Covering an area of 15561 sq.km. with a population of 3.7 million, Kunming, the capital city of Yunnan Province, is a tourist city renowned for its perennially pleasant weather, intriguing highland scenes and sights, and venerated history. Thus it has been entitled as "one of the historical and cultural cities of China". Since it stands at an altitude of 1895 metres with an average annual temperature of 15.1 Celsius, no wonder it has got a sobriquet "Spring City".

Kunming enjoys a convenient transportation and communication too. Its highways connect those of Burma, Laos and Vietnam. It has more than 50 regular international and domestic flights to Hong Kong and Macau, and major cities in China as well as to the wellknown international cities such as Bangkok, Chiang Mai, Rangoon, Vientiane, Kuala Lumpur, Jakarta, Singapore and so on. IDD telephone service is available as well.

The '99 International Horticultural Exposition will be held in Jindian (Golden Hall), Kunming. This exposition is to be hosted by the Chinese government from May 1 to October 31, 1999, taking "Man and Nature Marching into the 21 st Century" as its theme. The exposition will highlight the age-old tradition of horticulture, gardens and courtyards which dovetail traditional culture with modern civilization and the high-tech in terms of horticulture.

Kunming is rich in both natural and historical tourist resources. Major tourist attractions include the site of '99 International Horticultural Exposition, Yunnan Nationalities Villages, the Stone Forest, Jiuxiang Caves, Xishan (West Mountain) Forest Park, Grand View Mansion, Black Dragon Pool, Bamboo Temple, Jindian (Golden Hall) Scenic area. Arming Hot Springs, Yuantong Temple, Zhenghe Park, etc.