Geography and climate
Geography and climate
Yunnan is the most southwestern province in China, with the Tropic of Cancer running through its southern part. It borders Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region and Guizhou Province in the east, Sichuan Province in the north, and Tibet Autonomous Region in the northwest. It shares a border of 4,060 km with Myanmar in the west, Laos in the south, and Vietnam in the southeast.The highest point in the north is the Kawagebo Peak in Deqin County on the Diqing Plateau, which is about 6,740 meters high; and the lowest is in the Honghe River Valley in Hekou County, with an elevation of 76.4 meters.
Yunan province is drained by six major river systems:
• Yangtze, here known as the Jinsha Jiang (River of Golden Sands), drains the province’s north.
• Pearl River, with its source near Qujing, collects the waters from the east.
• the Mekong (Lancang), which flows from Tibet into the South China Sea forming the boundaries between Laos and Myanmar, between Laos and Thailand, through Cambodia and Vietnam
• the Red River (Yuan) has its source in the mountains south of Dali and enters the South China Sea through Hanoi, Vietnam
• Salween, which flows into the Gulf of Martaban and the Andaman Sea through Myanmar
• The Irrawaddy has a few small tributaries in Yunnan’s far west, such as the Dulongjiang, and rivers in the prefecture of Dehong.
Yunnan has a mild climate with balmy and fair weather.
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