NPC deputy Wang Ning invites travelers to experience Yunnan

Yunnan, an ecotourism paradise and a mysterious land of biodiversity, welcomes travelers from around the world to explore its charm and learn about its untold stories, said Wang Ning, Party secretary of the province, also a deputy to the ongoing second session of the 14th National People’s Congress (NPC).

As a pioneer of ecological civilization, Yunnan will prioritize protection of the environment, animals and plants, while utilizing its green resources to develop related industries. It will pave the way to modernization on the basis of harmonious coexistence between humans and nature, said Wang, who is also a deputy to the 14th National People’s Congress, China’s top legislature.

With an area of 394,000 square kilometers, the southwestern province is home to 47 million people from various ethnic groups. It hosts all ecosystems, with the exception of the ocean and desert. With its landscape dotted with mountains, rivers, lakes and gorges, it has the most diverse flora and fauna — 19,333 species of plants and 2,273 species of vertebrates, or more than half of China’s total — among all provincial regions in the country, according to authorities.

Its biodiversity is recognized by the world, and the 15th meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity, a major United Nations gathering on environmental issues, was held in Kunming, the provincial capital, in 2021.

“Yunnan has remarkable diversity in land forms, climates and species, earning titles such as the ‘Kingdom of Plants’, ‘Kingdom of Animals’ and ‘Kingdom of Nonferrous Metals’. It’s a renowned paradise for tourists worldwide,” Wang said.

Back in the 13th century, Italian traveler Marco Polo visited Yunnan and praised Kunming as a magnificent city, immortalizing the beauty of Yunnan in his travelogue and sharing it with the world. In the 1920s, explorer Joseph Rock arrived in Yunnan from the United States and stayed for 27 years, showcasing the natural beauty and cultural richness of the region to the world through the National Geographic magazine, Wang said.

In 2023, the province received 1.04 billion visits and raked in tourism revenue of 1.4 trillion yuan ($194.5 billion), up 24 percent and 52.3 percent, respectively, year-on-year. During the Spring Festival holiday in February, multiple attractions, including Dali Ancient City, received more than 100,000 visits daily, earning tourism revenue of 63.74 billion yuan.

Besides tourism, green resources also bring in revenue for the province. “Our vegetables grow abundantly throughout the year, and we sell more than 20 million metric tons outside the province; our coffee production accounts for 95 percent of the entire Chinese output, with its aroma spreading both domestically and internationally; our freshly cut flowers yield 19 billion stems annually, and are exported to over 40 countries and regions, taking Yunnan’s beauty and romance to the world,” he said.