40 years on: Yunnan shares its beauty with the world via tourism

Yunnan is widely praised for its natural beauty, pleasant climate and diverse ethnic cultures.

Following China’s pace of reform and opening up in the past 40 years, Yunnan tourism has grown from sheer lodging service to industrial development. Now Yunnan aims to be “the most beautiful province in China”. 

In 1978, Yunnan established the Travel and Sight-Seeing Bureau, beginning development of tourism that focused on lodging and reception services.

In 1988, the Yunnan provincial government proposed to develop tourism as an industry.

In 1995, the 6th CPC Yunnan Provincial Congress listed tourism as one of the four pillar industries of the province. 

The 1999 Kunming World Horticultural Exposition is a milestone in the history of tourism development in Yunnan and even China.

Guests from 95 countries and international organizations gathered in Kunming for the expo. The expo garden received 9.43 million domestic and foreign tourists during the six-month long expo. That year, Yunnan topped tourist destinations in China.

In 2005, the Yunnan provincial party committee and government decided to improve local tourism by optimizing structure, upgrading service and increasing efficiency. 

In 2013, the provincial party committee and government proposed to shift from a major tourism province to one strong in tourism.

In 2016, the CPC Yunnan Provincial Committee and Yunnan Provincial People's Government identified tourism as one of the eight key industries in Yunnan.

In April 2017, Yunnan government carried out the ever strictest measures to regulate local tourist market, while launching development of the “Travel in Yunnan” app.

In the first half of 2018, the seven Yunnan prefectures (cities) of Kunming, Honghe, Qujing, Dali, Chuxiong, Lijiang and Yuxi each received over 20 million tourists, while Zhaotong, Xishuangbanna, Pu'er, Baoshan, Wenshan, Lincang and Dehong was each visited by more than 10 million.

On October 1, 2018, the “Travel in Yunnan” app was officially put into service.

Standing on a new start of the new era, Yunnan tourism has a bright prospect, bringing the province’s natural and cultural beauty to more tourists across the world. 

Reporting by Chu Donghua, Liu Ziyu and Wang Huan; trans-editing by Wang Shixue