Kunming is at an altitude of 1,900 metres (6,234 feet)above sea level and alatitude just north of theTropic of Cancer, and is situated in the middle of theYunnan–Guizhou Plateau. Kunming is the fourth–most populous city inWestern China, afterChongqing,Chengdu, andXi'an, and the third–most populous city inSouthwestern China after Chongqing and Chengdu. As of the 2020 census, Kunming had a total population of 8,460,088 inhabitants, of whom 5,604,310 lived in its built-up (or metro) area made of all urban districts exceptJinning. It is at the northern edge ofDian Lake, surrounded by temples and lakes andkarst topography.[7]
Kunming is a major economic center in Western China. The city's economic importance derives from its geographical position, as it shares a border with variousSoutheast Asian countries, serving them as a transportation hub in Southwest China, linking by rail toVietnam andLaos, and by road toMyanmar andThailand. This positioning also makes the city an important commercial center of trade in the region. The city also acts as a gateway toSoutheast Asia andSouth Asia, theKunming Changshui International Airport is one of the top 50-busiest airports in the world.[9][10] As of 2024, the city is also home to six consulates from ASEAN countries.[11]
The headquarters of many of Yunnan's biggest corporations are based in the city, such asHongta Group,Yunnan Copper Group, Hongyun Group, Yunnan Power Grid Co, and Fudian Bank.[12][13] Kunming 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 fromHanoi was built. The city has continued to develop rapidly under China's modernization efforts. Kunming was designated a special tourism center and, as such, has experienced a proliferation ofhigh-rises andluxury hotels.[14]
"Kunming" evolved from the name of an ancient ethnic group called theKunming Yi orKunming Barbarian (昆明夷). They were a branch of theDi-Qiang people. TheKunming Yi lived in the neighbouring region ofErhai Lake during theWestern Han dynasty. The Han dynasty incorporated the territory of theDian Kingdom and set up a commandery calledYizhou in 109 BC; the Han dynasty also incorporated theKunming Yi into Yizhou Commandery soon after. Therefore,Kunming Yi expanded east to theLake Dian area later. "Kunming" has acted as a place name since theThree Kingdoms period, but the reference was not clear because this ethnicity occupied a large region. In theYuan dynasty, the central government set up "Kunming County" in modern Kunming; the name "Kunming" has continued to this day.[15]
A 2009 research paper proposes that the name "Kunming" ofKunming Yi is acognate word of "Khmer" and "Khmu" that originally meant "people".[16]
Kunming long profited from its position on the caravan route through toSouth Asia andSoutheast Asia. Early townships on the southern edge ofLake Dian (outside the contemporary city perimeter) can be dated back to 279 BC, although they have been long lost to history. Early settlements in the area around Lake Dian date back toNeolithic times. TheDian Kingdom, whose original language likely belonged to theTibeto-Burman languages, was also established near the area.[17]
Dian was ruled by the ChineseHan dynasty under the reign ofEmperor Wu of Han in 109 BC. The Han dynasty incorporated the territory of the Dian into theirYizhou Commandery, but left the ruler of Dian with the title.[18]
The Han dynasty (205 BC–AD 220), seeking control over theSouthern Silk Road running to Burma,Pakistan and India, brought small parts of Yunnan into China's orbit, but subsequent dynasties could do little to tame what was then a remote and wild borderland until the 13th century.[19][contradictory] During theSui dynasty (581–618), two military expeditions were launched against the area, and it was renamedKunzhou in Chinese sources.[20]
Founded in 765, Kunming was known to the ancient Chinese asTuodong (拓東) city in theKingdom of Nanzhao (737–902) during the 8th and 9th centuries.[20] Tuodong later became part of the successorKingdom of Dali (937–1253). The possession of Tuodong changed hands when the city came under the control of theYuan dynasty during its invasion of the southwest in 1252–1253. During the tenure of provincial governorAjall Shams al-Din Omar, a "Chinese Style" city named Zhongjing was founded where modern Kunming is today. Shams al-Din ordered the construction of a Buddhist temple, a Confucian temple, and two mosques in the city.[21] The Confucian temple, doubling as a school, was the first of its kind in Yunnan, attracting students from minority groups across the province.[22] Coupled with his promotion of Confucian ceremonies and customs, Shams al-Din has been largely credited with thesinicization of the region.[23] The city grew as a trading center between the southwest and the rest of China. It is considered by scholars to have been the city ofYachi Fu (鸭池府) where people had usedcowries as cash and ate their meat raw, as described by the 13th-century Venetian travelerMarco Polo.[24] The area was first dubbed Kunming during the decline of the Yuan dynasty.[citation needed]
In the 14th century, Kunming was retaken from Mongolian officials when the Ming dynasty defeated the Yuan dynasty. The Ming later built awall surrounding present-day Kunming. 300 years later, Ming turncoatWu Sangui held the city as a Qing governor. During the beginning of Wu's rule, the entirety of Yunnan and Guizhou were ruled from Kunming by Wu.[25] During theRevolt of the Three Feudatories, the seat of Wu's newly declared Zhou dynasty was moved toHengzhou inHunan.[citation needed] Later in 1678, when Wu died, his grandsonWu Shifan resisted Qing forces for two more months before committing suicide, reverting control of the city back into Qing hands. During the Ming and Qing dynasties, it was the seat of thesuperior prefecture of Yunnan.[citation needed]
In 1832, the beginnings of a real city were acknowledged within the city walls and there were significant structures within their confines. The founding of the city can therefore be said to have been a predominantly 19th century affair.[26] It was also in this century that the city grew to become the major market and transport centre for the region.[citation needed] Many of the city's inhabitants were displaced as a result of the1833 Kunming earthquake.[citation needed]
The rebel leaderDu Wenxiu, the Muslim Han ruler ofDali, attacked and besieged the city several times between 1858 and 1868. A great part of the city's wealth did not survive the 1856Panthay Rebellion, when most of the Buddhist sites in the capital were badly damaged, converted to mosques, or were razed. Decades later, Kunming began to be influenced by the West, especially from theFrench Empire. In the late 1800s, the French started to build theKunming-Haiphong railway between Kunming andHaiphong in what was thenFrench Indochina.[27] In the 1890s, an uprising against working conditions on the Kunming–Haiphong rail line saw many laborers executed after France shipped in weapons to suppress the revolt. The meter-gauge rail line, only completed by around 1911, was designed by the French so that they could tap into Yunnan's mineral resources for their colonies in Indochina.
