Yunnan has a diverse culture and one is never far from seeing this displayed in song and dance, be it on city streets or in tourist hotspots across the province.

In Kunming, people will often gather to sing traditional songs, sometimes in local dialects. And at night public squares are often full of people who come to practice their dance steps.

The southern province is home to hundreds of Buddhist temples. Indeed it is arguably the most practiced faith in Yunnan. In fact there are three main divisions of Buddhism: Hynayana Buddhism, Mahayana Buddhism and Tibetan Buddhism (Lamaism). Moreover, Hynayana Buddhism exists only in Yunnan province.

Even if not a practicing Buddhist, these temples can bring peace and tranquillity to anyone who visits.

Yunnan cuisine

Food of course is perhaps the thing most praised by the Chinese, and Yunnan offers some amazing culinary fare. With a rich ethnic population there is a varied range of dishes offered from the fragrant fish dishes of the Dai people to the spicy dishes of the Bai ethnic minority.

Of course one cannot cover the rich diversity in such a short article. Indeed, Yunnan’s diversity in food could pack a small book.

One important ingredient in many Yunnan dishes is chili. This spicy fruit is everywhere and it may often feel like there is hardly a dish that does not utilise this fiery condiment.

For those less keen on chili a visit to a stone pot fish restaurant may be particularly welcome. Here, fish is boiled in soup and consumed with various condiments. Often the pot may be split in two thus offering a choice for those who want a spicy dish and another for those with a more sensitive palate.

Smelly tofu & snacks

Another acquired taste is smelly tofu, or chòu dòufu [臭豆腐]. This fermented tofu snack is popular all across Yunnan where it is usually sold at street stalls and consumed with beer.

Spicy crayfish is another favourite. Known as Málà xiǎo lóngxiā [麻辣小龙虾] this is not strictly a Yunnan dish, but is nonetheless enjoyed across the province with a beer on summer evenings. Whilst there is health risk due to the polluted waters these crustaceans often live in, few people are put off given how delicious they are.

But Yunnan does have some very clean waterways and Jianshui is particularly renowned for its natural wells which locals still draw their water from. The water is also used in the making of smelly tofu and Jianshui is famous for its own particular brand of this smelly snack.

Vietnam

Much further south is the town of Hekou which borders with Vietnam. Crossing into Yunnan’s southern neighbour reveals a very different culinary adventure. Only a few kilometres from the border is Sapa where one can enjoy salmon hot pot and gỏi cuốn, a type of Vietnamese spring roll. This Vietnamese dish traditionally consists of salad vegetable and other ingredients such as raw salmon marinated in lemon juice all wrapped in a thin sheet of rice paper known as bánh tráng.

Puzhehei

Travelling south-east of Yunnan’s capital Kunming is Puzhehei in Qiubei county. This scenic area is home to beautiful caves, lakes and green mountains. As well as a tourist destination the region is also an important centre for rice production. In the late summer months peasants can be seen harvesting what is Yunnan’s biggest crop and threshing the rice in the streets before bagging up the valuable staple food.

Ethnic diversity

To the south of Kunming is one of Yunnan’s most famous tourist spots. Located in Shilin Yi Autonomous County is the Stone Forest, a bizarre array of limestone rock formations. Visitors may also be treated to performances by the Sani people, a sub-group of the Yi ethnic minority. But you don’t need to travel into rural Yunnan to find the province’s ethnic groups. Even in Kunming’s city centre members of ethnic minorities may gather to play music and entertain crowds, especially near to the Green Lake.

This brings us to the end of our journey through Yunnan. Of course there are many sights we haven’t covered, such as the pagodas of Dali and the old town of Lijiang to the north-west. We could only touch on the diversity of Yunnan’s food and its ethnic culture. But hopefully our short introduction has given you a taste of what is arguably one of China’s most interesting regions.

Related: Exploring Yunnan - Part 1

In this short series or article we explore a little bit of China. We start in Yunnan, to the south-west. Yunnan borders Burma [Myanmar], Laos and Vietnam and this has brought many influences. The French built railway which once connected Kunming to Vietnam brought much trade before it was shut because of conflict with the Japanese.

The French who had occupied Vietnam for some time brought their winemaking skills to Yunnan and some of the best wines in China come from this region.

Pu’er tea

But Yunnan is also well known for its tea, particularly Pu’er tea, a variety of fermented dark tea. During the  fermentation the tea undergoes a microbial fermentation and oxidation process after they are dried and rolled. This process is a Chinese specialty and produces tea known as Hei Cha [黑茶], commonly translated as dark, or black tea, though this is different from the black tea seen in the west which would in China be referred to as "red tea" or Hong Cha [红茶].

