Kunming

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Capital of Yunnan province, China, on Lake Dianchi, about 2,000 m/6,500 ft above sea level; population (2000) 2,547,300. Situated in a fertile plain 640 km/400 mi southwest of Chongqing, it is an important trading centre between the far west and central and south China. Industries include engineering and the manufacture of tyres, chemicals, textiles, iron, steel, machinery, cigarettes, heavy goods vehicles, plastics, and cement. Copper is smelted with nearby hydroelectric power.

History
Not part of China until it was conquered by the Mongols in 1274, the city grew as a trading centre between the southwest and the rest of China. The city was opened to foreign trade in 1908, and was named Kunming in 1913. The French built a metre-gauge railway connecting it to Hanoi in Vietnam in 1910. During World War II many industries were transferred here from the eastern provinces, and the city was also the Chinese terminus of the Burma Road. Kunming's rail link to Hanoi was cut during World War II, restored in 1957, cut again in 1979, and reopened in 1996.

Yunnan University and many technical colleges are situated here.

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