In the extreme south-west of China lies the Province of Yunnan. This is biologically the most diverse region in the whole of China, partly because it encompasses such a wide range of habitats, from the tropical southern lowlands, through to the edges of the Tibetan plateau in the north, with many mid-altitude ranges in between. The capital, Kunming, is a bustling modern city of some 3.6 million inhabitants, located centrally at an altitude of about 1840 m. It is famous for its equable climate,and is known in Chinese as the “Spring City”, having a year-round climate not unlike that of a good British summer.

    In Yunnan, traditional people have long lived in close harmony with the natural world, using the forests and other natural sites as a source of food, firewood, building materials, and medicines. This makes it an ideal area in which to study the intricate interactions between people and plants, and, largely as we shall see through the pioneering work of one group of scientists, Yunnan became the birthplace of Chinese ethnobotany.

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Full article available in PDF:

    LINK1: Yunnan: Cradle of Chinese Ethnobotany, by Martin Walters & Pei Shengji

    LINK2: Yunnan: Ethnobotany in the Service of Conservation, by Martin Walters & Hu Huabin