Welcome to Kunming!
Kunming (昆明 Kūnmíng) is the capital of Yunnan Province in China. Known in China as the City of Eternal Spring, Kunming is at an almost-tropical latitude but with a 2000 m (6600 ft) altitude, which gives it a very temperate climate. However, in winter it has been known to snow, so if visiting in December–February, pack warm. Also, when it rains - it's cold.
The air is also quite clean compared to other Chinese cities, even though the traffic-congested streets still emit more than their fair share of pollution. The population of the prefecture of Kunming is now close to 10 million and the city is expanding rapidly, with numerous highways and modern buildings. Largely because of the fine climate, flower-growing is a major industry, tourist attractions include flower exhibits and auctions and a huge botanical garden.
In addition to its own charms, Kunming serves as a base from which to explore Yunnan province. Some routes to or from Kunming are described in Hong Kong to Kunming overland. The most popular route within Yunnan runs north and west from Kunming and is described in the Yunnan tourist trail. Kunming is also the jumping-off point for trips to the tropical paradise area Xishuangbanna down in southern Yunnan near the Laotian border.
Kunming (Chinese: 昆明, pinyin: Kūnmíng), also known as Yunnan-Fu, is the capital and largest city of Yunnan province, China. It is the political, economic, communications, and cultural center of the province as well as the seat of the provincial government. The headquarters of many of Yunnan's large businesses are in Kunming. It was important during World War II as a Chinese military center, American air base, and transport terminus for the Burma Road. In the middle of the Yunnan–Guizhou Plateau, Kunming is at an altitude of 1,900 meters (6,234 feet) above sea level and a latitude just north of the Tropic of Cancer. As of the 2020 census, Kunming had a total population of 8,460,088. As of the 2018 estimation, its urban population was 4,089,100. and its built-up (or metro) area made of all urban districts but Jinning, not conurbated yet, was home to 3,779,900 inhabitants. It is at the northern edge of Dian Lake, surrounded by temples and lake-and-limestone hill landscapes.
Kunming consists of an old, previously walled city, a modern commercial district, residential zones, and university areas. It is also one of the top 200 cities in the world by scientific research output as tracked by the Nature Index. The city has an astronomical observatory, and its institutions of higher learning include Yunnan University, Kunming University of Science and Technology, Yunnan University of Finance and Economics, Kunming Medical University, Yunnan Normal University, Yunnan Agricultural University, and Southwest Forestry University. On the northeast mountainous outskirt is a bronze temple dating from the Ming dynasty, the largest of its kind in China.
Kunming's economic importance derives from its geographical position. It is near the border with Southeastern Asian countries, serving as a transportation hub in Southwest China, linking by rail to Vietnam and by road to Burma, Laos, and Thailand. This positioning also makes it an important trade center in the region. It also houses some manufacturing, chiefly the processing of copper, as well as various chemicals, machinery, textiles, paper, and cement. Kunming has a nearly 2,400-year history, but its modern prosperity dates only to 1910 when the railway from Hanoi was built. The city has continued to develop rapidly under China's modernization efforts. Kunming's streets have widened while office buildings and housing projects develop at a fast pace. Kunming has been designated a special tourism center and as such sports a proliferation of high-rises and luxury hotels.