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 the Dian Kingdom (an ancient kingdom located along the Dianchi Lake, dated back to 279BC but long lost to history)restoration tourist site in Kunming, Earth Mother Worship Culture(worshipping the earth that can produce foods and mitigate disasters) in Guangnan county, Theravada Buddhism relic in Xishuangbanna, Dali Old Town, 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(the civilization created under the rule of the Cuan family (AD 339-794) of the Three Kingdoms period in Qujing, Yunnan.) 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.