Yunnan abounds in ample historical and cultural resources. It is home to many historic sites and legends, including Sinanthropus Yuanmouensis, Cuan and Nanzhao cultures, and the Yunnan Army Military Academy.

In April 2012, Yunnan announced a strategic plan to build Top 10 Yunnan Historic Culture tourism Projects, including Gudian Tourist city, Earth Mother Worship in Guangnan county, Xishuangbanna Southern Buddhism, Ancient Dali City, Pu'er Tea cultures as well as Lufeng county's Dinosaur Valley, Maotian Mountain’s paleontological fossils in Yuxi city. The Top 10 projects involve a planned investment of 100 billion yuan and cover an area of 2,700 hectares. They will create 70,000 job opportunities and have an output value of 39 billion yuan after being put into operation.

In addition, Yunnan has encouraged studies on Cuan culture to restore the charm of the Cuan State. It also focuses on modern cultures after 1911 to promote tourism for the former residences of historical figures and cultural heritages.