Kunming, China Tourism

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a single day it is possible for the city to experience considerable variations in temperature. The city is also the cultural capital of the province, possessing universities, colleges and an institute for minorities.

People of many different nationalities live together in the city, a fact immediately apparent just from external appearances. There is a wide range of handmade goods available, e.g. embroidered blouses and caps. A modern, urban culture blends with the traditional Chinese way of life in Kunmin despite the demolition of the historic center of the town in 1990.

In the 3rd C BC. General Zhuang Qiao retreated to the shores of Lake Dianchi and founded the city of Kunming. Under the Tang dynasty (618-907) it had the role of a military base. A little later on it became the capital of the Nanshao Kingdom. Kunming developed into an important trading center, supplying India, Indochina, Burma and Sichuan. Marco Polo described it in 1287 as a ''fine city'' with inhabitants of many different races. In addition he mentioned the wealth of its trading houses and its salt production. Around 1650 the last hereditary prince of the Ming dynasty sought refuge in Kunming and founded the Southern Ming kingdom, which was destroyed eleven years later by Qing troops. In 1855 the city started a rebellion against its foreign Manchurian rulers but it was brutally put down. After 1910, when the railroad line to Haiphong (now Hanoi) was opened, Kunming developed into a modern city. At the time of the Japanese invasion a large number of factories and research establishments were transferred here, in order to save them from destruction. In the last forty years Kunming has experienced another enormous spurt of growth and become a major economic center.