Just like a treasure house depicted in fairy tales,
Yunnan was endowed by the Creator with abundant natural resources,
including rich mineral reserves, rare animals and plants, many
rivers and lakes, and a mild climate with abundant precipitation.
Therefore, it is often called "the Kingdom of Animals", "the
Kingdom of Plants" and "the Kingdom of Nonferrous Metals".
Gene Bank of Animals and Plants Since the
Mesozoic Era, the geological movement in Yunnan has been
relatively stable, and the movement of glaciers in ancient times
had little effect on the land. As a result, Yunnan has become a
safe haven where a number of animals and plants have sought asylum
and some ancient and rare species have made their homes. Yunnan is
home to animals and plants from alpine, temperate, sub-tropical
and tropical zones because of its widely diverse topography.
Although the area of Yunnan only accounts for 4.1 percent of
China's total, it has the greatest number of species of animals of
any province in China.1,704 species of vertebrate animals can be
found here,accounting for55 per cent of China's total of 3,099
species, of which 200 endangered and rare species have been put
under first class national protection. These include Asian
elephants, wild oxen, Yunnan golden monkeys, gibbons, hornbills,
etc. Rough statistics show that China is home to
approximately150,000 kinds of insects, of which Yunnan has around
90,000 kinds. Yunnan also has the greatest number of
plant species in China. China is home to over30,000 plant species,
Yunnan has 18,000 species,62.8 per cent of the total. Up to now
there are only families of gymnosperm around the world,10 of which
can be found in Yunnan. Among the rare plants growing in Yunnan
some are ancient species, which scientists term "living fossils".
Yunnan also has over 10,000species of algae and fungus, and
numerous micro-organisms. Rich Biological
Resources There are more than 1,000 plant
species being cultivated in Yunnan, of which900 species are of
high economic value and can be directly marketed. Yunnan boasts
rich wild plant resources which provide excellent plant breeding
stock. Yunnan has a total of 9.533million hectares
of forest, ranking fourth in China, and has1.366billion cubic
meters of live timber, accounting for14.2 percent of the country's
total, and ranking third in China. The forests in Yunnan may be
divided into 105 categories, covering almost all of the tropical,
temperate and frigid zone types. Growing here are over 4,000
species of xerophytes and 800 varieties of trees. About300 kinds
are on the list of cash-generating trees. Moreover, Yunnan has
great potential for the development of forestry by-products.
Yunnan is regarded in medical circles as a storehouse of
traditional Chinese medicinal herbs. More than 2,000 species of
herbs including 400 species which are the raw materials of
traditional Chinese medicine grow in the Province. Pseudo-ginseng,
Gastrodia elata, reticulate millettia, the bark of eucommia, the
rhizome of Chinese goldthread and licorice root are of especially
high quality. In recent years, some herbs, which China's
pharmaceutical industry had been importing from tropical countries
in the past, have been discovered growing in Yunnan.
Yunnan ranks first in China for growing spice crops. There are 400
species from 69 plant families ranging from the pine family,
cypress family, camphorwood family to the rarely-seen lily
magnolia family. They provide abundant resources for developing
the food and cosmetic industries. The province is well-known for
being a "flower kingdom", where flowers seem never to fade and the
spring-like weather lasts for the whole 365 days every year. Among
the 2,100 species of ornamental plants growing in Yunnan, there
are 1,500 flowering species. The scarlet camellia, the azalea, the
primula, the gentian, the lily, the magnolia, the cymbidium and
the macropedia known as the eight famous flowers of Yunnan. |