Fabled Silk Route just 5hrs away: Kunming, nearest Chinese City

By Pravin Mendis

The closest province to Sri Lanka from China by air, is the Kunming International Airport.

Sri Lanka and China have enjoyed close economic and political relations due to the ancient Silk Route that passes through Sri Lanka. Trade relations, political cooperation and friendship with China spans over six decades with the signing of the Rubber-Rice Pact during Prime Minister Sirimavo Bandaranaike’s time.

The Yunnan Province and its capital city Kunming is an ideal holiday destination for Sri Lankans to explore, since it is only five hours by air from the Colombo International Airport.

The Chinese Embassy in Colombo and the Sri Lanka China Journalist’s Forum (SLCJF) have been initiating several programs among which are familiarization tours to China and its main provinces. During a recent tour to three cities and provinces in China, namely, Beijing (Capital City), Guanzhou (Fujian Province) and Kunming (Yunnan Province), Sri Lankan journalists were able to witness the vast economic strides these provinces have made, in terms of development and social prosperity. The lack of spoken English as a medium to communicate is never a barrier to explore and learn of the country’s social and cultural trappings.

Geographical advantages and international connectivity

This article features some of the interesting places for tourists and travellers to visit in the Kunming city and its surroundings in the Yunnan Province, with direct connectivity through the Bandaranaike International Airport, on SriLankan Airlines.

Visits to the Danuohei village of the Yi people in the historic Stone Forest area, the Jinning County and the Zheng He Park (who had a close relationship with Sri Lanka as an explorer along the silk route), the ancient Yunnan Cultural Tourist City and the Wetland adjoining the great Dianchi Lake, are attractive places for Lankan travellers, in Kunming.

Located in a vantage point of China, Southeast Asia and South Asia, Yunnan serves as China’s gateway to Southeast and South Asian countries. Surrounded by the many neighbourhood provinces, Yunnan borders Myanmar, Vietnam and Laos. It has direct access to Thailand and Cambodia via the Lancang-Mekong River and sits in close vicinity of countries, such as, Malaysia, Singapore, India and Bangladesh.

The Southern Silk Road, which meandered from Sichuan to Yunnan and further extended to Myanmar, India and the

western world, was already an important pathway for ancient China’s outbound transport, trade and cultural exchanges, which made great contribution to world civilization. In modern times, the renowned Stillwell Road and the Hump Flight also crossed the territory of

Yunnan.

Yunnan is famous at home and abroad for its unique highland landscapes, glamorous tropical and subtropical scenery in border areas, and the ethnic culture.

The Yunnan province offers numerous places of interests and has developed a hoard of scenic sites featuring mountains, canyons, modern glaciers, highland lakes, stone forests, karst caves, volcanoes, hot springs, virgin forests, flowers, historical and cultural relics, traditional gardens and ethnic customs.

There are altogether over 200 scenic areas in the province, including 134 national A-plus sites, 12 national parks and 53 provincial parks. The Old Town of Ljiang and the terraced paddy fields of Hani Minority in Honghe Prefecture are on the UNESCO List of World Cultural Heritage, while the three parallel rivers, karst formations of the Stone Forest and fossils unearthed in Chengjiang are among the World Natural Heritage list.

There are six national-level historical and cultural cities in Yunnan, namely, Kunming, Dali, Lijiang, Jianshui, Weishan and Huize. The Yunnan province has 13 airports while the Kunming International Airport is the fourth largest airport in China. The SriLankan Airlines also operates direct flights three times a week to Kunming, which has many shopping areas.

Exhibition centre

The Dianchi International Convention & Exhibition Center (DCEC) is one of the largest exhibition and convention halls in the region. In 2013, the Kunming Dianchi Convention and Exhibition Center (DCEC) was constructed to make the city more international, opening-up and shaping its development to become a well-equipped modern urban complex with diversified functions of conventions and exhibitions, tourist services, leisure and entertainment, vacationing, as well as trade and business.

The DCEC has opened a window onto the convention and exposition services industry of Southeast Asia. Its exhibition halls cover a floor area of 353,330 square meters, encompassing the three peninsulas of the Dianchi lake (namely Fubao, Baofeng and Xinghai).

The Center, which neighbours the Dianchi National Tourist Resort, is adjacent to the Wujiatang wetland park in the east and has a panoramic view of the lake and the Xishan scenic area. The DCEC is designed on the concept of a dancing peacock with tall feathers, to bring good luck, and consists of 23 modern and well-equipped halls, offering space of about 500,000 square meters for exhibitions, conferences and other events. They significantly feature Yunnan’s cultural diversity and glamour.

The exhibition halls include 13 column-free , and 10 with pillars.The indoor space for exhibition is about 300,000 square meters, including nearly 200,000 square meters without columns. The column-free halls are equipped with state-of-the-art facilities, especially, for government and business events, large-scale opening and closing ceremonies, press conferences, grand banquets, high-end exhibitions, as well as art and technology shows. The outdoor space for exhibitions is about 100,000 square meters.