Climate & Weather Report

Introduction

Kunming, which is situated in central Yunnan and north of the Dianchi Basin, is skirted on three sides by mountains, with one side opening onto the Dianchi Lake. The city is nicknamed "City of Spring" due to the fact that it is covered all the year round with the rich verdure of trees and plants. Endowed with a pleasant climate, the city's 15,000 square kilometers of land is adorned with more than 400 kinds of flowers.

Kunming is world-famous for its abundance of camellias, orchids, azaleas and Primula malacoides , which can be found in the Kunming Botanical Garden, where 4,000 varieties of tropical and subtropical plants grow profusely.  Kunming is also a renowned historical and cultural city in southwest China. In ancient times it was an important gateway to the celebrated Silk Road which conducted to Tibet, Sichuan, Myanmar and India. The city's highland scenery is alluring, its karts landform is bewitching. Its people are known for their varied and exotic habits and customs, and its land is pockmarked with historical artifacts, places of cultural interest, and gardens landscaped with a picturesque taste. Among the major scenic spots of Kunming are the Dianchi Lake, the Cuihu Lake, the Village of Ethnic Culture, the Jindian (Golden Temple) Park, the Western Mountain Forest Reserve, the Stone Forest, the Jiuxiang Scenic Belt, the Yuantong Mountain, the Grand View Pavilion, and the Qiongzhu Temple.      

Yunnan is populated by 25 minority nationalities, which makes up almost fifty percent of the total number of 55 in the whole country. With colorful costumes and fascinating dances and songs, the 25 ethnic minority groups inhabiting in Yunnan carry on their own ways of living, their own cultures. And the traditional ceremonies and festivals are indivisible parts of their cultures. In observing and participating in the festivals and traditional ceremonies of the minority nationalities, tourists can understand many folkways and customs. You  can understand religious beliefs, fairy tales and legends, dances and songs, recreation and amusement, and cultural psychology. Their festivals and ceremonies also reflect their different life styles, productive habits, ideological concept and social structures constituted under different periods of history, different areas and different cultural background.   

Stone Forest

Located in Lunan County 86 km southeast of Kunming, it is known as the " First Wonder of the World ". "It is a waste of time without being in the Stone Forest while visiting Kunming " is a local saying to express the deep love of the local people toward this world wonder. The quintessential kart landscape makes every tourist lost in wonder.

Going through the Stone Forest, you will be surrounded by the high - rising stone peaks, layer after layer of green hills, and wide- spread stone peaks of the forest. What a stone world ! The scenery of "Figure of Ashima", "Shi Ba Xiang Song" (originated from Chinese love story "Liang Shanbo and Zhu Yingtai") and " Lotus peak " make people greatly admired; the spots of " One Piece of Thread Sky", "Close Call", "Sword Peak Pond" are astonishing; Right in here, you will be astonished at the unique peaks and strange caves, the flying-down mountain spring, and the plateau lake. All these knitted together to present before you a picture of natural beauty, leading far into a merry dreamland.

Moreover, the colorful ethnic cultures and folkways in the Stone Forest and the ravishing legends of "Ashima", the "Torchlight Festival" of the Sani people on June 24 each year, and the warm and zestful Yi nationality dance "Axi Dance Under Moonlight" increase your enthusiasm in knowing more about the area.                     

Jindian ( Golden Temple ) Park 

The park, sprawling for more than 133.3 hectares on the Mingfeng Mountain seven kilometers northeast of Kunming, is a national forest reserve. With a natural scenery mingled with sites of historical interest and man-made gardens, it is also a large scenic resort in Kunming. The ' 99 International Horticultural Exposition will take place there. It covers a total area of 218 hectares, and  76.7% of the site is vegetated. In this exhibition area, 120 hectares are on bush-covered mountain slopes, some 12 percent of the surface are lakes or ponds. The flourishing vegetation and bush - land as well as water surface furnish excellent natural environment for the Exposition.

On the Mingfeng Mountain stands the exquisite and serene Golden Temple, 6.7 meters in height and 7.8 meters in width, and cast of 250 tons of solid bronze. It is the largest bronze hall in China.                                                                        

Yunnan Ethnic Villages

Yunnan Ethnic Villages, situated six kilometers south of Kunming, is a 2,000 mu theme park bordering on the south by the Dianchi Lake and on the west by the famous Western Mountains Scenic Area.

