Introduction
Yunnan stands apart from the rest of China on the southwest frontier, shielded from the rest of the country by the mountainous provinces of Sichuan and Guizhou.
Yunnan has an unmatched diversity of landscapes and peoples, from the high Tibetan fringes in the northwest to the tropical rainforests on the borders of Burma and Vietnam and mighty rivers that flow through the central plains, all home to over a third of China's ethnic minorities.