History of Kunming

Kunming's Chinese history exceeds two millennia. In 279 BC general Zhuang Qiao of the Chu kingdom set up camp near Dianchi Lake. During the Han Dynasty a city named Kunzhou was established to the southeast of present-day Kunming. Later on during the Mongol-ruled Yuan Dynasty, the area was given the name Kunming County. During the early 19th Century Kunming constructed a city wall – the hallmark of any true Chinese city at the time.

From 1910 to 1913 the French built the Indochina Rail Line to Kunming, connecting it to Hanoi and even as far as Haiphong on the Gulf of Tonkin. The line was extended to Kunming to tap the vast copper resources in the area. The line still operates today.

In the past, Kunming was considered to be a backward and isolated city. Government officials that fell into disfavor with their superiors were often posted there as punishment. In 1928 Kunming was elevated to municipality status by the Kuomintang-ruled Republic of China. Shortly afterward, the city was about to experience what was arguably its most formative period to date.

During China's war of resistance against Japan during World War II, a large number of refugees from elsewhere in China, particularly the country's north, fled to Kunming. From 1937 to 1938 approximately 60,000 refugees poured into Kunming, which only had a population of around 150,000 beforehand.

Many of these refugees were intellectuals fleeing persecution under Japanese rule as well as Generalissimo Chiang Kai-shek's Kuomintang government – which had already been pushed back to Chongqing but did not control Yunnan, with which it had an alliance but did not rule.

Kunming was on the receiving end of a brain drain that resulted in the establishment of Southwest Associated University, which was located on the grounds of present-day Yunnan Normal University. The legacy of this intellectual immigration is apparent today – Kunming is still one of southwest China's educational and research centers.

During World War II, Kunming was the terminus of military supply routes originating in Burma and later India. American forces were stationed in the city, most notably the Flying Tigers. The design of Kunming's current airport was influenced heavily by the American troops posted in the city during this time.

After the Communist victory of 1949 and the reintegration of Yunnan into Beijing's sphere of control, Kunming quieted down for the most part and rode the political ebbs and flows experienced by the rest of the country.

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