Republican China

Following the collapse of the Qing dynasty in 1911, Yunnan came under the control of local warlords, who had more than the usual degree of autonomy due to Yunnan's remoteness. They financed their regime through opium harvesting and traffic.

In the Second Sino-Japanese War, Yunnan served as, among other things, a home base for the Flying Tigers and a refuge for people, especially university faculty and students, from the east. These had originally retreated to Changsha, but as the Japanese forces were gaining more territory they eventually bombed Changsha in February 1938. The 800 staff faculty and students who were left had to flee and made the 1,000-mile journey to Kunming. It was here that the National Southwest Associated University (commonly known as Lianda) was established.

In these extraordinary wartime circumstances for eight years, staff, professors, and students had to survive and operate in makeshift quarters that were subject to sporadic bombing campaigns by Japan. There were dire shortages of food, equipment, books, clothing, and other essential needs, but they did manage to conduct the running of a modern university. Over those eight years of war (1937–1945), Lianda became famous nationwide for having and producing many, if not most, of China's most prominent academics, scholars, scientists, and intellectuals. Both of China's only Nobel laureates in physics studied at Lianda.

People's Republic of China

The establishment of the PRC brought gradual but definite consolidation to China's southwestern borders, solidifying what were previously murky claims to various regions.

For example, Colonial French and English had been active at sites in neighboring northern Laos, Vietnam, and Burma, and even inside modern Yunnan at sites like Tengchong and Gejiu. In fact, between 1904 and 1909 the French built the 885 km (550 mi)long Sino-Vietnamese Railway which ran from Hanoi to Kunming via Hekou, with an offshoot to Gejiu. The English tried to match the French effort with the Yunnan–Burma Railway but failed to complete it prior to the outbreak of war, with the project ultimately abandoned.

In the southern region of Xishuangbanna, little or no Han dominance was felt as late as the end of the 19th century. This is illustrated by Otto E. Ehlers' (1855–1895) account of his walk from Rangoon to Jinghong, recording upon his arrival that the annual Chinese tribute mission from northerly Simao was in town and, whilst they were happy to allow him to stay on the south of the Mekong river, he was not to be lent assistance in crossing over. He had no trouble crossing with the aid of a local, regardless.

Photo Credit: Unsplash

Reference: Wikipedia

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