Kunming was acommunicationscenter during this time and a junction of two major trading routes, one westward viaDali andTengchong County intoMyanmar, the other southward throughMengzi County to theRed River inIndochina. Eastward, a difficult mountain route led toGuiyang in Guizhou province and thence toHunan province. To the northeast was a well-established trade trail toYibin in Sichuan province on theYangtze River. But these trails were all extremely difficult, passable only by mule trains or pack-carrying porters.[citation needed]
Old Kunming quarter, containing the narrow and curvedSister Buildings (姊妹楼) behind the Victory Monument on Guanghua Jie, located across the street to the north of the old Bird and Flower Market
Kunming became atreaty port opening to foreign trade in 1908 and became a commercial center soon after.[20] Auniversity was set up in 1922. In the 1930s, the first highways connected to Kunming were built, linking Kunming with the rest of west China.[citation needed]
The local warlord GeneralTang Jiyao established theWujiaba Aerodrome in 1922; an additional 23 airports would be established in Yunnan from 1922 to 1929.[28]
Flag and emblem of Kunming City from 1922 until 1949 under theRepublic of China government.[29]
Kunming was transformed into a modern city as a result of warrefugees ofWorld War II fleeing from the north and eastern coastal regions of China to move to Kunming,[30] bringing much commerce and industry into the southwest of China, including Kunming. They carried dismantled industrial plants with them, which were then re-erected beyond the range of Japanese bombers.[citation needed] In addition, a number ofuniversities and institutes of higher education were evacuated there. The increased trade and expertise quickly established Kunming as an industrial and manufacturing base for the wartime government inChongqing.[citation needed]
As the battles of Shanghai, Taiyuan andNanjing were lost by the end of 1937, and withWuhan falling into Japanese occupation by the end of 1938, many more of China's military forces and civilians retreated to cities outside the reach of the Japanese military ground forces a year prior to the outbreak of theSecond World War in Europe in 1939, including the relocation of theChinese Air Force Academy fromJianqiao Airbase to Kunming'sWujiaba Airbase, where the airfield was vastly expanded, becoming the new training hub for the battered but regroupedChinese Air Force in which Lieutenant GeneralClaire Lee Chennault took command of cadet training duties in the summer of 1938. The Chinese Air Force command established the 41st Pursuit Squadron based in Kunming, also known as the French Volunteer Group squadron in June 1938, and with them they broughtDewoitine D.510 fighters, with the intention of securing the sale of the planes to the Chinese Air Force; the French participated in some combat engagements against Japanese raids, including dogfights againstMitsubishi A5M fighters with ChineseHawk III fighters overNanchang, but after several setbacks, including a fighter pilotKIA, the group was disbanded in October 1938.[31]
Although Japan was focused on ending Chinese resistance at theBattle of Chongqing and Chengdu, Kunming was not out of the reach of Japanese air raids, facing attacks byIJAAF andIJNAF bombers.[32] Chinese military assets and infrastructure were under regular attack, while theRoCAF 18th Fighter Squadron and units of the Air Force Academy at Wujiaba were tasked with aerial defense of Kunming.[33] The city of Kunming was prepared as an alternateNational Redoubt in case the temporary capital inChongqing fell, with an elaborate system of caves to serve as offices, barracks and factories, but it was never utilised. Kunming was to have served again in this role during the ensuingChinese Civil War, but theNationalist garrison there switched sides and joined theCommunists. Instead,Taiwan would become the last redoubt and home of the Republic of China government, a role it fulfills to this day.[34]
When the city ofNanning fell to the Japanese during theBattle of South Guangxi, China's sea-access was cut off. However, the Chinese victory at theBattle of Kunlun Pass kept the Burma Road open. When the Japanese began occupyingFrench Indochina in 1940, the Burma Road that linked Kunming and the outside-world with unoccupied China grew increasingly vital as much of the essential support and materials were imported throughBurma. After theattack on Pearl Harbor, and the start of thePacific War in December 1941, Kunming acted as an Allied military command center, which grouped the Chinese, American, British and French forces together for operations in Southeast Asia. Kunming became the northern and easternmost terminus of the vital war-supply line into China known as "The Hump", which stretched over the Himalayas from British bases in India to port-of-entry Kunming. TheOffice of Strategic Services' Service UnitDetachment 101 (predecessor to the1st Special Forces Group) was also headquartered in Kunming. Its mission was to divert and disrupt Japanese combat operations in Burma.[35]
The Flying Tigers and P-40 Warhawk in Kunming Air Base, 1944
Kunming, the northern terminus of all three of the Burma Road, theLedo Road, and "The Hump" supply-line, was increasingly targeted by the IJAAF. When the Burma Road was lost to the Japanese, the Hump became China's primary lifeline to the outside world. The 1st American Volunteer Group, known as the "Flying Tigers", was based in Kunming and tasked with defense of The Hump supply-line against Japanese aerial interceptions.[36]
Industry became important in Kunming as the large state-ownedCentral Machine Works[37] was transferred there fromHunan, while the manufacture of electrical products, copper, cement, steel, paper, and textiles expanded.
Until 1952, Kunming was a walled city. The city government in 1952 ordered hundreds of young people to tear down the wall and use its bricks to make a new road running north–south.[citation needed] To show its appreciation for the young people that demolished the east wall, the city government named the new street, Qingnian Lu, after them.[citation needed] The existence of the walls still echoes today at place names like the district of Xiaoximen (小西门; 'Lesser West Gate') and Beimen Jie (北门街; 'North Gate Street'). There are also less obvious connections to the wall, such as Qingnian Lu (青年路; 'Youth Road'), in the location of Kunming's east wall.
