Chuxiong
A center of Yi culture and a corridor through central Yunnan, distinguished by the Yuanmou Earth Forest, the salt culture of Heijing Ancient Town and dinosaur fossils.
Chuxiong Yi Autonomous Prefecture lies in central Yunnan, between Kunming and Dali, and is home to a large Yi population. The prefectural seat, Chuxiong, has the Yi People's Ancient Town, and the Torch Festival is the grandest celebration. Heijing Ancient Town in Lufeng is known for its thousand-year-old salt wells and Ming- and Qing-era architecture, and Lufeng is also famous as a dinosaur fossil site. The Yuanmou Earth Forest has strange and striking formations, and Yuanmou is also where the fossils of Yuanmou Man were found. Winter and spring are dry and clear, the best time to visit the Earth Forest, and the Torch Festival is held in the sixth lunar month. The Kunming–Chuxiong–Dali high-speed railway runs through the prefecture, making it easy to reach from either Kunming or Dali.