Yunnan Nationalities Village

The Yunnan Nationalities Village covering about 133.3 hectares is located on the northeastern shore of Dianchi Lake 6 kilometers south of Kunming, and on the west by the Western Mountains Forest Reserve. This is a theme park of sorts--an ethnographic display of the architecture and ways of life of Yunnan's minority population. There are 56 nationalities in China and 52 of them live in Yunnan. Among them 26 each has a population of more than 5,000. Each nationality has its particularities in terms of language, religion, and in the ways of conducting themselves in relation to others. Each of the 26 ethnic peoples of Yunnan will have a village built on the premises, and there will also be a square symbolizing unity among various ethnic groups, a theatre for the performance of ethnic songs and dances, a folklore museum of ethnic waxworks. When completed, the Yunnan Ethnic villages will become an epitome of Yunnan as a multi-ethnic province, and an immense garden in south Chinese horticultural and landscaping traditions. Now eight villages have been completed and they were officially opened on February 18, 1992. There are activities that take place such as a welcoming ceremony with performing White Elephants, the Dinosaur Island theme park area, a concert area for ethnic singing and dancing performances, as well as an Asian Elephant show in the Plaza of Ethnic Unity. The "villagers" are all chosen from the youth of the relevant nationalities to act as guides and performers for tourists. The three major villages represent the Dai, the Bai and the Yi nationalities. It is a good place to show visitors to Yunnan the cultural traditions of the ethnic groups in the province.

In addition to these "ethnic villages", there are activities that take place such as a welcoming ceremony with performing White Elephants, the Dinosaur Island theme park area, a concert area for ethnic singing and dancing performances, as well as an Asian Elephant show in the Plaza of Ethnic Unity. The climax of a visit to the Nationalities Park is a film shown on a fountain of water. The "villagers" are all chosen from the youth of the relevant nationalities to act as guides and performers for tourists. The three major villages represent the Dai, the Bai and the Yi nationalities.