After 1949, Kunming developed rapidly into anindustrial metropolis with the construction of large iron and steel and chemical complexes, advancing simultaneously with other cities inSouthwestern China. AMinorities' Institute was set up in the 1950s to promote mutual understanding and access to university education among Yunnan's multiethnic population. The city consolidated its position as a supply depot during theVietnam War and subsequentborder clashes with the Vietnamese. Until Mao Zedong's death, in much of the rest of the country Kunming was still generally thought as a remote frontier settlement.Accordingly, the government utilized Kunming as a place where to exile people who had fallen politically out of favor, especially during theCultural Revolution.
In 1957, Kunming's rail link to Haiphong and Hanoi was re-opened (after being cut during World War II). It was cut again in 1979 and re-opened again in 1996.[citation needed]
An old wooden house and a modern skyscraper in the background
In the 1980s and 1990s, the city center was rebuilt, with Swiss help, in its current 'modern' style to impress visitors attending the1999 World Horticultural Exposition.[38] It was primarily during 1997 and 1998 that much of the city's roads, bridges and high rises were built. Today the after-effects of the Expo are apparent in more than just the physical improvements to the city—it was the Expo that made the outside world take notice of Kunming, which was relatively unknown at the time.[dubious –discuss]
In July 2005, the secondGreater Mekong Subregion (GMS) Summit was held in Kunming, with government leaders from China, Laos, Myanmar (Burma), Thailand, Cambodia, and Vietnam participating.[citation needed] There, China agreed to lend its neighbors more than $1 billion for a series of projects. China promoted GMS cooperation as a first step toward building an eventual China-ASEANFree Trade Area.[citation needed]
Bus bombings occurred on 21 July 2008 when explosions aboard two public buses in downtown Kunming killing 2 people.
Infrastructure improvements were underway to improve links between Kunming and Southeast Asia in time for the 2010 establishment of the China-ASEAN Free Trade Area. The FTA made Kunming a trade and financial center for Southeast Asia.[citation needed] In addition to physical improvements to enhance Kunming's trade with Southeast Asia, the central and provincial governments have made financial preparations to assist the city's emergence.
In July 2006, talks at theASEAN Regional Forum, China, Bangladesh and Myanmar (Burma) agreed to construct a highway from Kunming toChittagong throughMandalay for trade and development.[39]
On 1 March 2014, 29 people were killed, and more than 130 were injured at Kunming Railway Station ina terrorist attack.[40]
Map including Kunming (labeled as K'UN-MING (YÜNNANFU)昆明) (AMS, 1954)Lake DianPanoramic view of northern central Kunming taken from Yu'an Shan Cemetery (玉安山公墓), looking northeast to east-southeast.
Kunming is located in east-centralYunnan province. Its administrative area is located between latitudes 24°23' and 26°22' N, and longitudes 102°10' and 103°40' E, with a total area of 21,600 square kilometres (8,340 square miles). Its widest stretch from the east to the west amounts to 140 kilometres (87 miles) while its longest stretch from the north to the south amounts to 220 kilometres (137 miles).
Situated in a fertile lake basin on the northern shore of theLake Dian and surrounded by mountains to the north, west, and east, Kunming has always played a pivotal role in the communications ofsouthwestern China. Lake Dian, known as "the Pearl of the Plateau"[citation needed], is the largest lake in Yunnan and the sixth largest freshwater lake in China. It has an area of approximately 340 square kilometres (130 square miles). Kunming's highest point is Mazong Ridge of theJiaozi Snow Mountain inLuquan with an elevation of 4,247 metres (13,934 feet), and its lowest point is the joint of theXiao River and theJinsha River inDongchuan District, with an elevation of 695 metres (2,280 feet). Its downtown area is 1,891 metres (6,204 feet)above sea level[citation needed].
Located at an elevation of 1,888 metres (6,194 feet) on theYunnan–Guizhou Plateau with low latitude and high elevation, Kunming has one of the mildest climates in China, characterized by short, cool dry winters with mild days and crisp nights, and long, balmy and humid summers. With its perpetual spring-like weather which provides the ideal climate for plants and flowers, Kunming is known as the "City of Eternal Spring".[41] The weather has seldom reached high temperatures in summer, only exceeding 30 °C (86 °F) on a handful of occasions. However, freak snowfalls occur in occasional winters. Controlled by asubtropical highland climate (KöppenCwb), the monthly 24-hour average temperature ranges from 9.3 °C (48.7 °F) in January to 20.7 °C (69.3 °F) in June, with daily high temperatures reaching their lowest point and peak in December and May, respectively. The city is covered with blossoms and lush vegetation all-year round.[42] The period from May to October is the monsoon season and the rest of the year is dry. The city has an annual mean temperature of 16.0 °C (60.8 °F), rainfall of 991.0 millimetres (39.0 in) (nearly three-fifths occurring from June to August) and a frost-free period of 230 days. With monthly percent possible sunshine ranging from 29% in July to 70% in February, the city receives 2,240.9 hours of bright sunshine annually. Extreme temperatures in the city have ranged from −7.8 to 32.9 °C (18.0 to 91.2 °F) on 29 December 1983 and 25 May 2014 respectively.
Climate data for Kunming, elevation 1,888 m (6,194 ft), (1991–2020 normals, extremes 1951–present)
Mineral resources include phosphorus, salt, magnesium, titanium, coal, quartz sand, clay, silica, copper. Phosphorus and salt mines are the most plentiful. Kunyang Phosphorus Mine is one of the three majorphosphorus mines in the country.Rock salt reserves are 1.222 billion tonnes (1.203 billionlong tons; 1.347 billionshort tons) andmirabilite reserves are 1.908 billion tonnes (1.878 billion long tons; 2.103 billion short tons).Dongchuan is a major copper production base.[citation needed]
Kunming has 2,585 hectares (6,390acres) of lawns, trees and flowers, averaging 4.96 square metres (53.4 square feet) per capita and a green space rate of 21.7 percent. The city's smoke control area is 115 square kilometres (44 square miles) and noise control area 87 square kilometres (34 square miles).[citation needed]
Kunming is world-famous for its flowers and flower-growing exports. More than 400 types of flowers are commonly grown in Kunming, and flowers are a major industry in the city. Thecamellia,Yulan magnolia,azalea,fairy primrose,lily andorchid are known as the six famous flowers of the city.[citation needed] The camellia was confirmed by the Municipality of Kunming as its city flower in 1983.
