Yunnan Nationalities Villages is located on the east bank of Dianchi Lake in Kunming, Yunnan Province, China. All photos in this post are by John Hunter.

The village covers 25 ethnic groups found in Yunnan with examples of traditional houses and guides dressed in traditional clothing. China has a total of 56 recognized ethnic groups. I don’t remember which houses and traditional clothing are which ethnic group (please comment if you have information to share).

This is the outside of the previous photo with the open brick oven.

Often the houses were for large family groups (extended families). This is also probably a matter of what houses they chose to show at such a tourist attraction. So I doubt the houses shown were the most typical, more likely they are taken from the most impressive houses for each ethnic group.

I have the impression I don’t normally like these ethnographic village tourist attractions. But I liked this one and the last one I saw (in Kuching, Borneo, Malaysia). I think these are better done than most. Or maybe I am just wrong and I like these types of attractions. I like the idea but if they are poorly done they just seem tacky to me.

I am sure they wouldn’t appeal to everyone but if you are interested in an easy way to get a superficial view of various ethnic traditional housing and clothing this is worth the time. I don’t think it would take long to get most of the value (a few hours, depending on your speed).

Ethnic minorities in Yunnan account for about 34% of its total population. Major ethnic groups include Yi, Bai, Hani, Zhuang, Dai and Miao. The population is about 45 million people today. Yunnan province borders Vietnam, Laos, and Burma.

Mongolian hut at Yunnan Nationalities Villages, the Mongols had a presence in Yunnan for centuries (Yunnan is at South Central part of China). The Mongols conquered the region in the 13th century, with local control exercised by warlords until the 1930s.

Related: Jianshui Wet Market in Yunnan, China – Grand Mosque of Shadian, Yunnan, China – Curious Cat Tourist Maps (Yunnan) – Pink Lotus Flower in Yangshuo, China