Yunnan Province, located in Southwest China, shares borders with three ASEAN countries – Myanmar, Vietnam and Laos. Its landscapes are remarkably diverse, with more than 90 per cent of its territory comprising mountainous and plateau terrain. Dramatic karst formations, high plateaus and cascading waterfalls make Yunnan one of China’s most visually captivating regions.

Strategically positioned along historical trade routes of the Southern Silk Road, Yunnan once served as a vital gateway connecting China to South and West Asia.

The province is home to 25 of China’s 55 minority ethnic groups, including the Hani and Lisu communities, making it a vibrant tapestry of cultural traditions, languages and customs.

Participants of the China International Press Communication Centre (CIPCC) Asia Pacific Programme recently had the opportunity to discover Yunnan’s rich natural and cultural heritage during a memorable study tour.

Our journey began in Yunnan’s capital, Kunming. Upon our arrival at Changshui Airport, we travelled for more than four hours by road to Wenshan Zhuang and Miao Autonomous Prefecture.

Along the way, we passed through countless mountain tunnels, enjoyed lush scenery and stopped at a roadside rest area for Yunnan coffee and ice cream.

At our hotel, we noticed signages in Vietnamese, underscoring the prefecture’s geographical closeness to Vietnam.

The next morning, we visited Xianrendong Village in the Puzhehei Scenic Area, located in south-eastern Yunnan’s iconic karst region. The village is home to the Sani people of the Yi ethnic group, who greeted us warmly with a traditional dance performance in their colourful ethnic outfit.

In the Yi language, Puzhehei means “a pond teeming with fish and shrimps”. True to this name, the area is famed for its idyllic landscape – serene waters framed by rolling green hills. We explored this scenic beauty aboard an ancient-style Chinese boat.

A pleasant surprise awaited me at the village, where I met fellow Malaysians – Malaysia’s Consul General in Kunming, Muhamad Akmal Abdul Wahab, and his delegation – who were also visiting the area.

During the tour, I learned how government-led tourism development, supported by the village’s strategic location and rich resources, helped lift the local community out of poverty. Today, the village offers homestays and has been recognised as ‘Yunnan’s Premier Ethnic Cultural and Ecological Village’.

We also visited the Wenshan Sanqi Industrial Park, where we learned about sanqi or Panax notoginseng, a highly prized medicinal herb cultivated in the region. Valued in traditional Chinese medicine for improving blood circulation, sanqi is grown at elevations of around 1,900 metres, and every part of the plant – from root to flower – has medicinal properties.

The sky lighted up during the opening ceremony of the 11th Wenshan Sanqi Festival.

That evening, we attended the 11th Wenshan Sanqi Festival at Wenshan Panlong Stadium. The event featured traditional performances and vibrant cultural showcases celebrating the heritage of Wenshan and Yunnan. Consul General Muhamad Akmal was also among the distinguished guests.

From Wenshan, we continued to Malipo County, in the prefecture’s south-eastern region, where an incredible 99.9 per cent of the land consists of mountainous terrain.

I was informed that our hotel stood on the only flat piece of land in the entire area.

The China-Vietnam border at a location in Jinping County, Honghe Prefecture.

Malipo borders Vietnam’s Ha Giang Province. At several viewpoints, we could clearly see the Vietnamese flag across the river, while the Chinese riverbank was secured with stretches of barbed wire.

Several local shops also displayed Vietnamese signages, reflecting the deep cross-border interactions. Our visit also included a stop at the boundary stone marking the official China–Vietnam border.

In Malipo, we explored the county’s intangible cultural heritage, including the distinctive batik craftsmanship of the Bailuo people of the Yi ethnic group. Their batik, similar in both name and tradition to the batik of Malaysia and Indonesia, is created using beeswax mixed with ash from burnt hemp. Artisans hand-draw intricate patterns using bamboo skewers before applying natural dyes extracted from local plants, giving the fabric its unique character.

The Ladeng Waterfall in Jinping County, Honghe Prefecture, in Yunnan Province.

Our final destination was Jinping County in Honghe Prefecture. There we hiked through lush forests to witness the stunning Ladeng Waterfall, a site celebrated for its biodiversity and pristine natural beauty. It was a breathtaking end to a journey that brought to life the enduring cultural and ecological treasures along Yunnan’s ancient Southern Silk Road.

-- BERNAMA

Rohani Mohd Ibrahim, a journalist with BERNAMA, is currently in Beijing to attend the China International Press Communication Centre (CIPCC) Programme from Aug 18 to Dec 15, 2025.

The initiative, organised by the China Public Diplomacy Association (CPDA), serves as a platform for practical cooperation between Chinese media organisations and those from emerging markets and developing economies.

The programme also provides foreign journalists with the opportunity to gain a comprehensive and in-depth understanding of China’s society, development and international engagement.

This marks BERNAMA’s eighth participation in the CIPCC since 2018.