The Kunming city government planned, as of 2008, to create an environmentaltrial court to deal with environment-related lawsuits. It is to be part of the city's intermediatepeople's court and will have jurisdiction over appeals by companies that have been found guilty of violating environmental laws in cities throughout Yunnan.[47]
The population ofHan is 5,542,314, accounting for 86.16%; the population of allethnic minorities add up to 889,898, accounting for 13.84%. Some of the 26nationalities in the province live in Kunming, and the average life expectancy of the city's population is 76 years old.
Dongfeng (East Wind) Square. The building in the background, Workers' Cultural Hall, has been demolished for subway construction.
The city center has three major squares and six major streets: Jinma Biji Square, Nanping Square and Dongfeng Square are the main squares, while Beijing Road, Zhengyi Road, Renmin Road, Dongfeng Road, Jinbi Road, and Qingnian Road are the main streets. Jingxing Street, Guanghua Street, Zhengyi Road, Nanping Street (built on top of a section of Dongfeng Road), Qingnian Road, and Renmin Road are the main commercial areas in Kunming; the most popular pedestrian streets are Nanping Street, Zhengyi Road, and Jingxing Street.
Kunming's modern city center is Nanping Square on the west bank of thePanlong River, at the intersection of Nanping Street and Zhengyi Street. This area is where Kunming's southern city wall once stood. This area is a crowded and dense modern shopping precinct packed with clothing and electronics stores. Surrounding the area are plenty of new high-rises, along with an area of preserved old city to the north. The area formerly considered the city center is Dongfeng Square, located on the east bank of thePanlong River outside of the old city walls at the intersection of Beijing Road and Dongfeng Road, where in the mornings there are crowds doingtaijiquan and playingbadminton. Weekend amateur theatre is also performed in the square.[citation needed] The Panlong River has had an artificial flow ever since the construction of the Songhua Dam, and the river has been developed into effectively a canal. The river receivessewage andwastewater from surrounding pipes.[49]
The center is an area of importance to Kunming'sHui population, with Shuncheng Street, one of the last old streets in the center of the city, previously forming a Muslim quarter. Under Kunming's rapid modernisation, however, the street has been demolished to make way for apartments and shopping centers.[citation needed] Rising behind a supermarket one block north off Zhengyi Road, Nancheng Qingzhen Si is the city's new mosque, its green dome and chevron-patterned minaret visible from afar and built on the site of an earlierQing edifice.
Running west off Zhengyi Road just past the mosque, Jingxing Street leads into one of the more bizarre corners of the city, with Kunming's huge Bird and Flower Market convening daily in the streets connecting it with the northerly, parallel Guanghua Street. The market offers many plants such asorchids that have been collected and farmed across the province.[citation needed]
Jinbi Road runs south of Dongfeng Road. Both of them connect to Beijing Road. Two largeChinese pagodas rise south of Jinbi Road and the city center, each a solid thirteen stories of whitewashed brick crowned with four iron cockerels. The West Pagoda was built between 824 and 859, during theTang dynasty; its original counterpart, the East Pagoda, was built at the same time, but was destroyed byan earthquake in 1833 and rebuilt in the same Tang style in 1882.[citation needed] South down Dongsi Road, past anothermosque, the entrance to theWest Pagoda is along a narrow lane on the right. TheEast Pagoda is a more cosmetic, slightly tilted duplicate standing in an ornamental garden a few minutes' walk east on Shulin Jie. The temples associated with both pagodas are closed to the public.
Jacaranda trees in bloom along Chuncheng Road
Many streets are lined withJacaranda trees, which can be seen blooming abundantly in mid to late April, particularly on Jiaochang Middle Road. The trees are not native to Kunming, but originate from seeds exchanged withAlgeria, which were grown in theKunming Botanical Garden. Seeds from the botanical garden were then used by the city to plant the trees along streets.[50][51]
Cuihu Park (Green Lake Park) is one of Kunming's major parks and is predominately a lake surrounded by greenery. Located in the west side of the park is a statue ofNie Er, the composer of China'snational anthem.
Another monument toNie Er is located inXishan Park, most well known for the Longmen Grottoes (not to be confused with the identically named grottoes inLuoyang), containing several ancient temples and the titularLongmen ("dragon gate").
Daguan Park lies onDian Chi in Kunming's southwestern limits. Originally laid out by theKangxi Emperor in theQing dynasty, it has been modified over the years to include a noisy funfair, food stalls and emporiums.
Kunming's zoo, founded in 1950, is adjoined to Yuantong Park, known for theYuantong Temple within. The zoo houses 5,000 animals from 140 species and receives 3 million visitors a year.[52]
TheWorld Horti-Expo Garden is located in the northern suburbs of Kunming and was built for the 1999 World Horticulture Exposition, which ran from 1 May to 31 October 1999. It had the theme of "Man and Nature—Marching Toward the 21st Century".Golden Temple Park, located on Mingfeng Hill nearby, is connected by cable car to the World Horti-Expo Garden. Constructed in 1602 (the 30th year of theWanli reign period of the Ming dynasty), all of its beams, pillars, arches, doors, windows, tiles, Buddhist statues, and horizontal inscribed boards are made of copper, weighing more than 200 tons. It is the largest copper building in China.[citation needed]
Yuantong Temple is Kunming's major Buddhist temple. It is Kunming's largest and most famous temple with the original structure being first constructed more than 1,200 years ago during theTang dynasty. The temple sits in a depression on the southern side of Yuantong Park. Northwest about 12 km (7.5 mi) from the city center is theQiongzhu Si (Bamboo Temple) built in 639 and rebuilt in 1422 to 1428. Numerous Buddhist temples line the road to the Dragon Gate (龙门) in theWestern Mountains.
