Kunming, capital of Yunnan Province, with a history of more than 2400 years, owes its importance to the fact that it was the gateway to the celebrated Silk Road that facilitated trade with Tibet, Sichuan, Myanmar and India. Today the city is the political, economical and cultural center of Yunnan and the provincial center for transport, science and technology and consequently has become the most popular center for tourism in Southwest China.

Kunming enjoys a pleasant climate and does its best to live up to its title of "the City of Eternal Spring". Whenever you are planning to go, the temperature is always pleasant. With its convenient transport links in and out of the city, Kunming welcomes and sees off tens of thousands of tourists every day.

Kunming is the focal point of Yunnan minority culture. Some 26 ethnic minorities such as Han, Yi, Bai, Miao, Dai, Hani and more inhabit the region. Each group has its own featured festivals such as the Torch festival of Yi people, the Golden Temple Fair and so on. The hugely successful 1999 International Horticultural Exposition enhanced Kunming's influence in the world resulting in a snowball effect upon tourism as more and more foreigners come to discover this enchanting part of China.

The Horti-Expo Garden

Although Expo '99 ended in October 1999, the World Horti-Expo Garden now serves as a permanent gardening center in Kunming. The world Horti-Expo garden covers an area of 218 hectares and is consisted of 5 indoor exhibition halls, 6 theme gardens and 34 outdoor gardens of domestic participants, 34 outdoor gardens for foreign countries and international organizational and 9 outdoor exhibition area for the enterprise participants. The World-expo Garden is in perfect harmony with the surrounding mountains, waters and forest, showing that it originates from and return to the nature. It has hosted a large collection of horticultural and gardening works not only from different Chinese provinces and municipalities, but also from all over the world. As an international botanical garden, the Expo Garden has become a significant Kunming landmark.

source:crienglish.com