Yunnan. Traditional Towns and Villages

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Yunnan in southwestern China shares a border with Myanmar, Laos and Vietnam. It is a melting pot, home to 26 of the country s minority peoples, Bai, Dai, Yi, Naxi, among them. Many of these communities have lived here for thousands of years developing highly sophisticated cultures. Nowhere else in the country offers so much diversity. The province is also the home to many Han people who migrated here from China s central plains during the Ming and Qing dynasties. Yunnan is also a place of widely different terrain and climates, from the high mountains and plateaus in the west to the coastal plains in the southeast. This book is about the varied architecture and settlement patterns of the different peoples as they have adapted to the landscape, the agricultural potential and the culture of their neighbors. Many of the towns and villages demonstrate an amalgam, a coming together of the many styles. China is an ancient country with a profound past that dates back to Neolithic times. As the country rapidly modernizes new forces are impinging on these traditional communities. It is critical that the country s proud heritage is preserved.