The prefecture-level city of Kunming has jurisdiction over 14 subdivisions; seven districts, one county-level city, three counties and three autonomous counties.Kunming also borders withPanzhihua prefecture level city andLiangshan Yi Autonomous Prefecture of Sichuan province.
The historical city and current city center of Kunming is in southeastern Wuhua District, close to where the four main districts converge. However, after integrating it into Kunming in 2011, the Kunming city government has built a masterplanned new city center in Chenggong District and moved the city government offices there.
Kunming plans to add two new districts (Chenggong and Jinning) to its existing four urban districts (Panlong, Wuhua, Guandu, Xishan) over the next few years.
Mixian (米线) rice noodles being cooked in copper pots (铜锅) on gas elements at a noodle restaurant in Kunming.
Within Kunming, the entertainment district has its focus around Kundu Square, with many cinemas, bars, clubs and restaurants. Food aside, one feature of less formalYunnanese restaurants is that they often have a communal bamboo water pipe and tobacco for their customers.[citation needed] There are plenty of student bars and clubs. The city has several operatic troupes and indigenous entertainments which includehuadeng, a lantern dance. Although indoor performances are lacking, there are often informal shows at the weekend outside the Workers' Cultural Hall and in Cuihu Park. There are similar shows at the Yunnan Arts Theater on Dongfeng Xi Lu. Kunming's main cinema house is on the south side of the Dongfeng Lu/Zhengyi Lu intersection. The other main multiplex, the XJS, at the junction of Wenlin Jie and Dongfeng Xi Lu.
The Kunming dialect is very similar to that of Sichuan and Guizhou but uses the third tone much less than standard Chinese. Many terms are used only in Kunming dialect, such as "板扎" meaning 'terrific'.
The pronunciations of certain Chinese characters are very different fromMandarin Chinese. For example, "鱼 (fish)" would be pronounced as "yi" in Kunming dialect instead of "yu" in Mandarin Chinese; "街 (street)" would be pronounced as "gai" instead of "jie".
When someone speaks Mandarin Chinese with a strong Kunming accent, it'll be called Mapu (马普), short for Majie (马街, a place in Kunming) Mandarin Chinese.
The Kunming Dialect is slowly dying due to it being 'informal' and is being replaced by Mandarin Chinese. Nevertheless, it is still spoken by a decent number of residents today. Sometimes this is called dirt language or slum language (土话)[citation needed]
Kunming attracts domestic and foreign tourists year-round. At the center of Yunnan and as its capital, Kunming is also atransport hub for tourists heading to other parts of Yunnan such asDali,Lijiang andShangrila.
Conference and exhibition venues in Kunming include the Kunming International Convention and Exhibition Center and the Yunnan Provincial Science and Technology Hall.
Every year, many Chinese and international athletes come to Kunming for high-altitude training. The city has been China's national high-elevation training base for more than 30 years. There are two major training complexes,Hongta Sports Center andHaigeng National Training Center.[54]
Hongta Sports Center was built in 2000 by Hongta (Red Pagoda) cigarette company, at a cost of US$58 million. Located nearHaigeng Park, the complex is mostly used by professional athletes, but also acts as a sports club for the general public. Every weekend, it hosts amateur football matches. Aside from about 10 football pitches, including one surrounded by a running track, Hongta also has a 50-metre (160-foot) swimming pool, a badminton gymnasium, tennis courts and a basketball court. It also has one of China's few ice hockey rinks, and a workout room with treadmills and weightlifting machines. There are also game rooms for air hockey; also pool tables and a basement bowling alley. The complex comes complete with a 101-room hotel and restaurant.[54]
Haigeng National Training Center is located ten minutes away from Hongta on Dianchi (Lake Dian) near Kunming's award-winning Lakeview Golf Club and new condominium developments. This complex dates from the late 1970s and was built by the government specifically to specialize in high-altitude training.[54]
Golf is a major attraction in Kunming. There are fourgolf courses within an hour's drive of downtown. For the last six years[when?], Spring City Golf and Lake Resort in nearby Yiliang County has reigned as the best golf course in China and Hong Kong according toUS Golf Digest. In 2004, it was named Asia's best golf resort byAsian Golf Monthly.[55] It hosts the Kunming Leg of theOmega China Tour.
Kunming has attracted foreign investment in golf course development. "Spring City" Golf Resort is a US$600 million project that began as an investment led by Singapore's Keppel Land Group in 1992.Jack Nicklaus and course designerRobert Trent Jones, Jr designed the two courses.[55]
Kunming has three economic advantages over other cities in southwest China: significant natural resources, a largeconsumer market and a mild climate. Due to its position at the center of Yunnan, one of China's largest producers of agricultural products, minerals andhydroelectricity, Kunming is the main commercial hub for most of the province's resources.
Kunming's chief industries arecopper,lead andzinc production. Itsiron andsteel industry has been expanded.Salt andphosphate mines around Kunming are some of the largest in China.Yunnan Copper Company Limited, based in Kunming, is one of Yunnan's largest mining corporations. From the late 1970s, Kunming's main industries also came to include food and tobacco processing and the manufacture ofconstruction equipment and machines.[citation needed]
In May 1995, theState Council approved Kunming as an Open City. By the end of 1995, the city had approved 929 overseas-funded enterprises with a total investment of $2.3 billion including $1.1 billion of foreign capital. More than 40 projects each had an investment of more than $9 million.
As of 2008[update], Kunming is home to 65 of the Top 100 Enterprises in Yunnan Province. The top 100 enterprises were based on their revenues for 2007.Hongta Group, with revenues of someRMB39.88 billion for 2007 topped the list. Thetobacco sector remains the largest sector in the province.
