People of Yunnan

Population composition

Yunnan’s population is noted for the great complexity of its ethnolinguistic groups. Out of the total population, the Han (Chinese) form the bulk of both the city dwellers and the agricultural population on the plains and valleys devoted to rice cultivation. Descendants of the conquering armies and immigrants who arrived through the centuries, they have both pushed the non-Han peoples into more-remote areas and intermarried with them. There are a large number of Hui (Chinese Muslims), the descendants of the immigrants sent in by China’s rulers to help govern the province after the 13th century. The non-Han population of Yunnan remains substantial; in addition to the Hui, it comprises more than 50 recognized ethnic minority groups, accounting for more than one-third of Yunnan’s population. In distribution, these groups are highly intermixed; not one county is inhabited by a single minority.

The Yi are the largest minority group in the province. Once the rulers of large parts of Yunnan, the Yi are a hill people with subsistence agriculture and proud warrior traditions. Linguistically, they belong to the Tibeto-Burman group. Second largest in population are the Bai, in northwestern Yunnan. Long Sinicized, the Bai are rice cultivators who are among the original inhabitants of the region. Other peoples in the Tibeto-Burman linguistic family are the Hani, Lisu, and Lahu of the Yi subgroup; the Naxi, who are a branch of the Xifan subgroup; the Tibetans, who inhabit the far northwest corner of the province and practice Tibetan Buddhism; and the Jingpo, who speak the same language as the Kachin of northern Myanmar.

A second major linguistic family represented in Yunnan is the Tai group. Most of the Tai (in China, called Dai) peoples inhabit the semitropical lowlands, raise paddy (wet-field) rice, and practice Buddhism; they are ethnically related to the Shan tribes of Myanmar and the Thai (Siamese) of Thailand. Another important linguistic group is the Mon-Khmer, represented by the Wa, former headhunters who inhabit several counties along the border with Myanmar. The smaller Bulang and De’ang (formerly Benglong) tribes also speak a Mon-Khmer language. The Hmong (called Miao in China) and Mien (called Yao in China) peoples of southeastern Yunnan make up a separate linguistic group; they are hill dwellers whose traditional shifting (slash-and-burn) method of clearing land for cultivation has been replaced by more sedentary farming practices. The Miao until relatively recently had no written language. Finally, a significant number of Zhuang inhabit the southeastern part of Yunnan, adjacent to Guangxi.

Settlement patterns

More than one-fourth of Yunnan’s population is classified as urban; the rest is rural. Following the development of industries in the latter decades of the 20th century, urban growth has been marked by the emergence of medium-sized cities rather than giant metropolitan complexes. The only exception to this is Kunming, the provincial capital, which experienced significant growth as it rapidly developed its industries. Other important cities include Qujing, the province’s second largest city; Gejiu, the “tin capital”; Yuxi, a growing city some 60 miles (100 km) south of Kunming; Dali, at the junction of highways to Tibet and Myanmar; Chuxiong, a rising herbal medicine maker located halfway between Kunming and Dali; Kaiyuan, a coal-mining and power-generating centre in southeast-central Yunnan; and Luxi, near the border with Myanmar.

Agriculture and forestry

Red soil of various ages covers both the eastern and western regions of Yunnan. Although only about 6 percent of Yunnan’s land is arable, the wide climatic variations assure the province a variety of crops. Rice is by far the most important basic food grain raised in Yunnan. In the upland plains, in the open valleys, and on the terraced hillsides, rice is the principal summer crop, with corn (maize) an important secondary crop. Other summer crops in the rice regions include sweet potatoes, vegetables, sugarcane, and tea. Winter crops in the rice regions include wheat, barley, beans, peas, and rapeseed. Among the hill peoples, corn, barley, and wheat are raised in summer in drier fields. Peaches, persimmons, walnuts, and chestnuts are also produced locally. In the extreme south, especially in the low-lying valleys, bananas, coconuts, and coffee are grown. The tea from Pu’er has a worldwide reputation.

Yunnan is one of China’s major producers of tobacco; other industrial crops include cotton and hemp. Livestock raised in Yunnan include water buffalo, ponies, mules, cattle, sheep, goats, and pigs. Ham from the city of Xuanwei is celebrated as a gourmet’s delight. The production and export of cut flowers for both the domestic market and for export has been developed in the province since the late 1980s.

The western canyon region holds enormous timber reserves that cover some one-fourth of Yunnan’s area and are among the largest in China. Timber production, once essentially unchecked and highly devastating to the landscape, has been strictly controlled since the late 1990s. In addition to timber, some tung oil also is produced.

Resources and power

The province has some of the world’s largest tin deposits, and the leading extractive industry is tin mining. Tin is mined in the southeastern part of the province and west of the Lancang River. Before the Sino-Japanese War (1937–45), China exported a major portion of the tin mined there, but now, despite increased production, most goes to satisfy an increased domestic demand. Yunnan is also a large producer of copper, which is mined chiefly in the Huize region. The copper industry around Dongchuan, which supplied most of the metal for minting coins in the Qing (Manchu) dynasty (1644–1911/12), has been modernized and expanded. This led to the creation of a special economic district at Dongchuan, northeast of Kunming. Dongchuan is also one of the centres of lead and zinc mining in the province. Another major lead and zinc mining centre is located at Lanping in western Yunnan.

Yunnan has moderate deposits of coal and iron; in addition, some petroleum and natural gas reserves have been discovered in certain basin areas in the southwestern and eastern parts of the province. Other mineral products include antimony, tungsten, mercury, phosphorus, silver, placer gold, cinnabar (the ore of mercury), and manganese. Tungsten and phosphorus are mined near Kunming. Gypsum, sulfur, fluorite, arsenic, alum, and asbestos also exist in large quantities. Deposits of bauxite provide the basis for an aluminum industry. Marble quarried at Dali is eagerly sought, both as building material and for interior decoration. The saltpetre extracted from rock salt mined at Kunming is used to make fertilizers, explosives, and food preservatives.

The production of electric power is also an important component of the provincial economy. Power is generated by both thermal and, increasingly, hydroelectric plants. Since the late 1990s, major hydropower stations have been completed on the Mekong (Lancang) River at Manwan, Dachaoshan, and Xiaowan. Yunnan produces a surplus of electricity, which is exported to neighbouring provinces.