Weishan Ancient Town [File photo]

               Heshun Ancient Town[File photo]

China issued a list of most beautiful counties in China recently. Yunnan takes up 3 seats among 30 counties. The 3 counties are Jianshui County, Tengchong County and Weishan County, which are ranked at number 14, number 19 and number 26 respectively. 

Jianshui County: a county with profound historic accumulation

Jianshui County was once evaluated as a national famous historic and cultural city. The county was an important educational center of the province. It is a county of profound history and rich culture, which has been strongly influenced by Confucian culture for a long time. The county was called “Lin'an”（临安）long since.

Historic interests distribute all over the county. Among them, the most renowned one is Confucius Shrine of Jianshui County. Confucius Shrine was built in the year of 1285 in Yuan Dynasty, having stood in Jianshui County for about 710 years. It was evaluated as one of the national key cultural relics protection units for it facilitates studying history and preserving historic architectures.

Purple pottery, a kind of traditional handicraft art, also has boomed in the county for years. 

Tengchong County: a beautiful and historical city in Yunnan's border area

Tengchong County is known as a provincial historical and cultural city, an origin and distribution center of jade, and a hometown of many overseas Chinese. Tengchong is a predominantly Han town located along the old southwestern silk route, sharing a 148km border with Myanmar in its northwest. The history of Tengchong can be traced back to Han Dynasty, around 100 BC. for 2000 years.

Passing by the noted South Silk Route, the county has preserved many important relics that record trading history among China, Myanmar and India before.

In recent years, the county has gradually developed into a famous tourist destination for its rich tourism resources, such as Heshun ancient town, Thermal water scenic area, Volcano park scenic Area, the ancient gingko village, etc. 

Tengchong County owns a well-known volcanic geothermal field in China, with around 80 large hot springs distributed there. Expect for the hot springs, Tengchong County is also famous for its volcanoes. The county has a total of 99 volcanoes, 25 of which are of great ornamental value. 

Weishan County: the origin of Nanzhao culture

Weishan County is located at west of Yunnan Province. Being the origin place of Nanzhao culture and witnessing a lot of historical events, the county has a history of thousands of years. Up to now, valuable ancient architecture and precious ethnic culture are preserved in the county. 

Besides ancient architecture, local snacks also enjoy a high reputation among tourists there. Snacks of Weishan County not only include a wide range of items, but also possess unique flavors.--[InKunming--Yunnan]