Kunming is a significant horticultural center in China, providing products such as grain, wheat, horsebeans, corn, potato and fruit such as peaches, apples, oranges, grapes and chestnuts.[citation needed]
Yunnan has developed into the largest flower export base in Asia, with many Dutch experts having transferred technology to the area. The Dounan Flower Market, located in suburban Kunming, is the largest in China with daily sales of 2.5 million yuan (US$300,000) from the 2 million sprays of flowers (as of 2006[update]). The provincial government agency, the Yunnan Flower Association, regulates the industry.[57]
Kunming also hosts a specialized Flower Gene Editing Breeding Center. Utilizing CRISPR gene-editing technology, the center develops new flower varieties with enhanced traits such as novel colors, extended bloom periods, and improved disease resistance, strengthening the local floriculture industry's competitiveness.[58]
Kunming East Station is at present Yunnan province's only container handling depot, with direct links to only three provinces;Guangdong,Guizhou andSichuan. It also has direct access to the metropolitan district ofChongqing.
The Jiaying Depot is connected with the new system of highways built linking Yunnan to the increasingly important markets ofSoutheast Asia, facilitating cheap Chinese exports to the region and granting resource-poor China greater access to the region's massive raw material resources. Yunnan has thereby become a progressively important area in theSouthwest's rail logistics both in terms of national and international logistics.
In July 2008, Kunming began to implement a program to transform the city'ssolar energy industry into a US$8.8 billion industrial base in China by 2013. Kunming receives an annual average sunshine of more than 2,400 hours[citation needed].
As of 2007[update], the Kunming Economic Committee listed about 130 solar energy enterprises in the city. Of these, 118 enterprises produce solar lamps and solar water heaters, with a combined total production value of about US$43.8 million, and 10 enterprises are engaged in solar photovoltaic cells manufacturing, with a total production value of about US$51.2 million.[59]
Suntech Power announced in December 2008 that it was jointly constructing a solar energy project with Yunnan Provincial Power Investment and other investors. The 1MW first-phase of theShilin 66MW on-grid solar power station began generating power on 28 December 2009. The initial phase of the 66MW project was originally scheduled to start production in first half of 2010 while the 20MW second phase and 36 MW third phase were under construction.
The now defunctYunnan Airlines was headquartered in Kunming until it was acquired byChina Eastern Airlines. China Southwest Airlines used to operate routes to and from Kunming, until it was merged withAir China.
Lucky Air is a budget airline based in Kunming and operates scheduled services fromDali to Kunming andXishuangbanna, and plans to expand to other areas of China.
Currently, the longest non-stop flight from Kunming is toDubai International in theUAE, operated by China Eastern Airlines.
Kunming railway station is at the southern end of Beijing Xi Lu. Compared with the other railway station (North Railway Station), Kunming Railway Station services most of the "conventional" (not high-speed) trains to places to other provinces of China. Trains run north to Chengdu, southeast via Xingyi to Baise and Nanning in Guangxi, and east through Guizhou, viaLiupanshui,Anshun,Guiyang, into the rest of the country.
Kunming North railway station (serviced by the No. 23 Bus) is on the heritage1,000 mm (3 ft 3+3⁄8 in)metre gaugeKunming–Hai Phong Railway, which runs toHekou andVietnam. Most of the station has been converted into a museum. Due to the deterioration of the railway line, the long distance narrow-gauge service has been cancelled; however, as of 2012[update], some local narrow gauge service still operates at Kunming North Railway Station, in particular two daily trains to Shizui (石咀) Station on the western outskirts of Kunming, and to Wangjiaying (王家营) east of the city.[60]
As of 2017, railway development projects continue to proceed in the Kunming metropolitan area. In February 2017, the railway authorities announced that a connector between the new Kunming South railway station and the old Kunming railway station (also known as the Nanyao Station;南窑火车站) will open by the end of 2017, making it possible for some high-speed train to serve Kunming railway station as well.[61]
In May 2010, Kunming began construction on its first urban rail lines, line 1 and 2 of theKunming Metro. An elevated test section had been under construction since 2009. Parts of lines 1 and 2 opened in April 2014.[62] Construction on line 3 began in August 2010 and the Phase 1 was completed in 2018. The entire system consisting of 6 lines and covering a total of 164 kilometres (102 miles).
This section needs to beupdated. Please help update this article to reflect recent events or newly available information.(April 2025)
Kunming will be the hub and terminus for the "Pan Asia High Speed Network" using high-speed trains to connect China, Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand, Malaysia and Singapore.[63]
Completed but under trial high-speed railways:
Kunming–Shanghai. The construction completed on 16 June 2016. It goes through 6 provincial capital cities: Shanghai, Hangzhou, Nanchang, Changsha, Guiyang and Kunming. The overall length is 2,266 kilometres (1,408 miles). As estimated it would take 3 hours from Shanghai to Nanchang, 2.5 hours from Hangzhou to Nanchang, 4 hours from Kunming to Changsha, 8 hours from Kunming to Hangzhou and 9 hours from Shanghai to Kunming. It is expected to start operating on 30 December 2016.
Construction is underway for the following high-speed railways:
Study or planning is being done for the following railways:
Kunming–Chengdu. The speed will be 250 km/h (160 mph).
Kunming–Chongqing. The speed will be 350 km/h (220 mph).
Intercity rail will connect three neighboring cities:Qujing,Chuxiong, andYuxi. The line to Chuxiong will then be extended toDali. The speed will be 250 km/h (160 mph).
Yunnan has built a comprehensive highway system with roads reaching almost all the major cities or towns in the region. Bus travel across the region is extensive. Buses head from Kunming to destinations such asDali andLijiang several times a day.
There are four major long-distance bus stations in Kunming with the South Bus Station and Railway Square Bus Station being the most primary.
South Bus Station faces the Kunming Railway Station in Beijing Xi Lu, with standard, luxury, express and sleeper buses departing for all over Yunnan and neighboring provinces.
Railway Square Bus Station is smaller than SBS and the majority of the buses depart from the station are private-run. Usually no fixed schedules are available and buses will leave when they are full. There are standard and sleeper services to Dali, Jinghong and elsewhere in Yunnan.
