YUNNAN PROVINCE

Yunnan lies in the southwest in China. It is more than 380 thousand square kilometers in area. The population is 37.7 million.
Yunnan is located in Yungui Plateau. The hilly land occupied 93 percent of the area. And the basin only occupied 6 percent. The topography her is complicated. Approximately, the northwestern part is higher than the southern part. The rivers are parts of Jinsha River, Nu River, Nan pan River, Yuan River and Yiluowadi River. It is the moist monsoon climate of tropical highland in subtropical zone. The vertical change is very striking. Yunnan abounds in mineral resources. Mainly, there is tin, zinc, titanium, copper, antimony, and phosphorous.

In Yunnan, there is a lot of natural scene. The places of interest here are Dian Spring, Cang Mountain in Dali, Xishuang banna and so on. The traditional specialties are Dali sculpture, Yun tobacco, Yun tea, Yun medicinal herbs and silver ornament.

Yunnan has 25 minorities out of a total of 56 nationalities in all of China. Visiting there is very much like visiting 26 different nations. So far as we know, no other place on earth has as much diversity in such a small area. You will always have a brand new experience "just down the road". The 25 ethnic groups give a rich patina of diversity and color to the Yunnan scene, contributing with their colorful ethnic costumes, their traditional songs and dances, to the attractive life of the old towns, the villages, the fairs and the festivals. The Water Splashing Festival of the Dai people, the March Fair of the Bai people, the Torch Festival of the Yi people, the unique life style of the Moso people, and the ancient music of the Naxi people, etc. will leave you with a happy memory that will last a lifetime.

KUNMING CITY

Kunming city is the provincial capital of Yunnan Province, which has an area of 15.6 thousand square kilometers and a population of 3.6 million.
Kunming is situated at the high plateau of the eastern part of Yunnan Province. To the south is the biggest Dian Lake of Yunnan Province. It belongs to the subtropical plateau monsoon climatic zone; the annual average temperature is 14.7? and the yearly precipitation, 1024 mm. It is rich in phosphorus, salt mine and quartz and other such mineral resources as mirabilite, iron, bauxite, copper, coal, etc; it is also rich in ground water and geothermal energy resources.
In the field of industries, priority is given to the development of machinery, metallurgy, textile and building materials, among which the industries of smelting nonferrous metals and tobacco processing form one of the main production basis of their kinds in China. The productions of machine tool, optical instruments and meters, electrical machinery, cigarette, phosphorus, phosphate fertilizer, the melting of lead, copper and zinc have captured an important share in the domestic market.
In agriculture, paddy rice, oil, flue-cured tobacco, sugar cane, fruits, sericulture and live pigs are produced in abundance. Fresh water fishery is cultivated in the Dian Lake.
Kunming City has a good transport service in traffic and has been linked with more than 30 cities, domestic and abroad, by air.
Kunming City is China's famous historic cultural city. Because it is evergreen everywhere like spring all the year round with flowers blooming everywhere, the city is known as "City of Spring" or "City of Flowers". It is indeed a well-known site for sightseeing and a summer resort. The Dian Lake and the Stone Forest are the two State
Major places of historic interest and scenic beauty. There are also such beautiful sites as "Black Dragon Pond" and "Tranquility Hot Spring". You will also have the opportunity to savour such traditional local specialities as the Yunnan Ham, Cured Chichen, Long Across the Bridge Rice Noodle, Fragrant Tea Sending Forth Delicate Fragrance far and Near, Steam Pot Chicken and the Whole Chicken Banquet, etc.

MULI

Muli Lamasery was founded in 1660.Since it was founded, it was the religion, cultural and political headquater of Muli Kindom. Every year, there are two Great Buddhist Prayers here. So if you come here at the correct time(29 May 1999,22 Nov.,1999;18 May 2000 and 10 Nov.,2000; 06 June 2001 and 29 Nov.,2001),you will have chances not only to see the most typical Yellow Hat Lamasery, but also the Yellow Hat Culture. Thousands and thousands of people will visit it during the above mentioned days. So we wish that you could become one of them.

This route traverses the enchanting territories of two former Mountain Principalities-the Lama Kingdom of Muli (Mili), and the ancient Maxi Kingdom of Yongning, a world of isolated monasteries and shaded mountain forests, inhabited by unique communities of Yi, Lolo, Tibetan and Naxi minority people.

