Business and Travel in Yunnan Province

Though somewhat poor when compared to other Chinese provinces, Yunnan certainly doesn’t lack natural wealth. This beautiful corner of the country is filled with spectacular scenery, a variety of plants and animals and an abundance of mineral deposits. The provincial capital, Kunming, is doing well enough to be ranked 12th in the country in 1992. You’ll find Yunnan in the far southwestern corner of the People’s Republic of China.

An abundance of natural wealth is certainly something that Yunnan in China can pride itself on. It has the highest concentration of tropical, subtropical, frozen and temperate zone plants in the entire country and it is also home to a variety of ancient endemic plants and foreign plants which have been introduced over the years. In fact, there are so many plant species here, that of the 30 000 plant species known to occur in the country, 18 000 of them are in Yunnan. Animals found in this wonderfully varied environment include the massive forest dwelling ox known as the Asian gaur, the tiger and the Asian elephant. There is also a wonderful variety of tourist attractions in the province which are worth seeing. Dali, the historic center of the Dali kingdom, is a good place to start. Then there is Jinghong, Shangri-La Country, Daguan Park, Black Dragon Pool, Bamboo Temple, Golden Temple, Zheng He Park, Western Hills and the Yuanyang settlements. Lijian is famous for the hand-painted Chinese poetry which adorns the doors of homes and is a great place to visit. Of course, no trip to the region would be complete without visiting the Stone Forest which is east of Kunming. And before your trip is done, you should take the time to sample some Pu-erh tea and Yunnan Golden Needle tea – both of which have made the region world famous. Perhaps you will be able to do so whilst savoring the ever diverse and beautiful scenery that can be found in this beautiful part of the country.

Though there are many poor people in the region, it would seem that trade in Yunnan is thriving in certain city centers. Since the government has put into action several plans to improve the local economy and infrastructure, the economic situation certainly has been improving. The major industries in Yunnan Province include tobacco, biology, tourism and mining. It also exports electrical equipment, chemical and agricultural products, machinery and non-ferrous metals. In 2004 the nominal GDP for the province was US$ 36.71 billion and it has also been enjoying an annual growth rate of approximately 8.1%. A lot of mining still remains to be done with the potential value of deposits in the area being valued at 3 trillion yuan. So visit this enjoyable part of the country and discover a wealth of business opportunities and cultural treasures.