- Yunnan Province

Population: 34.6 million

Urban population: 10 million

Nationalities: Han, Yi, Bai, Hani, Zhuang, Dai, Miao, Lisu, Hui, Lahu, Va, Naxi, Yao, Tibetan, Jingpo, Blang, Pumi, Nu, Achang, Deang (Penglong), Mongolian, Drung, and Jino.

Area: 380,000 square kilometers

Altitude: 4,000 meters in the northern mountain region; 2,000 meters on the southern highland.

Climatic features: From north to south the province spans three climatic zones - temperate, subtropical, and tropical; conspicuous changes in climate; two clear-cut seasons, dry and humid; rainy season from May to October.

Average temperature: 8 - 17 C. in January, 11 - 29 C. in July

Annual Average Rainfall: 600 - 2,300 mm; low precipitation in the northwest, high in the southeast; 60 percent of the rain falls from June to August.

Physical features: High in the northwest and low in the southeast; over 90 percent of the province is mountainous; the relative height of mountain peaks from river valleys can be as much as 3,000 meters.

Rivers: Nujiang, Lancang, Jinsha, Yuanjiang, and Nanpan Rivers

Products: Rice, wheat, corn, sorghum, potatoes, sugar cane, peanuts, soybeans, peas, rapeseed, tea; oranges, bananas, pineapples, coconuts, walnuts; cotton, silk cocoons; flue-cured tobacco; timber; tropical plants; tin, copper, zinc, marble, phosphorus.

Administrative divisions: 8 autonomous prefectures, 11 cities, 86 counties, and 28 autonomous counties.

Capital: Kunming

Neighboring Areas: Sichuan and Guizhou Provinces; Tibet and Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Regions.

Neighboring Countries: Burma, Laos, and Vietnam

Major Cities: Kunming, Dongchuan, Gejiu, Dali, Luxi, Jinghong

Tourist Attractions: Kunming, city of "eternal spring"; hot springs of Anning in Kunming; Dianchi Lake, south of Kunming; Stone Forest, a typical karst area, about 80 kilometers east of Kunming.

Source: Atlas of the Peoples Republic of China, Beijing, 1989.

Last modified: Tuesday, December 16, 2003