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In historic times. Yunnan province was considered remote and inaccessible. The ethnic minorities in Yunnan have thus been able to preserve their cultural traits and have remained uniquely different from the Han Chinese. In recent years, cultural diversities in Yunnan have become a major attraction for tourists and an important asset for the development of tourism. Tourism has brought in much revenue and created jobs. Yet at the same time, tourism has resulted infrequent interactions between Yunnan's ethnic minorities and peoples with other cultures, resulting in drastic changes in the ways of life of several nationalities. This article looks into the intricate relationship between ethnic cultures and tourism in Yunnan.

The Province of Yunnan in south-west China is a land of minorities being heavily populated by Tibetans, Naxi, Yi, Bai and other tribal groups. With varied cultures and different languages, these inhabitants are fond of hunting and farming.

Mourning customs in northern Yunnan, China, intertwine expressions of grief with the community's main livelihood which is hemp production. Since the making of hemp involves families, the death of a family member is a big loss. Expressions of grief are made through explicit associations of how hemp is made which detail the various relationships the labor entails. The collective expression of grief serves the purpose of sustaining life among the living. In a sense, the material and political aspects of hemp production are linked with the need to express grief.

The authority and efficacy of folk law impressed researchers from Yunnan University, who were conducting a field research in twenty-five ethnic minority villages in Yunnan province. Folk law leads to the rule of law, which is an integral part of China, to develop legal system in the rural and ethnic minority areas.

The Chinese government identified fifty-six nationalities of Yunnan between 1950 and 1970. Marx's theory of ethnology is of the view that development of a nationality as an ethnic group is a dynamic process, which in turn can provide useful lessons in influencing ethnic relations within and between communities.

Considerable progress has been made in the project to build cultural and ecological villages in the province of Yunnan. Points for future work have also been listed

Investigations done by the Yunnan University explain the status quo of the minority communities, understand their transformational progress, rules and characteristics to build a healthy minority ethnic society. The investigations focused on clan structure, social organization, social strata and security systems.