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The Earth Forest in Yuanmou County in Chuxiong Prefecture is a scenic spot at the provincial level. Earth Forest, as a representative landscape in the county, comprises Xinhua, Bangguo, Wanbao and Tiger Leaping Beach, covering an area of 50 km². The Earth Forest came into being since geological movement and soil erosion one or two million years ago. Its shape looks like an immense forest and the main component is earth, so it is named Earth Forest. The Earth Forest, the Stone Forest in Kunming and the Colorful Sand Forest in Luliang are called “the Three Forests in Yunnan”.
滇缅公路历史博物馆
A museum about the Burma Road. The museum was founded by Chen Daya, the author of a book about the Overseas Chinese drivers and mechanics who came to China to work on the Burma Road. The museum does not have a lot of artefacts, but has many photographs, illustrations and models. The most valuable and authentic item on display is an old case used for carrying items along the Burma Road. If you understand Mandarin, a friendly guide dressed in period costume can give you a free tour of the museum. A signed copy of Chen's book (published in Chinese only) can be purchased from the museum gift shop.
昆明市博物馆; Kūnmíngshì Bówùguǎn
A simple museum whose main attraction is a central pillar taken from an old temple (now destroyed) and other relics from the Dian Kingdom (a tribute state of the Western Song dynasty). A large part of the museum is taken up by a series of shops selling fossils/minerals (many of the fossils are fakes) plus overpriced Chinese paintings, textiles, porcelains and some furniture.
昆明飞虎队纪念馆
The Flying Tigers were fighter pilots — officially called the American Volunteer Group — who fought the Japanese in China through much of World War II, both before and after the US entered the war. Despite a whole range of problems, they shot down several hundred enemy planes. Kunming was one of their main bases.
昆明动物博物馆; Kūnmíng Dòngwù Bówùguǎn
Anybody interested in Yunnan's animals through the ages could spend a couple of hours here. The museum is adjacent to, and indeed shares a compound with, a university science campus. The exhibits are arranged on five floors starting with dinosaurs, fossils and skeletons on the ground floor and working up to a tropical rain forest replica on the uppermost floor. There are sections with preserved fish and amphibians, stuffed animals and preserved insects. The exhibits seem to concentrate on creatures that are, or were, to be found in Yunnan. Most exhibits are labelled in English and Chinese but the longer explanations and information boards are generally Chinese only. Overall it is a pleasant, clean, museum with the exhibits well presented and usually well lit. It is not really an interactive museum; there is plenty to point at and peer at but not much to do. There is a small table offering mementos for sale but otherwise no shop. Nor is there any onsite catering.
抗战胜利纪念堂, 抗战胜利堂, Anti-Japanese War Memorial Hall
Completed in 1947, this was one of the first war memorials to be commissioned in China following the end of the Second World War. It is now a national heritage site.
云南美术馆
Occupies the building where the Yunnan Provincial Museum (listed below) used to be.