The famous historical and cultural city of Kunming is in the north of the villages. Each of the 26 ethnic peoples of Yunnan will have a village built on the premises, and there will also be a square symbolizing unity among various ethnic groups, a theatre for the performance of ethnic songs and dances, a folklore museum, and a museum of ethnic waxworks. When completed, the Yunnan Ethnic Villages will become an epitome of Yunnan as a multi-ethnic province, and an immense garden in south Chinese horticultural and landscaping traditions.                                           

 Western Mountains Forest Reserve 

The forest reserve on the west bank of the Dianchi Lake consists of the Huating, Taihua and Luohan mountains, which extend for more than 40 kilometers at an altitude of 2,500 meters above sea level. This is a colossal natural forest reserve, its lofty chain of mountains crisscrossed by gurgling brooks and streams. Ancient trees heap up rich piles of foliage, and birds warble and flutter in the midst of fragrant flowers.

Viewed from the southeast corner of Kunming, the entire forest reserve looks like a beautiful maiden reclining leisurely by the Dianchi Lake, her long hair quivering in the limpid water. Hence the nickname of the Western Mountains Forest Reserve, " Sleeping Beauty".                                                                                                  

Longmen (Dragon Gate) Built on the steep rock hills, the carved stone " Dragon Gate " consists of the major part, which was cut from the 46th year of Qianlong Era (178l) to the third year of Xianfeng Time in the Qing Dynasty. No tourist can but be astonished at such elegant carving on such precipitous hills. On March 3, every lunar year, hundreds of Kunming people crowd up to the hills for celebrating their traditional distinguished gathering called "Spring Touring", dancing and singing on the green western hills.                                                                                   

  Folk Dances in Yunnan

Nobody knows exactly how many folk dances there are in Yunnan.  Many believe that there are at least about 300 different dances with hundred names and thousands of dance steps, which categorized by how they dance, could falls into six big groups, namely, dance to drums, dance to songs, dance to strings, dance to lamps and random dances.

Many dances are carried down from generation to generation completely. Most of them have been refined, developed and standardized through years of festivals, performances and ceremonies. Being regarded as a live museum of history, the folk dances in Yunnan have been protected and preserved in the different places where the dances originated.

You may appreciate the pure beauty, primitive as Va and Jingpo People's Dances or refined and graceful as Dai People's Peacock dance, of the folk dances, and at the same time, get to know a little bit about their history and culture for there are  rich social, historical and cultural information behind every dance.                       

The Water Splashing Festival

Dai nationality has a population of more than 840,000, and live mainly in Xishuangbanna, known as "Land of Peacocks" and Dehong Prefectures in which people believe in Hinayana of Buddhism. Dai people has a long history. They are characteristics of a gentle disposition. They are good-looking and you will be amazed to find that even in a remote area every woman wear beautiful make-up.  they have been long well- known for their dancing skill. Most of Dai villages are built along rivers with thatch bamboo houses.

The Water Splashing Festival, held by the Dai Nationality in the sixth month of the Dai calendar (in the middle of April), is the grandest ceremonial occasion for the Dai. It is also known as the festival for bathing Buddha. The festival is related to the Buddhist legend of dragon sprinkling fragrant showers on Lord Buddha at his birth. The Buddhist legend has gradually been mingled with the customs of the Dai people since their conversion to Buddhism. Currently, the festival is a combination of the Flower Collecting Festival and the Water Splashing Fair. 

At present, Water Splashing Festival is a traditional festival for the Dai people in Xishuangbanna and other places to celebrate Dai Calendar New Year, and to give best wishes to each other. The festive activities include bathing Lord Buddha, sprinkling water onto each other for good fortune, dragon boat racing, launching rockets and the Kongming Lantern, going to the fair, etc. Young girls dance the Peacock Dance accompanied by the elephant leg drums. Young boy and girl throw a finely embroidered purse to the person he or she is in love.

The 3rd Month Fair

Bai nationality has a population of more than 1,120,000 , mainly live in compact communities in Dali Prefecture. The Bai has an age-old history and flourish culture. Witness to the development of Bai history is the Three Towers in Dali, rock caves on the Shibaoshan Hill, the architectural complex of temples on the Jizushan mountain.

Bai people are diligent, simple and honest, admire the color of white ( Bai in Chinese means white ). The main festival is the large-scale "The 3rd Month Fair ". Originally, this festival was called Avalokitesvara's Festival. It was Avalokitesvara who opened up the Dali area, subdues Monster Luocha and brought prosperity to the people. Every year from the fifteenth to the twentieth of the third lunar month, people gather at the Triple-Pagodas Temple to pay homage and express thanks to Avalokitesvara. Along with the economic development, trade becomes brisk at the gathering, Finally it has become a yearly fair. In addition to trading commodities, there are horse racing, performance of operas, folk singing and dancing.