Leaving China by road intoVietnam andLaos is also possible through the respective crossings at Hekou in southeastern Yunnan orBian Mao Zhan inXishuangbanna.
At the 14thGreater Mekong Subregion Ministerial Conference in July 2007, China, Laos and Thailand signed an agreement on the construction of a new bridge over the Mekong River to connect Chiangkhong in Thailand and Ban Houayxay in Laos, to the Kunming–Bangkok Highway.[citation needed] The completion of the new bridge over the Mekong River will help connect China's southeast provinces with Bangkok. With capital investments from both China and Thailand, the bridge is expected to be completed in 2011 and will be the last link in the highway system that winds through the Mekong River region.[citation needed]
The city hangs off two mainthoroughfares: Beijing Lu forms the north–south axis, passing just east of the center as it runs for 5 km (3.1 mi) between the city's two trains stations; while Dongfeng Lu crosses it halfway along, divided into east (Dongfeng Dong Lu), middle (Dongfeng Zhong Lu) and west (Dongfeng Xi Lu) sections as it cuts right through the business center. The far end runs out of the city as Renmin Xi Lu, the first leg of theBurma Road. Most of the city's famous hotels and foreignconsulates lies along Dongfeng Dong Lu and the southern half of Beijing Lu, while the majority of specific landmarks andshopping district are north and west of the center around Dongfeng Xi Lu andCuihu Park (Green Lake Park). Circling most of this is the city's firsthighwayring road, Huancheng Lu, though others are planned.
Yunnan University (云南大学), located in Kunming, is one of the largest and the most prestigious universities in China and is the only university in Yunnan province which has been developed into a "National Key University". It was founded in 1922, as "University of the Eastern Land". Its name has been changed six times subsequently. The institution has 17 schools on the local campus and 3 independent schools located in other cities. It claims the largest and best law school in Yunnan province.
Yunnan Normal University (云南师范大学) was founded in 1938 as the National Normal College of Southwestern Union University. In 1946, when some faculties returned to the north of China, it changed its name to National Kunming Normal College. It now as 6 campuses in Kunming itself and other cities. With 22 schools, it has an enrollment of some 33000 undergraduate students.
Kunming University of Science and Technology (昆明理工大学) was established in 1954 and was given "key university" status in 2010. In 2017, it had 3 campuses in Kunming housing 24 schools and had an enrollment of 27000 undergraduates.
Yunnan Nationalities University was founded in 1951 as Yunnan Nationalities College. It is now one of six "key" universities in the province. It has established cooperative relations with 26 foreign universities including University of Bergen in Norway, La Trobe University in Australia, and University of Virginia in the United States. The university has a Nationalities Museum, which contains more than 20000 rare exhibits. There are more than 23000 undergraduates on campus.
Huayang Academy is a specialist Chinese language training centre considered unique for offering training Kunming dialect as well as standard Mandarin. Its locality is a popular centre of Western culture in Kunming, attracting numerous foreign-owned businesses.[65]
The Shanghai-basedChina Europe International Business School, akaCEIBS, will launch in 2009 its Business Development Certificate Programme in Kunming. With the Business Development Certificate Programme, CEIBS and program partnerFrankfurt School of Finance & Management aim to train approximately 500 Chinese managers in the coming four years, with the first phase of the program beginning in 2008 inHefei, the capital of Anhui province. Kunming andHarbin will be the focus of the program's expansion in 2009. The program is part of a two million Euro umbrella project funded by the EU, which also includes another program that provides scholarships forMBA students from China's less-developed regions.[66]
The Kunming Branch of theChinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) was established in 1957. It was formerly known as Kunming Office of CAS and was promoted and renamed into a branch in 1958. In 1962, Yunnan Branch combined with Sichuan Branch and Guizhou Branch to establish Southwest China Branch of CAS in Chengdu. In October 1978, Kunming Branch was reestablished at the approval of the State Council.
As a working department of CAS, Kunming Branch now administers five research institutes:
At present, it has a total staff of 1,160, of whom 808 are professional researchers, seven are academicians and 343 are senior researchers. There are also 447 PhD degree students and 530 master's degree students. The retired staff is 1,090. The Branch has set up three national key open labs, two CAS key open labs, five key labs set up by CAS and local province, three engineering centers, five doctoral sites, five post doctoral stations and national famous plant herbariums and halls of wildlife specimens and has a series of up-to-date research instruments and apparatus, computer networks and biodiversity information systems. The Branch has become an advanced comprehensive science research base in astronomy, geology and biology.
In April 2020,Wagga Wagga's city council voted to cut sister city ties with Kunming. A week later, the city council voted again and restored the sister city relationship.[70][71][72]
Currently, there are 2,774 medical institutes of various kinds and 33,600 medical professionals in the city. The 170 medical service institutes based on communities cover a population of 1.86 million.[73] China Health Management Corp (CNHC) is the mainprivate healthcare provider in the city. It has been predicted that private hospitals will provide 70 percent of total medical health care services by 2012 within Kunming City.[74]
Hospitals in Kunming include:
Yunnan Provincial Red Cross Hospital and Emergency Center, is the main general hospital in Kunming.
Yunnan Provincial First People's Hospital
First Affiliated Hospital of Kunming Medical College
Kunming Mental Hospital, founded in 1955, houses over 400 patients.
In late 2006, China's first provincial-levelHIV/AIDS treatment center was built. The US$17.5 million center is located 28 km (17 mi) from downtown Kunming. The center has six main departments: clinical treatment, technical consulting, research and development, international exchange and cooperation, clinical treatment training and psychological therapy.
Yunnan, with a population of more than 45 million, leads China in HIV/AIDS infections: primarily spread through intravenous drug use and unsafe sex, often involving the sex industry. According to official statistics, by the end of 2005, Yunnan was home to more than 48,000 HIV-infected patients, 3,900 patients with AIDS and a death toll of 1,768.[75]
The headquarters of the Kunming MunicipalPublic Security Bureau is on Beijing Lu. Its foreign affairs department, located on Jinxing Huayuan, Jinxing Xiao Lu in the northeast of the city, handles immigration and travel visas.[76]
Kunming has a pivotal role as a major conduit point in internationaldrug trafficking as it is the closest major Chinese city to theGolden Triangle inSoutheast Asia. The Kunming Municipal Public Security Bureau Narcotics Squad is the specialist counter-narcotics police service.
