China Kunming City:
Kunming
Resident People:Population: 3.89 million
Urban Population: 1.69 million
Area: 21,018 sq km
General Information:Kunming, capital of Yunnan Province, with a history of more than 2400 years, owes its importance to the fact that it was the gateway to the celebrated Silk Road that facilitated trade with Tibet, Sichuan, Myanmar and India. Today the city is the political, economical and cultural center of Yunnan and the provincial center for transport, science and technology and consequently has become the most popular center for tourism in Southwest China.
Kunming enjoys a pleasant climate and does its best to live up to its title of "the City of Eternal Spring". Whenever you are planning to go, the temperature is always pleasant. With its convenient transport links in and out of the city, Kunming welcomes and sees off tens of thousands of tourists every day.
Kunming is the focal point of Yunnan minority culture. Some 26 ethnic minorities such as Han, Yi, Bai, Miao, Dai, Hani and more inhabit the region. Each group has its own featured festivals such as the Torch festival of Yi people, the Golden Temple Fair and so on. The hugely successful 1999 International Horticultural Exposition enhanced Kunming's influence in the world resulting in a snowball effect upon tourism as more and more foreigners come to discover this enchanting part of China.
Geography:Covering an area of 15,561 square kilometers with a population of 3.7 million, Kunming, the capital city of Yunnan Province, is a tourist city renowned for its perennially pleasant weather, intriguing highland scenes and sights, and venerated history. Thus it has been entitled as 'one of the historical and cultural cities of China' . Since it stands at an altitude of 1,895 meters with an annually average temperature of 15.1 Celsius, no wonder it has got a sobriquet 'Spring City' .
Kunming enjoys a convenient transportation and communication too. Its highways connect those of Burma, Laos and Vietnam. It has more than 50 regular international and domestic flights to Hong Kong and Macao, and major cities in China as well as to the well known international cities such as Bangkok, Chiang Mai, Rangoon, Vientiane, Kuala Lumpur, Jakarta, Singapore and so on. Besides, IDD telephone service is available as well .
Kunming is rich in both natural and historical tourist resources. Major tourist attractions include the site of '99 International Horticultural Exposition, Yunnan Ethnic Villages, the Stone Forest, the Jiuxiang Caves, the Xishan (West Mountain ) Forest Park, the Grand View Park, the Black Dragon Pool, the Bamboo Temple, the Jindian (Golden Hall) Scenic Resort, the Anning Hot Springs, the Yuantong Temple , the Zhenghe Park, etc.
Kunming Map
Kunming Economy:Kunming is very rich in agricultural and mineral resources. The soil is good for growing grains, oil-bearing plants, cured tobacco, vegetables and fruits. Animal and poultry husbandry is prosperous. The main mineral reserves are phosphate, iron ore, arenaceous quartz, salt, bauxite and others, which are found in more than 100 ore deposit locations. Among them, P mine is the most famous one, the total reserves are 4.6 billion tons. In Kunming, there is the biggest open-cut P mine. The reserve of iron-sand is 6000 tons. Salt mine in Anning covers a total area of 60 square km. and boasts a reserve of more than 10 billion tons with a high content of 60% to 70%, offering great potentials in development. The quality of quartz sand is high, it is the raw material of making high-quality glass.
The industry of Kunming is a key link in her economy. And it has complexes of machinery, metallurgy, foodstuffs, textile, building material and chemicals. Manufactures include steel and nonferrous metals, machine tools, chemicals, and cement. Copper, lead, zinc, and iron ore are mined nearby. Many products occupy important positions in China's markets. In industry, there is metallurgy, machinery, equipment, chemistry, building materials, textile, food, papermaking and so on. The machinery industry is the main part of the industry in Yunnan. The output value here can occupy 1/4 of the total industrial output in Yunnan. The precision machine tool that is produced by Kunming Machine Tool Factory is in high quality, and now , it has entered the international market. And also, there is the biggest raw material base of synthetic detergent and the largest company of phosphate fertilizer process.
Kunming is a promising tourist destination with its unmatched advantages of tourist resources and unique tourism resorts in all the four seasons. Nowadays, tourists from all over the world are streaming in for tour. Kunming has now established friendly intercity relationships with many cities in the world, greatly promoting the mutual understanding, friendly exchange, friendship and cooperation in all fields.
History:Situated on the Yunnan-Guizhou Plateau in southwest China, Kunming is the capital of Yunnan Province and is known as the City of Perpetual Spring.
In 279 B.C., during the Warring States Period (475-221 B.C.), Zhuang Qiao, a general of the state of Chu in Hunan, entered Yunnan, unified the surrounding area of Dianchi Lake, and became the first ruler in the region, the King of Dian. Since then, Yunnan is called Dian for short.
Kunming Culture:With unique landscapes and a long history, Kunming has many relics and ancient structures. Standing along the Shulin and Dongsi Roads in the city proper are the Dongsi (East Temple) and Xisi (West Temple) Pagodas that were built in the Tang Dynasty (618-907). In the Guzhuang Park, there is a prayer wheel that is considered to be the most significant relic of the ancient Dali Kingdom founded about 1,500 years ago in central Yunnan. The Jingang (Guardian) Temple preserves China's oldest dagoba on a pedestal, which is decorated with a relief of the Buddha's guardians. The Helong (Black Dragon) Pool is famous for an ancestral temple of the Han Dynasty (206 B.C.-220 A.D.), plum trees of the Tang Dynasty, cypress trees of the Song Dynasty (960-1279), and tea trees of the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644). The Qiongzhu (Bamboo) Temple, on the other hand, built in the 13th century, houses a group of sculptures depicting the 500 disciples of the Buddha. The Jindian (Golden) Hall, built in 1671, is special because all its beams, pillars, arches, roof tiles, and window frames are made of cast bronze. In addition, people may want to visit Cuihu (Green) Lake, the Yuantong Temple, and the temples in the Western Hills while in Kunming.
