Wenshan Travel Guide

Chinese Name: 文山 (wén shān)
Population: 3,672,000
Area: 31,456 square kilometers (12,145 square miles)
Location: in the southeast of Yunnan, southwest China
Administrative Division: 1 county-level city (Wenshan); 7 counties (Yanshan, Xichou, Malipo, Maguan, Qiubei, Guangnan, Funing)
Area Code: 0876
Zip Code: 663099
GDP (2019): CNY 108.16 billion (USD 15.68 billion)
Nationalities: Han, Zhuang, Miao, Yi, Yao

Lying in the southeast of Yunnan Province, Wenshan Zhuang and Miao Autonomous Prefecture neighbors Baise of Guangxi. It is bounded on the south by Vietnam. Wenshan County, the government seat of the prefecture is about 310 kilometers (193 miles) from Kunming. Wenshan is the origin and main producing area of pseudo-ginseng, a precious traditional Chinese Medicine with the effect of promoting blood circulation, removing blood stasis and nourishing blood.

Karst caves, rolling peaks and winding rivers constitute the beautiful scenery of Wenshan. You can cruise through ponds covered by lotus and explore karst caves in Puzhehe. If you happen to come here on the Torch Festival around June of the lunar calendar, you can see many people lighting torches on the streets and enjoy the folk song and dance performances. Bamei Village, a quaint and unspoiled Zhuang settlement, affords a rare glimpse of a way of life barely seen in modern China.

The prefecture enjoys a plateau monsoon climate at low altitude having distributions of six climatic types, ranging from the north subtropical zone to the middle temperate zone. It has clear dry and humid seasons. May to October is the rainy season gathering over eighty percent of local's rainfall throughout the year. Most of the region has a favorable climate without winter chilliness and summer heat. Average temperatures in January and July are respectively 6.5-13.5C (43.7-56.3F) and 17-28.5C (62.6-83.3F). May to September is the best season to visit the prefecture, but umbrella and one or two wraps are necessary in case the weather changes. 

 History: Administrative division of this area in history initiated during the Western Han Dynasty (206BC-24AD), when the emperor launched the exploitation of southwestern border area. Kingdoms set up by local ethnic minorities were conquered and replaced by counties and shires newly established by the court.

 Physical Features: This area stands in the southeast of the Yunnan-Guizhou Plateau backed by the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau in the northwest. Mountainous region occupies nearly ninety-five percent of the prefecture's territory. The total area under cultivation only accounts for a proportion of seven percent.

 Special Local Products: pseudo ginseng (Panax notoginseng), capsicum, bamboo shoot, Zhuang brocade, Zingiber striolatum (a kind of unique vegetable in Xichou County), green tea

 Local Highlights: This place is a place inhabited by eleven ethnic minorities. Therefore, celebrating the festivals altogether with local minorities in the most interesting thing. Danu Festival is the grandest festival of the whole for the Yao ethnic minority. In addition, lotus festival, torch festival and many other local traditional celebrations are undoubtedly temptations for visitors.