Today is carnival day for residents of Kunming and visitors from around the world as the 2005 Kunming International Cultural Tourism Festival opens in the capital of southwest China's Yunnan Province.

Yunnan is home to 25 ethnic minorities, with widely diverse and endlessly fascinating cultures. Kunming, dubbed "the city of spring" with flowers blooming all year round, is located in the middle of Yunnan-Guizhou Plateau at an elevation of 1,900 meters and an annual mean temperature of 14.8℃. Its long history, diverse cultures, breath-taking natural scenery and balmy climate put the city high on the list of travelers' "must-sees" in China.

Following its spectacular success as the host of the 1999 World Horticulture Expo, Kunming held its first Annual International Tourism Festival in 2000. The city's efforts to keep visitors coming have paid off: 2.7 million travelers from abroad and 82 million from around China came to Kunming from 2000 to 2004, generating a total income from tourism of 64 billion yuan (US$7.7 billion).

According to Luo Mingyi, director of the Kunming Tourism Administration, this year's event, co-sponsored by the China Tourism Administration and the Yunnan provincial government, will keep last year's slogan: Colorful Yunnan, Happy Heaven. This year, events will showcase the cultures and folk customs of the province's many ethnic groups, extending festival activities to locations around Yunnan.

In addition to the opening ceremony and numerous exhibitions and performances in Kunming, the month-long festival will include hundreds of events with a strong local flavor, such as the Dai Water-splashing Festival and the Calabash Flute Festival, in 16 cities and prefectures. Event sites include such favorite tourist destinations as Dali, Yuxi, Lijiang and Xishuangbanna.

Kunming schedule highlights:

--2005 Miss Universe China Competition, April 3-23
--Culture Festival Activities in Yunnan Ethnic Minority Village, April 9-May 5
--Guandu Ancient Town Traditional Local Drama Culture & Sports Tourism Activities, April 10
--Kunming Indigenous Dynamic Sports Culture Tourism Festival, April 9-May 1
--China Stone Forest Torchlight Festival, April 11
--2005 Kunming International Sculpture Exhibition, April 10-May 10
--2nd Kunming International Ethnic Folk Drum & Dance Competition, April 10
--3rd Kunming Spring Cup Ethnic Minority Fashion Competition, April 10
--National Senior Citizen Aerobic Dance Competition, April 8-20
--2005 Chinese and Foreign Media Golf Competition, April 25-29
--1st Southeast Asian Ethnic Minority Cultural Costume Festival, April 28-May 1
--China Kunming Tourism Commodities Fair, April 28-May 1

(China.org.cn by staff reporter Li Xiao, April 10, 2005)