New version of Eighteen Oddities in Yunnan (1)

Formed in 1940s, the Eighteen Oddities in Yunnan used to be signatures of Yunnan’s socio-economic backwardness. Along with China’s reform and opening up in the past 40 years, great changes and progress have been made in varied fields in Yunnan, and now the oddities have got a new version.

1. Spring becomes well-known brand

In 1993, the first Kunming Fair was held in the City of Spring, and in the ensuing 25 years the event has grown to be the largest trading fair and expo in southwest China and even in South Asia.

Over the years, more and more exhibitors across the world got to know the spring city Kunming, falling in love with its spring-like weather all year round. 

Up to now, 50 plus exhibitions were held every year at the Kunming Dianchi International Convention and Exhibition Center, and the spring-like weather has become well-known. 

2. Mystery of Cambrian biota is unveiled 

The Cambrian Chengjiang biota of Yunnan Province represents a most significant paleontological discovery. Deposits of ancient mudstone, about 530 million years old, have yielded fossils that record the early diversification of animal life.

Since the discovery in 1984 by Hou Xian-guang, former Director of Key Laboratory for Palaeobiology, Yunnan University, many thousands of fossils have been collected as sources of evidence about the origins of animal groups. Among them,the Yunnanozoon lividum is thought of as adeuterostome suspected of being either a hemichordate or chordate. 

In 2012, the Chengjiang site was listed among the World Natural Heritages. For 30 plus years, fossil enthusiasts from all over the world have frequented the Chengjiang mountain for field research.

3. Gingko leaves bring in tourists

For centuries, gingko leaves and sunshine form an amazing sight in Gingko Village in west Yunnan’s Tengchong each winter. 

The sight used to be unknown in the remote village: "Full many a flower is born to blush unseen, And waste its sweetness on the desert air." In recent years, however, an increasing number of tourists discovered the serene village, which turned out to be an example of rural tourism in Yunnan. 

Located 35 kilometres north of the government seat of Tengchong, the village has over 30,000 ginkgo trees, covering more than 667 ha. Among them, 1,000 are more than 100 years old.

(To be continued...)

Source: Yunnan Daily; trans-editing by Wang Shixue