"Mountains and Minorities" Top 5 Page for this destination Yunnan Sheng by XenoHumph

Yunnan Sheng Travel Guide: 2,027 reviews and 5,720 photos

Not typical China

Yunnan is not very typical of China. This comes mainly from the fact that most of its population is made up by a mosaic of minorities, i.e. people of non "Han" Chinese origin. These minorities are related mainly to Tibetan populations in the North and West and to Vietnamese, Burmanese or Laotian in the South. Second, its history is different from that of China as Yunnan or part of it have been independant or semi-independant for several centuries in a row (for example the Nanzhao kingdom centered in Dali from the 8 to 13th century AD). So, although Yunnan seems now perfectly integrated into China as it does not seem to display the struggle of the Tibetans or the Uighurs for example, travelling through this province makes you encounter many customs, languages and art forms which are varied and not Chinese.

A typical sight in Yunnan: a woman carrying a wicker basket on her back dressed in a minority costume (in this case probably Yi).
Your wanderings in Yunnan will probably make you meet several minorities, from the Dai in the Southern Xishuangbanna region to the few Mosu in the North around lake Lugu. Here is a glimpse of a few among the hundreds!
The Naxi, of tibeto-burman origin, live around Lijiang and have a matriarchal society and their own ancient writing made of pictograms.
The Bai, a sino-tibetan people live around Dali with their white dominated costumes, their earthquake proof traditional buildings and their thousands of years of agriculture practice.
The Sani, part of the tibeto-burman Yi minority serve as guides in the Stone Forest and make pretty embroided cloths. The Yi make the biggest minority (more than 4 million people) and are now found in many parts of Yunnan.

Yunnan is located in the Southern part of China. It is bordered by Burma, Laos and Vietnam, therefore having heavy jungle, hot and humid climate on its Southern part. But it is also at the Eastern edge of the Himalayas, right next to Tibet, and therefore is mainly characterized by a very mountainous terrain and a nice mild and pleasant "spring like" climate.

Pros and Cons
  • Pros:Beautiful mountains, pretty villages, colorful minority costumes, great weather, good food
  • Cons:road construction, red dust, cigarette smoke, polluted lakes and rivers, earthquakes
  • In a nutshell:Northwestern Yunnan, edge of the Himalayas, is my favorite
  • Last visit to Yunnan Sheng: May 2004
  • Intro Updated Mar 4, 2005
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Reviews (63)

Comments (24)

  • kidfree's Profile Photo
    Feb 22, 2009 at 10:23 AM

    Great page, superb photos. I wish I`d taken the sunset myself.

  • tremendopunto's Profile Photo
    Sep 21, 2007 at 2:05 AM

    Amazing Yunnan page! You really got an eye for the right scenes - great pics! Your detailed tips complete this wonderful page. Im still sad for missing this part on my china travels, though....there is always a next time ;-)

  • elpariente's Profile Photo
    Jun 19, 2007 at 9:30 AM

    Your great pages will help me to prepair my China travel They are very intersting !!!!

  • y_lyn's Profile Photo
    Sep 8, 2006 at 6:46 AM

    Wow! What great pages you have! Nice photos... make me want to go Yunnan by this year :)

  • nepalgoods's Profile Photo
    Apr 27, 2006 at 12:27 PM

    GReat page! I hate karaoke!

  • roamer61's Profile Photo
    Mar 16, 2006 at 4:45 AM

    Extraordinary, beautiful. No one word can describe it. Excellent page and tips. Will hopefully go there one day.

  • chewy3326's Profile Photo
    Feb 17, 2006 at 6:31 PM

    What a beautiful place, Tiger Leaping Gorge looks very impressive!

  • Nov 1, 2005 at 11:58 AM

    Hi Xeno, Loved your opening pic of the sunset on your Yunnan Sheng page. Stunning! Also loved the tea shop. I was also confused. Have Great evening!

  • Trekki's Profile Photo
    Sep 29, 2005 at 12:27 PM

    Have heared already that Yunnan is an awesome part of China (outside of the cities) and your page is the proof :-) Shilin looks stunning, and Lijiang so beautiful ! Yes, what a shame that they destroy so much of their heritage towns !

  • perfectly_zen's Profile Photo
    Jul 1, 2005 at 3:49 PM

    I´m impressed with your pictures!! very unique....and the tips about water were very helpful as well.....=) If one day i get to China, surely i´ll be heading to Yunnan...

XenoHumph

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