Yunnan

     From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

Yunnan (Simplified Chinese: 云南, Traditional: 雲南, pinyin: Yunnan) is a province of the People's Republic of China, located in the far southwestern corner of the country.

云南省/雲南省
Yunnan Shěng

Province Abbreviation(s): 滇 (Diān) or 云 (Yun)
Capital	Kunming (昆明)
Area  - Total  - % water	Ranked 8th 394,000 km² xx%
Population  - Total (2000)  - Density	Ranked 12th 42,880,000 109/km²
Administration Type	Province
Governor	Xu Rongkai

Table of contents

1 History 2 Geography 2.1 Rivers 2.2 Borders 3 Economy 4 Demographics 5 Culture 6 Tourism 7 Miscellaneous topics 8 External links

History

From the 7th to the 13th centuries, Yunnan was the site of the Bai kingdom of Nanchao.

In 1894, George Ernest Morrison, an Australian correspondent for The Times, travelled from Beijing to British-occupied Burma via Yunnan. His book An Australian in China details his experiences.

Geography

Yunnan is one of the most culturally and geographically varied province in China, with many minority peoples nestled throughout the region's mountains, jungles and river-valleys.

See also: Maotianshan shales

Rivers

Several major rivers flow through the province, including:

• the Mekong (澜沧江; lan2cang1jiang1), which empties in the South China Sea via Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam
• the Red River (元江; yuan2jiang1), which empties in the South China Sea via Hanoi, Vietnam
• Salween (怒江； nu4jiang1), which empties in the Andaman Sea via Burma.

Borders

Bordering provinces are Tibet, Sichuan, Guizhou and Guangxi. Bordering countries are Vietnam, Laos and Myanmar.

Economy

Demographics

Ethnic groups include:

• Dai people in Xishuangbanna

Culture

One of Yunnan's famous products is Pu'er tea, named after the town of Pu'er.

Tourism

Tourist centres in Yunnan include Dali, the Naxi town of Lijiang, Zhongdian, The Stone Forest and Jinghong, Xishuangbanna.

The Old Town of Lijiang, is a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1997.

Miscellaneous topics

External links