Introduction:
Situated on the frontier of Southwestern China, Yunnan Province covers a total area of 394,000 square kilometers with an average elevation of around 2,000m. The Tropic of Cancer passes through its southernmost areas. To the north and east it borders on the Tibetan Autonomous Region, Sichuan Province, Guizhou Province and Guangxi Autonomous Region respectively and to the south and west it borders on Vietnam, Laos PDR and Myanmar, sharing with them a total boundary line of 4,061km. Yunnan lies on the Asian Continent to the north and connects with the Southwest Asian Peninsular to the south. Its weather includes influences from the Southeast Monsoon and Southwest Monsoon and the Tibetan Plateau climatic zone. Thus, complex and diversified natural geological landforms abound in the province.
Since ancient times, Yunnan has been an important overland thoroughfare connecting China with Southeast and South Asian countries. Now, because of its special geographical location, Yunnan has become the major Chinese province participating in the Greater Mekong Subregional Economic Cooperation and is now at the forefront of China's opening up to Southeast Asia and the establishment of the China-ASEAN Free Trade Are