|
Tourism Resources
Its unique geological and climatic environment has led to many varied and unique natural landscapes in Yunnan.
With its excellent and abundant tourism resources, Yunnan hosts all forms of tourism except those around the ocean. It is now a famous tourist destination both at home and abroad. The number of national-level sites of scenic and historic interest and nature reserves in Yunnan ranks high among the provinces in China. Yunnan has one World Cultural Heritage Site, Dayan Ancient Town in Lijiang, and five designated national-level and four provincial-level cities of historic and cultural interest.
Yunnan presents a miniature version of the multi-ethnic family of China. With their long history and traditional cultures, the 25 ethnic groups provide rich and colorful human resources, and provide a source of profound cultural information for Yunnan??s tourism.
The beautiful and imposing natural landscape, rich folklore and age-old history and culture combine to enhance one another??s beauty and create a solid foundation on which Yunnan can develop its tourism industry.
Biological Resources
With its rich biological resources, Yunnan is a treasure house of biological resources in China and is often called the ??Paradise of Plants??, the ??Kingdom of Spices??, the ??Hometown of Flowers??, the ??Treasure House of Medicinal Herbs?? and the ??Gene Bank of Biological Resources??.
Of the over 30,000 species of higher plants already discovered in China, about 17,000 can be found in Yunnan. Among them, there are around 10,000 tropical and subtropical species, more than 2,000 species of medicinal herbs, about 400 different spices, over 2,100 ornamental plants, and more than 1,500 flowering plant species. These include many rare and precious species.
An ideal habitat for many wild animals, Yunnan is home to 1,737 species of vertebrates, made up of 300 species of animals, 793 bird species, 143 reptile species, 102 amphibian species and 366 species of freshwater fish. Two hundred and thirty-nine fish species of 40 genera and 5 families can only be found in Yunnan. Of the birds and animals, 46 species are under First-Class State Protection and 154 are under Second-Class State Protection. The number of insect species exceeds 10,000.
The development of biological resources is now becoming another pillar industry in Yunnan. Tobacco and cigarettes, medicinal herbs and tropical fruits have been developed into large-scale industries and the flower, coffee and spices industries are flourishing.
Mineral Resources
With abundant varieties of minerals and large mineral deposits with high economic value, Yunnan is dubbed China??s ??Kingdom of Non-ferrous Metals??. Of the 92 minerals with proven deposits in the province, the current reserves of 54 of those rank among the top 10 in China. Non-ferrous metals are the most readily available minerals in Yunnan and current reserves of alumina, zinc and tin rank top and reserves of copper and nickel rank third in China. Of the precious metals and rare metals mined in Yunnan, reserves of indium, thallium and cadmium rank top and reserves of silver, germanium and platinum rank second in China. Current coal reserves ranks ninth and reserves of 8 raw materials for chemical engineering including phosphorus, salt, reussin, arsenic, sylvite, pyrites, calcium carbide limestone and serpentinite used for the production of fertilizers rank among the top ten nationwide. A relatively large-scale mining industry has been set up in Yunnan, which includes the treatment of non-ferrous metals and phosphorus chemical engineering. It has resulted in the integration of mining, processing and smelting. Thus, Yunnan has become a major production base for tin, copper and phosphate fertilizers in China.
Energy Resources
Hydropower resources.
Yunnan has 6 major river systems containing over 600 rivers, big and small. The annual total hydropower resources are 222.2 billion cubic meters and the theoretical reserves of hydropower resources stand at 103.64 MW, of which the exploitable installed generating capacity is over 95,700 MW and annual power generation can reach 450 billion kilowatt-hours. By the end of 2002, the generating capacity of power stations, which had been constructed or were still under construction, had reached around 11,000 MW. The predicted capacity of the hydroelectric power stations which will be constructed in the future is about 90,000 MW with great development potential. Over the next 20 years, Yunnan will become one of the most important production bases for clean energy in China.
There are many favorable conditions for the utilization of hydropower resources on rivers in Yunnan. Firstly, the proportion of major hydroelectric power stations which can be constructed is high. Secondly, the hydropower resources are more or less concentrated, so there are many suitable sites for the erection of hydroelectric power stations. Thirdly, the power stations can be built at low cost but high production rate and the submersion of surrounding land can be kept to a minimum because of the lie of the land. Therefore, they are both technically and economically viable.
Coal resources.
Yunnan is one of the provinces with the richest coal reserves in Southern China. Prospected reserves exceed 70 billion tons and proven deposits total 34.469 billion tons. Reserves in 2001 were 26.9 billion tons. Of the proven deposits, 63% are reserves of lignite, which is especially suitable for use in power generation, this represents a total of 15.5 billion tons, just below that in Inner Mongolia, the highest in China. The precisely prospected ratio of coal resources in Yunnan is high and of coal reserves is 8.298 billion tons, accounting for 34% of the proven deposits, higher than the national average.
Yunnan also possesses rich geothermal resources. There are 654 centers of hot spring in the province, and the annual thermal diffusion is equal to that which emanates from the burning of 1.18 million tons of standard coal. The geothermal resources in Tengchong are the most famous. The temperature at 20 meters below the water surface of Rehai, or Hot Sea can be as high as 145??C.
In addition, there is great potential for the development and utilization of solar energy, thermal energy, wind power and geothermal energy in Yunnan.
|
