Although historical relics found here date back two thousand years, the major events in Kunming's history have happened relatively recently.

For centuries merely a remote outpost at the southwestern edge of the Chinese Empire, the first actual city here wasn't built until 1832. In 1910 Kunming grew in importance with the completion of a railway line to Haiphong.

By 1928 the city had developed an industrial base and had been granted municipal status, and during World WarⅡit was the eastern terminus of the strategic Burma Road and the headquarters of the famed Flying Tigers.

Today Kunming is the attractive and bustling capital of Yunnan province, which borders Vietnam, Laos, Burma and Tibet. A thousand city factories produce a wide range of industrial and consumer goods.

The city's culturally rich urban population of two million includes ethnic Han, Yi, Hui, Bai and Miao people. Their stories are told at Kunming's fascinating Institute for Nationalities, and visits to minority ethnic homelands throughout Yunnan may be arranged. Handicrafts from these homelands are among the most beautiful and treasured souvenirs of holidays in China.

Kunming is on a warm and fertile upland plateau and is known as "The Spring City' because of its perpetually mild and warm climate.