Police confiscated at least three tons of drugs in Yunnan in 2005. Yunnan province seized 10 tons of illegal drugs in 2006, accounting for 80 percent of the total drugs confiscated nationwide during the period, according to Sun Dahong, then deputy director of Yunnan's provincialPublic Security Bureau. The total is more than double the amount seized in the province in 2005.[77]
Heroin andmethamphetamine seem to be the main targets of the 30,000+ strong anti-drug police in Yunnan. The majority of heroin coming into China from the Golden Triangle passes throughDali[citation needed] from where it is then distributed to the rest of China and internationally via China's coastal cities.
Kunming Municipal Compulsory Rehabilitation Center in Kunming is the main rehabilitation center for drug addicts, mostly recovering from heroin addiction. International drug rings have used Yunnan and Kunming to channel new synthetic drugs (likemethamphetamine) as well as traditional drugs likeheroin.
^"Fudian Bank".english.fudian-bank.com. Retrieved8 August 2024.
^"Kunming tour".www.chinaexploration.com. Retrieved7 September 2025.
^《云南各民族历史大事概略》编写组古代史组 (1975)."云南历史上几个族名、地名的由来和演变" [The origin and the evolvement of some ethnic names and the place names in the history of Yunnan].思想战线 (Thinking) (in Chinese) (6):83–86.
^Tu, Liang-jun (2009).""昆明"得名来源考" [The Original Meaning of the Word "昆明"].Journal of Yunnan Normal University (Humanities and Social Sciences Edition) (in Chinese).41 (6):124–131.
^Gaubatz, Piper Rae, 1962- (1996).Beyond the Great Wall : urban form and transformation on the Chinese frontiers. Stanford, Calif.: Stanford University Press. p. 78.ISBN0804723990.OCLC31970027.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
^Spence, Jonathan D. (2002),"The K'ang-hsi Reign", in Peterson, Willard J. (ed.),Cambridge History of China, Vol. 9, Part 1: The Ch'ing Dynasty to 1800, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, pp. 120–182,ISBN0521243343
^Sun, Vlasova, Lianggang, Evgenia."Shanghai 1937 – Where World War II Began".SHANGHAI 1937: WHERE WORLD WAR II BEGAN. Retrieved15 January 2021.When did World War II begin? Shanghai 1937: Where World War II Began answers that question in a way most audiences will find surprising. Americans might say December 7, 1941… The day the Japanese Imperial Navy attacked the American naval base at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. For Europeans, it was September 1, 1939… When Nazi Germany invaded Poland. But in China, people will tell you a different date. August 13, 1937.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
^Gustavsson, Hakans."Hakans Aviation page - Sino-Japanese Air War 1938".Biplane Fighter Aces - China. Retrieved17 January 2021.In June the 41st PS was organised in Kunming (Yunan Province), and with it served French advisors-volunteers. Their main assignment seemed to have been the securing the purchase of the Dewoitine D.510 from France. At this time the Japanese began continuous attacks on the city... French volunteers... fought the Japanese... repulsing one of the attacks by A5Ms... they lost four machines, from which two pilots baled out. After several days, the Japanese shot down three more and one pilot was killed. After this the group ceased to exist. Machin perceived the reason to be the significant superiority of the A5M over the Hawk.
^"KUNMING BOMBED".Argus (Melbourne, Vic. : 1848 - 1957). 18 June 1940. p. 1. Retrieved15 January 2021.Tuesday, 18 June 1940, Japanese planes bombed Kunming, on the French Indo-China railway line... causing speculation of possible attack on Haiphong, which for two years an important entry point for imports to China.
^Gustavsson, Hakans."Håkans Aviation page – Sino-Japanese Air War 1939".Biplane Fighter Aces - China. Retrieved15 January 2021.In January 1939 the 18th PS relocated to Kunming for defence of the city from air attacks while continuing training on the Hawk 75Ms. Reportedly Claire Chennault led it (but the Squadron Commander was Major Yang Yibai)... 11 January 1939 Led by Squadron Commander Liu Yi-Jun (劉依鈞), the five remaining Hawk 75Ms of 25th PS were flown to Chongqing and transferred to the 18th PS. On returning aboard an air transport plane, all five pilots were killed when the transport plane crashed in an accident. In April, 18th PS took part in intercepting operations over Kunming as part of the Pursuit Group led by Group Commander Hu Zhengyu (胡莊如).
^Yunnan Provincial Census Office, Yunnan Provincial Bureau of Statistics (September 2012)."Yunnan Provincial Census Data in 2010". China Statistics Press.ISBN978-7-5037-6548-3.
^Duan, Chang-Qun; Hu, Bin; Wang, Zheng-Hong; Wen, Chuan-Hao; Yan, Shen-Qi; Jiang, Xiao-Hua; Wang, Ding-Kang; Li, Qing; Liang, Xiao-Feng (19 May 1999). "Tradescantia bioassays for the determination of genotoxicity of water in the Panlong River, Kunming, People's Republic of China".Mutation Research/Fundamental and Molecular Mechanisms of Mutagenesis.426 (2):127–131.Bibcode:1999MRFMM.426..127D.doi:10.1016/S0027-5107(99)00054-8.ISSN0027-5107.PMID10350584.
Book about Kunming's regional cooperation with Southeast Asia:ASEAN-China Relations: Realities and Prospects (2005) Saw Swee Hock, Lijun Sheng, Sheng Lijun, Kin Wah Chin, Chin Kin Wah. Institute of Southeast Asian Studies (ISEAS)ISBN981-230-342-1
Wei Xing. "Prevalence of ethnic intermarriage in Kunming: Social exchange or insignificance of ethnicity?"Asian Ethnicity, Volume 8, Issue 2 June 2007, pages 165–179
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