Yunnan Province, 750km (450 miles) W of Kunming, 168km (101 miles) W of Baoshan
Tengchong, a predominantly Han town which shares a 148km (89-mile) border with Myanmar (Burma) to the northwest, flourished as an ancient southwestern Silk Route town. However, from the Ming dynasty on, large numbers of its natives went abroad to Burma and Southeast Asia to trade and seek a livelihood, thus creating for Tengchong a reputation as the "homeplace of the overseas Chinese." The money sent home by the emigres helped build schools, residences, and memorial halls, and today you can see some charming, well-preserved traditional villages in the area. Tengchong also sits on the southwestern end of the Hengduan (transversely faulted) Mountains, in a region where volcanoes abound and earthquakes are frequent. Bubbling over with geothermal energy, the county has over 80 hot springs and fountains.