures. At present, Yunnan has ten scenic tourist regions and one holiday resort at national level, ranking third in China in this respect. In addition, there are forty-eight scenic tourist regions and eight holiday resorts at provincial level, thus forming eleven tourist routes and six selected routes at national level. If you have not been in Yunnan, you may ignore her, but once you are in Yunnan, you will for sure fall in love with her; this is the sincere expression of many tourists who have visited Yunnan.
In 2002, Yunnan received 52 million domestic and overseas tourists (person-time) with a total income of 29 billion Yuan (RMB), accounting for 12.8 percent of the GDP of Yunnan Province, which implies the initial transition from a province with rich tourism resources to a province with a strong tourism economy. In 2001, The World Tourism Organization and Yunnan Provincial Government jointly worked out a General Plan for Yunnan Tourism Development in the early 21st Century and its goal is to build Yunnan into a strong tourism economy. The main target is as follow: Yunnan would have been built into an Asia-famous or even world-famous tourism attraction by 2020 with the number of tourists hitting 70 million (person-time yearly) and a total tourism income of 77 billion Yuan (RMB), accounting for over 15 percent of the GDP of Yunnan Province, which indicates the transition of Yunnan tourism from a supporting industry to a major industry.
Colorful Yunnan, Tourism Paradise. Enthusiastic and hospitable people here welcome friends from home and abroad to enjoy the beauty, myths and mysteries of Yunnan; and you will better understand, “If you have not been in Yunnan, you may ignore her, but once you are in Yunnan, you will, for sure, fall in love with her.”
A mysterious and exotic Yunnan is absolutely a great, pleasant and brand-new experience.
Welcome to Yunnan!
Yu Dingcheng
Director of Yunnan Provincial Tourism Administration
Welcome to Yunnan!
Yu Dingcheng
Director of Yunnan Provincial Tourism Administration
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