# Southwest China

Southwest China is the most exotic area of China, home to many minority ethnic groups. It has much in common with Northwest China; both areas are far less prosperous than the eastern and southern coastal regions.
Much of the terrain is quite mountainous. Tibet and Northwestern Yunnan are located on the Tibetan Plateau and have many very high mountains; including the world's highest (Mount Everest) which is located in on the Tibet/Nepalese border. Guizhou has smaller mountains, terraced rice fields, and many caves.
The regions of Sichuan and Chongqing Municipality are considered part of Western China, because they are the edge of "China proper" (the area historically inhabited by Han Chinese) even though they are near the geographical center of the modern Chinese state. Western Sichuan was once part of a Tibetan Empire and part of Eastern Tibet; it lies at the edge of the region and is the gateway to the frontier/minority provinces of Tibet and Qinghai.

## Regions

* Guizhou Province
* Chongqing Municipality
* Sichuan province
* Yunnan Province (Kunming Prefecture, Central Yunnan, Eastern Yunnan, Southeastern Yunnan, Southern Yunnan, Western Yunnan, Northwestern Yunnan,Xishuangbanna)
* Tibet Autonomous Region
Chongqing is historically and culturally part of Sichuan, but is now administratively a separate municipality and a mega-city in its own right. It is China's largest city, with a population of almost 30 million counting suburbs, countryside, and the many towns under its administration.

## Cities

* 30.66104.0633331 Chengdu, Sichuan
* 29.55106.5069442 Chongqing, the central urban part of Chongqing Municipality
* 25.681111100.3002783 Dali
* 26.579444106.7077784 Guiyang
* 22.00571100.794815 Jinghong
* 25.043333102.7061116 Kunming Yunnan
* 29.5854103.757557 Leshan, Sichuan
* 29.65388991.11758 Lhasa Tibet
* 29.27171688.8883859 Xigatse Tibet

## Other destinations

* 27.701389100.79751 Lugu Lake — a lake between Sichuan and Yunnan
* 31.06694481.3127782 Mount Kailash, known as Gang Rinpoche in Tibetan, Tibet (5,656 meters), sacred to Hindus, Jains and some Buddhists
* Two fantastic hiking areas hiking areas in Yunnan, both featuring large gorges winding between large mountains:
** 27.23100.143 Tiger Leaping Gorge, accessible and popular
** 27.89598.4063894 Three parallel rivers, more remote but sensational
* 29.519722103.33255 Mount Emei, Sichuan Province (3,099 meters)
* 29.70287105.716736 Dazu, a district of Chongqing Municipality, famous for extensive Buddhist rock carvings which are a UNESCO World Heritage Site

## Talk

This part of China is culturally very rich, with many ethnic minorities like the Zhuang, Miao, Naxi, Bai, and Tibetans who speak their own languages. Nevertheless, as Mandarin is the medium of instruction in all Chinese schools, nearly all younger locals are bilingual in their ethnic language and Mandarin.

## Get around

The Wikivoyage itinerary Hong Kong to Kunming overland covers travel through this region.

## See

* The impressive Leshan Buddha rock carving in Leshan
* Visit the Panda Research Base in Chengdu

### Itineraries

* Overland to Tibet
* Yunnan tourist trail
* Hong Kong to Kunming overland

## Eat

No visit to Chongqing would be complete without a visit to one of the famous hot pot restaurants throughout the city. A spicy broth with seasonings most westerners have never tasted, diners boil their meats and vegetables in this heavenly stock. Try the pig brain and lotus roots or stick with the beef and potatoes - everything tastes better from a hot pot!