Yunnan Nationalities Village

Endowed with lofty hills, beautiful pools, exquisite traditional houses and rare plants, Yunnan Nationalities Village, aka Yunnan Ethnic Village, showcases the architectural styles, religious beliefs, and folk customs of 26 ethnic groups in exquisite detail. Backing on the Western Hill Forest Park and adjacent to Dianchi Lake, a pearl on Yunnan-Guizhou Plateau, the village is 10 kilometers (6.2 miles) far from downtown Kunming. It covers an area of 84 hectares (208 acres), including 31 hectares (76 acres) of water area.

Guide Map of Yunnan Nationalities Village

At the main gate hangs a plaque inscribed with five Chinese characters, Yun Nan Min Zu Cun, saying Yunnan Nationalities Village or Yunnan Ethnic Village. A logo of a flying golden phoenix is right below the plaque, symbolizing good wishes to the village. On the lawn near the gate is a group of white elephant statues, as it is a custom here to welcome distinguished guests with elephants.

Beautiful Ladies in Yunnan Nationalities Village

After entering, the first site coming into view is the Dai Village. Occupying 1.8 hectares (4.4 acres), the village is surrounded with water on three sides. Bamboo houses built on stilts are shaded with trees and flowers. A meandering path paved with red sandstones leads to a sacred Burmese-style temple. The lofty white tower, exquisite pavilions and bridges are very impressive. As a nationality loving singing and dancing, Dai People are proud of their peacock dance and music played on cucurbit flutes, which perfectly match each other.

In the west of Harmony Square is the Yi Nationality village. It covers more than 3.4 hectares (8.4 acres). Since Yi People show respect to tigers, you can see a tiger rockery as well as a wall engraved with three tigers. A giant totem column is erected in the center of the magnificent Solar Calendar Square. Carved on the column are patterns of the sun, fire, tigers and the Eight Trigrams of ancient China. Around the column, there are ten black and white stone spheres facing different directions, symbolizing that life originates from the sun and the moon. The twelve lifelike carvings of Chinese zodiac animals on the peripheral add a lot of fun to the village. The distilleries, bullrings, and Mo Qiu, which is similar to a seesaw, represent authentic Yi culture.

As the largest village in this scenic spot, Bai Village is famous for its traditional dwellings which integrate Han People's architectural strengths with its own. The three white towers, built in a scale of 1:4 to reproduce the Three Pagodas in Dali, will definitely catch your eyes. The butterfly specimens on exhibition are also quite attractive and will remind visitors of the Butterfly Spring. If you get thirsty during the visit, you will have an opportunity to partake in a unique tea-related tradition of Bai Nationality, San Dao Cha, meaning being served with three cups of tea. The first cup is bitter, the second is sweet and the third mingles different tastes, reflecting Bai People’s philosophy. They think one should undergo hard times first and then seek a better life. After experiencing ups and downs, one will get various feelings about life.

Attracting Dance by Local Ethnic Girls

Besides the three villages, there are other interesting spots worth viewing, such as Miao, Mosuo, Yao and Naxi Villages. Every village has its unique and mysterious culture, attracting many cultural explorers. There is also a Tea Culture View Garden inside the park, where you can learn something about Chinese tea culture.

In addition to visiting the various villages, you can enjoy some amusement activities, like the elephant show, water screen films, ethnic cabarets and the folk show The Call of the Plateau. Besides, if it happens to be a festival of the nationalities, such as the Water-Splashing Festival (April 13 to 16) of Dai People, Torch Festival (June 24 in the lunar calendar) of Yi People, the Tibetan New Year (January 1st in the Tibetan calendar) and so on, you can join the locals to learn about the customs and prepare for a lot of fun.

 

Colorful Clouds	A'chang Court	09:30-09:50, 11:30-11:50, 16:10-16:30
	Daogan Square	10:10-10:30, 11:20-11:40, 17:00-17:20
	Wa Village	10:30-10:50, 12:20-12:40, 16:00-16:20
	Bai Village	10:30-10:50, 12:40-13:00, 17:00-17:20
	Yi Village	10:40-11:00, 13:20-13:40, 16:10-16:30
	Haini Village	10:50-11:10, 16:30-16:50
	Dai Village	11:00-11:20, 15:50-16:10
	Lahu Village	11:00-11:20, 16:30-16:50
	Muosuo Village	11:30-11:50, 16:30-16:50
The Call of the Plateau	Dianchi Stage	13:20-14:10 CNY 150 for a normal ticket and CNY 260 for a VIP ticket
Elephant Show	Elephant Show Square	Ride elephant and take pictures: 10:30-11:00, 13:00-13:30, 16:00-16:30 Elephant show: 11:00-11:30, 13:30-14:00, 16:30-17:00

Note: The time schedule is subject to changes due to weather conditions and other factors.
 Take bus line 24, 44, 73, 94, 171, A1, K31, Tourist Line 1 and get off at Yunnan Minzucun (Yunnan Nationalities Village) station.
 

Quadricycle with 2 or 4 seats	CNY 100/vehicle (three hours)
Balance bike	CNY 80/hour
Electro car with 2 seats	CNY 80/hour
Sightseeing mini-train	CNY 30 per person
Sightseeing boat	CNY 20 per person
13-seat battery car	CNY 500/car (two hours)
7-seat battery car	CNY 300/car (two hours)

 

Entrance Fee	CNY 90 during daytime (09:00 - 18:00, last entry at 16:30) CNY 50 during nighttime (17:30 - 21:30, last entry at 20:30) Free for children no taller than 1.2 meters (3.9 feet).
Opening hours	9:00-21:30 Note: This tourist spot is open at night whenever there is a festival and the night ticket is comparatively cheaper.
Recommended visiting hours	3 to 5 hours

  Dianchi Lake

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