Overview of Yunnan

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(People's Daily Online) 13:26, August 14, 2013

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(Provided to People's Daily Online/Li Rong)

Yunnan, a province of the People's Republic of China,called "Yun" or "Dian" for short, is located in the far southwest frontier of the country. Yunnan refers to "the place south of the colorful clouds", or "the place south of Yunling (cloudy ridge) Mountain".The capital of the province is Kunming.

Yunnan spans approximately 380,000 square kilometers, accounting for 4.1 percent of the total land area of China, and is the eighth largest province in China. The province has a total population of 44.15 million (2009), accounting for 3.36 percent of the total population of China, and is the twelfth largest in China.

Yunnan borders on Guizhou Province and Guangxi Zhang Ethnic Minority Autonomous Region to the east, Sichuan to the north and Tibet Autonomous Region to the northwest. To its west is Myanmar and to its south are Laos and Vietnam. Yunnan is the most southwestern province in China, with the Tropic of Cancer running through its southern part. The Ancient town of Lijiang is the oldest town in Yunnan. Yunnan has 8 municipalities and 8 minority autonomous prefectures under jurisdiction altogether and includes 12 municipal districts, 9county-level cities, 79 counties and 29 minority autonomous counties.

Travel Guide

Due to complex topography, many corners, long ramps and foggy roads, traffic accidents occur easily on expressways in Yunnan. Drivers should be extremely careful when they are driving, and pay attention to the traffic signs. In general, the speed limit on expressways is 110km/h for small cars and 80km/h for large vehicles. If rainy, snowy or foggy weather and other factors that go against driving appear, the speed limit marked by the electronic traffic signs will be lower; drivers please pay attention to the signals.

（Editor：YeXin、Chen Lidan）