LUGU LAKE

Lugu Lake is the biggest high land fresh water lake in both Sichuan and Yunnan Provinces. It¡¯s area is 72 square km with an elevation of 2685 m. It¡¯s average depth is about 40 m. And it is surrounded by green mountains.

THE ANCIENT CITY OF DALI

The Ancient City of Dali, also known as Yeyu in ancient times, is located 13 km south of Xiaguan, at the foot of the Cangshan Mountain in the west and overlooks the Erhai Lake in the east. It was set up in the 15th year of Emperor Hongwu Period of the Ming Dynasty (in 1382 AD) as the capital of the Dali kingdom. The original city wall was 8 metres in height and 6 km in length with four gates and gate towers in the east, west, south and north. The four gate towers are named Chen En, Tong Hai, Cangshan and An Yuan respectively. At present, only the south and north gate towers remain standing.

The layout of the ancient city resembles a chessboard. There are five streets stretching from south to north, and 8 lanes from east to west, all paved with blue slabstones. Along them are the typical houses of the Bais which have stone walls and dark blue tile roofs. The brooks from the Cangshan Mountain flow through the streets and lanes around the city into the Erhai Lake.

The people in Dali are fond of flowers and every family has a courtyard with seasonal flowers in blossom all the year round. Every February in the Chinese lunar calendar when the Flower Festival is held, pots of flowers are displayed in front of every house, which forms a vast sea of flowers in the whole city.

Inside the city, there are many historical relics and places of interest such as "the Forbidden City" which served as the headquarters of Du Wen xiu Uprising (1856), the anciet Yuxi School and "Foreigners Street" in Huguo Street. Along this street lie many tea houses, antique shops, Chinese and Western restaurants, and the ancient buildings are found here and there. Tourists at home and abroad have been attracted to visit Dail. The ancient architectural beauties, rich minority customs and picturesque scenery are the main attractions of Dail.

Li Jiang Scenic Area is situated in Li Jiang Naxi Nationality Autonomous County, Yunnan Province, which is the famous cultural city of history.

NAXI

Naxi is so far the only ethnic group with living pictographic characters. And that the local people here still play the music of Tang Dynasty of more than one thousand years ago. Reaching the Maxi cultural center of Lijiang we rest under the shadow of the Jade Dragon Mountain before continuing on to the ancestral home of the Bai People at Dali by the waters of Erhai Lake.

Trekking in this region offers a rare glimpse into the rich cultural and geographic diversity of this little visited area foothills of the Tibetan Plateau west of the old walled city of Xichang to proceed through high nomad country, forested woodland and remote villages to the Sichuan-Yunnan frontier. Then goes inside so far the only living matriarchal society area-Lugu Lake. Lugu Lake is the biggest high land fresh water lake in both Sichuan and Yunnan Provinces. It¡¯s area is 72 square km with an elevation of 2660 m.

After a few days of trekking in the beauty of the lake, we descend into the valleys of the upper Yangtse. Reaching the Maxi Cultural center of Lijiang. Naxi is so far the only ethnic group with living pictographic characters. And that the local people here still plays the music of Tang Dynasty of more than one thousand years ago. Reaching the Maxi cultural center of Lijiang we rest under the shadow of the Jade Dragon Mountain before continuing on to the ancestral home of the Bai People at Dali by the waters of Erhai Lake.

SNOW MOUNTAIN OF JADE DRAGON

It is 5596 meters above sea level, and its 13 peaks look like a crystal jade dragon dancing in the air with snow capped peaks touching the cloud, a magnificent scene indeed.

Tiger Jumping Gorge.

On the western of it there stands high the precipice with narrow bottom. From the river surface to the peak, the relative height is 3900 meters, while the width of the river is only 30 meters which forms a grand gorge. Within the 20 km long gorge, there are 18 dangerous shoals, one of the deepest and largest gorges in the world!

The Old Town of Lijiang

The old Town of Lijiang in northwest Yunnan Province is 600 km from Kunming. Adapted itself harmoniously to the uneven topography of this key commercial and strategic site, it has retained an historic townscape of high quality and authenticity. Its architecture is noteworthy for the blending of elements from several cultures that have come together over many centuries. Lijiang also possesses an ancient water-supply system of great complexity and ingenuity that is still functioning effectively. The home mainly of the Naxi nationality people, Lijiang is the Naxi Autonomous County seat. In 1997 the Old Town of Lijiang was put on UNESCO Heritage List.