We flew from Chengdu to Kunming on China Eastern Airlines. Like all the new infrastructure in China, both the Chengdu and Kunming airports are large, well planned, clean, modern, efficient and built for expansion.
Kunming is the capital of Yunnan Province which is bordered by Burma, Laos and Vietnam and is largely mountainous where many ethnic minorities have lived in isolation for many centuries.
China’s 1.4 billion are 90% Han with the other 10% composed of 55 different ethnic minorities. No province in China has a larger percentage of ethnic minorities than Yunnan, 45% of the Province’s 48 million people, and the provincial government takes great pride in, supports and promotes its ethnic diversity.
Kunming has 8 million inhabitants with 2 million in the center city. Traffic into the city center is bad but once you get to the city center it has the feel of a small town.
At 1900 meters elevation the weather is pleasant every season of the year. The inhabitants like to say its Spring all year in Kunming pleasantly cool in the summer and winter days are pleasant and mild.
Green Lake Park in the city center is just delightful. The parks paths criss cross the lake with ponds of lotus and lilies everywhere.
Our first stop of the day was the Yunnan Nationalities Village showcasing 25 of Yunnan’s ethnic minorities. It’s sort of EPCOT on steroids with each ethnic group having its own miniature village featuring aspects of the life and customs including housing, traditional dress, dancing and singing. Of course it’s a great tourist attraction and receives upwards of 35,000 guests on peak days.
Among the villages we visited were the Yi, the provinces largest ethnic majority with about 5 million.
And the Misou who have a very different set of customs as regards marriage and child rearing. It’s a matriarcal society that doesn’t actually recognize the concept of marriage. We were told that if a boy and girl of a certain age are attracted to each other the boy climbs through the girls bedroom window, sleeps with her and if a child is produced the child is raised in the girl’s home by the child’s uncle. The indicia of wealth among the Misou is to display an entire cured and salted pig in the home of the family matriarch (grandmother).
We then visited the Stone Forrest. It’s a quite amazing area of really bizarre limestone rock formations. Another very popular tourist attraction which receives 65 thousand visitors on peak days.
And in the evening we saw Dynamic Yunnan an internationally acclaimed production relating the culture, legends and beliefs of Yunnan’s ethnic minorities through traditional dance and music. Of course my favorite part was the depiction of a family’s pilgrimage to Mt. Kailash.
The people in Kunming seem to live a relaxed and comfortable life. The cost of living is low and the climate is pleasant so it’s a place where people come to retire.j
Throughout our visit to China I’ve enjoyed conversing with people about their Country and their level of satisfaction with their lives. People in the bigger cities, Shanghai and Beijing, express a higher level of stress, work longer hours, have longer commutes and face a higher cost of living.
In the smaller cities like Xi’an and Kunming, people work less, have lower costs of living and express real satisfaction with their lives. Our guide in Kunming, a 37 years old native of the Province named David, told me that he is married with a 7 year old daughter, owns a car, lives in a nice apartment, works 8 hours a day, 5 days a week. His wife doesn’t work outside the home and they live well on a single salary.
He said the government makes available health insurance to everyone at a nominal cost and a pension. He pays 8% of his income into his pension fund on which the government pays 16% annual interest. Men have the option to retire and draw on their pension at age 60, women at 55. Every child is provided free and compulsory education through 8th grade, high school at a nominal cost with government loans available to cover the cost of higher education. Unemployment is low at 2% and 95% of college graduates find employment in their chosen field. The middle class is currently 30% and expected to reach 50% in the next decade. The cost of living is rising at 3% per year but that salaries rare rising at closer to 10% annually. He enjoys a higher standard of living than that enjoyed by his parents and is confident that his daughter will enjoy a higher standard of living than his family enjoys today.
Next up Episode 8 Final Day In Shanghai