Kunming is the capital of Yunnan Province. It is known by a number of different names, including "The Kingdom of Plants and Animals" and "The Garden of Heavenly Flowers", but it is most popularly referred to as "Spring City". At an altitude of 1890m, Kunming enjoys mild temperatures year round, and can thus be visited at any time of the year. It is the most ethnically diverse city in China, with 26 of China's ethnic nationalities included in its population.

Today Kunming is the political, cultural and business center of Yunnan, and economically, it is on the launch pad: the government's plans are for the city to be the main commercial and financial hub for the China-ASEAN Free Trade Area, which will make it one of Asia's most important trade and economic centers.

Kunming boasts a wealth of interesting attractions both natural and man-made. Dianchi Lake, "The Pearl of the Plateau", is dotted with a number of interesting sites, including the Yunnan Nationalities Village, Western Hills and the Longmen Grottoes.

There are also a number of must-see sites that lie a short bus-ride outside the city. These include the Stone Forest, Heilongtan Park, Taihe Palace, and Bamboo Temple. The Stone Forest is actually comprised of karst rock, bent and twisted into countless weird shapes. Meanwhile the Bamboo Temple is popular among tourists for its 500 hand carved Arhats.

Other major attractions in Kunming include the Golden Temple and the Tanhua Temple. Located in Jindian Park, the former was made with some 240 tons of bronze, while the latter is famed for its beautiful orchids.

Known as it is as "The Garden of Heavenly Flowers", it is no surprise that the city was chosen as the venue for the International Horticulture Expo in 1999. The site remains today, and has drawn millions of visitors to learn how humankind and nature can co-exist in the 21st century. Other parks worth visiting include Cuihu Park, Daguan Park and Xihua Park.

A trip to this ethnically diverse city is not complete without visiting its museums. The Kunming City Museum displays fossils, bronze culture artifacts and much more, while the Yunnan Provincial Museum exhibits bronze and other archeological records of many of the ethnic groups that reside in the area. But to get a true picture of the diversity of this city, visitors must go to the Yunnan Minority Museum of Minority Nationalities.

Kunming also has a lot to offer in terms of nightlife. It has night markets selling a host of ethnic trinkets, restaurants selling local delicacies like rice noodles and Xuanwei ham, and bar streets where visitors can have a drink with the friendly locals.