The province's unique geography, special climate and colorful human geography all make its culture and customs very different from any other place in China. While the Eighteen Oddities have spread far and wide long ago, there are the Twenty-Eight Oddities and Eighty-One Oddities of the province that try to capture its special customs. However, increasing communications and a developing economy in the province have made such oddities a thing of the past. The rest of the 9 oddities are listed below:

10. Rain here but sunshine there: Yunnan possesses a changeable climate. People say the weather varies within a circumstance of 10 kilometers in Yunnan. Even on the same mountain, there can be rain on one side and sunshine on the other.

11. Girls wear flowers in the four seasons: Kunming, the capital city of Yunnan, is also known as Spring City, and the weather in other areas of the province is similar to that of Kunming. Fresh flowers can be seen in Yunnan in any season.

12. Girls carry tobacco bags: In some areas of Yunnan, girls have a habit of smoking, and a lot of them hang tobacco bags on their waist belts.

13. Green vegetable called bitter vegetable: The green vegetable in Yunnan is a special local product which doesn't actually taste bitter. However, it gained its reputation as being a bitter vegetable from local traditional customs.

14. Grannies climb mountains faster than monkeys: Local women are particularly hard-working and diligent. It is very common for women to chop firewood inside mountains. Even women in their 70s and 80s can climb mountains freely as if walking on flat land.

15. Trains go abroad but not inland: A narrow railway from Kunming to Hanoi in Vietnam was built at the end of the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911) by the French. Until then there was no domestic railway in Yunnan. However, this is no longer the case.

16. Monks can have love affairs: In the north, Yunnan borders with many Buddhist countries where males go to temples to become monks, and can also return to a secular life to get married. Adopting this influence, some local monks can also have love affairs.

17. Children are raised up by men: Yunnan local women are known to be very hard-working. It is the women that do much of the farm work. Hence, men usually stay at home to take care of the children.

18. Automobiles move in the clouds: Roads in Yunnan usually wind up along colossal and precipitous mountains. Fog spreads all over the mountaintops, creating the illusion of driving through clouds in a fairyland.

Photo Credit: Unsplash

Reference: China Import Network

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