Whilst such tea come from many parts of Yunnan and China, Pu’er is one of the most highly prized teas in the country and can fetch hundreds or even thousands of dollars for a 500 gram packet. There are of course teas set at a price more affordable to an average wallet, and one may often taste before you buy. Indeed tea shops are much easier to find than a branch of Starbucks!

Moving south of Pu’er is the town of Mohan which sits on the Laos, China border. This remote town was once very popular and attracted many Chinese who would stop over before popping across to Boten on the Laos side. Boten was once a thriving gambling town with casinos and nightclubs, and many Chinese were attracted to this little outpost because gambling is illegal in China.

Laos border

However pressure from the Chinese government forced Laos to close down these ventures and so the games ended. Now Boten is little more than a ghost town. A few restaurants still exist, but tourists rarely go beyond the border post for a Beer Lao before boarding their coach to the Lao capital Vientiane, or returning to China should they merely be popping out of China to meet visa requirements.

Nonetheless, this little Lao border is still an important crossing point. It is the only legal land crossing between China and Laos and provides an all too important shipping route for products flowing between the two countries. The border is only open between 8:00 and 17:00 and in the early hours lorries begin to join the queue to cross south into Laos.

Botanical gardens

Returning north is the town of Mengla, which is home to the Xishuangbanna Tropical Botanical Gardens. As well as a popular tourist attraction this facility is engaged in biodiversity conservation and sustainable uses of plant resources, focusing on forest ecosystem ecology, conservation biology and resource plant development.

Covering an area of 1,125 hectares it is home to more than 13,000 species of tropical plants, some from other subtropical and tropical regions around the world. They include the so-called sensitive plant [Mimosa Pudica], a creeping annual or perennial herb often grown for its curiosity value. Its compound leaves fold inward and droop when touched or shaken, a process it has developed in order to protect itself from predators.

Xishuangbanna & Yuanyang county

To the west is the town of Xishuangbanna, a popular tourist town and home to the Mengle Dafo Temple and its huge statue of Buddha which looks over the town.

Travelling north again is Yuanyang county famous for its spectacular rice-paddy terracing. Covering an area of 2,200 square km this area changes dramatically with the seasons. The majority of the inhabitants of the county are from the Hani ethnic group and they use traditional farming methods.

Indeed Yunnan is home to twenty five different ethnic groups nearly half of China’s 56 recognised ethnic groups. In fact around 38% of the province's population are made up of ethnic minorities, including the Yi, Bai, Hani, Tai, Dai, Miao, Lisu, Hui, Lahu, Va, Nakhi, Yao, Tibetan, Jingpo, Blang, Pumi, Nu, Achang, Jinuo, Mongolian, Derung, Manchu, Sui, and Buyei. It makes Yunnan the second most diverse province as far as its ethnic groups are concerned.

Dragon Head Raising Day fell only recently, a festival which is observed on the second day of the second lunar month.

It is said that the dragon is awoken, raising his head on this day and is referred to in a Chinese proverb, Èr yuè èr, lóng táitóu [二月二, 龙抬头].

Dragons, which are of course prominent in Chinese culture, are believed to dominate natural forces such as wind and rain. Thus it is perhaps only fitting that their waking should also mark the beginning of Spring.

Their arousal is said to bring forth life, prompting grass to grow, trees to blossom and flowers to bloom.

In ancient China, people would worship the dragon god beside a river or a lake, praying for the precious spring rain to nurture their crops.

Like many Chinese festivals , food plays an important part, and people will often gather to eat foods sometimes named after the mythical beast including “dragon’s ears” or dumplings, “dragon’s scales” or spring pancakes, “dragon’s son”, rice, and wontons called “dragon’s eyes.”

Of course there is no actual dragon meat in any of these delicacies, and in fact most will have forgotten such references, though the Longan fruit [Lóng Yǎn, 龍眼, lit. "Dragon Eye"] still retains a connection to the dragon.

There were once ancient traditions connected with Longtaitou Festival, but now they are no longer observed. For example women were once discouraged from sewing during the festival for fear the needles might puncture the eyes of the dragon.

Perhaps less superstitious was the practice of spreading plant ashes around the house, and then inside the house, and finally around an earthen jug, symbolizing inviting the dragon to provide enough rain for good harvests.

Today the Longtaitou Festival is celebrated with the eating of Chinese pancakes (Chūnbǐng, 春饼) and noodles. Perfume bags filled with the powder of ground fragrant herbs may also be carried by women and children for good fortune, though they are no longer used as insect repellent as they were in ancient times.

While certain traditions have died, what has survived is people’s connection to the importance of the seasons and particularly Spring which marks the beginning of the year for both gardeners and farmers.