What to buy in Yunnan

Yunnan is literally a Treasure House of natural resources as well as for a diverse range of handicrafts produced by members of its various ethnic communities. Visitors to Kunming have access across the city to a wide range of products unique to Yunnan which cannot be found elsewhere in the world. 

The caffeine-free Pu’er tea is one of the specialties of Yunnan

Because of Yunnan’s natural and geological and ancient agricultural traditions and heritage, there are over 10,000 TCM herbals, accounting for 70 percent of those of China. Yunnan is also one of major tea growing regions in China. Pu’er Prefecture is the ancient tea capital of Yunnan and is famous for its special caffeine-free tea, Pu’er Tea. Yunnan’s location, adjacent to Myanmar also makes it an ideal place for connoisseurs of jade both from within China and with literally thousands of jade shops around Kunming itself, some of which offer magnificent jade objects. 

Jade wares are very popular handicrafts, costing 1 dollar to tens of thousand dollars

The 26 different ethnic minorities native to Yunnan (each with a population of over 5,000) produce unique well-priced souvenirs for visitors. The unprecedented boom in tourism has brought about both opportunities and challenges for Yunnan people, who always strive to better their living standards since Yunnan is a remote and frontier hinterland of China. Travelers from near and far, with promising expectation, explore Yunnan of which the mysteries are being unveiled one after another.    

Yunnan ethnic embroideries are the favourite of many travellers

There are too many handicrafts and local products to specify in Kunming, the capital city of Yunnan Province. Flowers, wood carvings, silverwares, jade crafts, purple potteries, minority embroideries, bornite wares, Pu’er Tea, and Tuocha Tea, pseudo-ginseng, and so on, just name a few. 

Colourful wood carvings with Yunnan characteristics  

Generally speaking, every city or town has a Free Market packed with unique and highly desirable souvenirs. As in Kunming, needless to say, I never hesitate recommend some free markets (bird and flower market as locals call them) one of which is the Jingxing Market in the downtown.