Yunnan Ethnic Village
If you are traveling in Kunming City, do you know any place where you can best enjoy the local custom of the ethnic groups? The answer is Yunnan Nationalities Village, which is a convergence of 25 ethnic groups including Yi, Bai, Tai, Hui, Miao ect. who are living in Yunnan Province. Located on the northeastern shore of Dian Lake and covering an area of 89 hectare, it is famous for its unique ethnic villages , ethnic dancing halls, squares, fountains and architectural buildings, which are epitome of culture, custom, lifestyle and religion of Yunnan ethnic People.
Now let me lead you to enjoy all the wonders of the Nationalities Village. The main gate is made from stele frame and is covered by green trees with five big gilt charterers "云南民族村 (Yunnan Nationalities Village)" hung on. Standing before it, we will find there is a flying peacock in the middle signifying the flourish and thriving prospect of Yunnan people.
When entering into it, we will find land and water criss crossing with each other and every village is situated in different places. The first thing we do is to look at all the ethnic villages. There are mainly nine villages including Bai, Yi, Miao, Dai, Zhuang, Tibetan, Yao, Achang, Mosuo nationality villages. Buildings are of different ethnic style and you can also find different dress, funny wedding ceremonies, colorful festival celebrations, dancing, singing and food in each village. The most outstanding attractions are the White Dagoba in the Dai Village, Dali Tree Towers in Bai Village, totem-pole in Yi Village, Dongba Culture of Naxi nationality, Buddhism temple of Tibetan and some others. All of these things will surely give you a special banquet of all the ethnic custom.
When we go deeper, a big ethnic dancing hall will come into our sight, where peculiar shows are on play everyday. It is well known that there are some interesting festivals in every nationalities. The most outstanding ones in the Village are the Yi Torch Festival (June 24th), Dai Water-splashing Festival (Mid April), Yijia hunting God Festival (Feb 1st to 3rd), Mirage temple (Jan 9 th), when you come at that time, you will savor the great ethnic atmosphere which will surely add great fun to your tour.
Nowadays, Yunnan Nationalities Village is a great hodgepodge of ethnic groups and has been ratified as a National 5A scenic spots which attracted many tourists from home and abroad. If you are traveling here, don't forget to taste the delicious local food such as Dianwei Dish, Yunnan Mushroom, Lemongrass chicken, bamboo rice, roasted bamboo rat and so on. The entrance fee is 70 RMB in the day and 50 RMB after 19:00. It is recommended you spend two to three hours here and you can savor the great combination of ethnic custom and local culture.