A Critical Survey of External Research on Ethnic Minorities in Yunnan Province, China Linnéa Rowlatt InterCulture Centre Canada Abstract This paper is a brief survey of external, English- and French-language research done about Ethnic Minorities in Yunnan Province, China. From a review of stand-alone monographs, chapters, dissertations and articles, major themes which emerge are Development and Traditional Environmental Knowledge, Health, Education, Women and Tourism (including cultural tourism, heritage tourism and sexual tourism). A significant sub-theme is Identity; fully 74% of the external research surveyed mentions or incorporates issues of cultural and personal identity in the material. This paper provides a brief survey of international research on Ethnic Minorities in China’s Yunnan Province. Its focus is on the contemporary conditions of the shaoshu minzu, or minority nationalities, as well as their economic and cultural strengths and challenges in light of increasing domestic and international cultural tourism in Yunnan. I’m grateful for the support and assistance of Drs. Marie-Françoise Guédon and Lucie Dufresne in writing this survey. To conduct my survey, I looked at 212 articles and dissertations, 13 chapters and 7 books addressing cultural tourism, heritage tourism, ethnic studies and national minorities in Yunnan. The bulk of the research was conducted from 1985 onward. The major themes which emerged were traditional environmental knowledge (TEK) and its role in development, tourism (including cultural tourism and sex tourism), gender, language, health and education, as well as a certain degree of salvage ethnography. However, a very significant sub-theme which emerged from the research as a body was that of identity in relation to the major themes: 74% incorporated questions of ethnic identity, cultural identity or personal identity into the material. Development and Traditional Environmental Knowledge Designated a Global Biodiversity Hotspot by Conservation International, in recognition of the highest level of endemic flora in the world, economic or resource development in Yunnan has an impact on local and regional environments, and often nationally and internationally as well. I surveyed 37 journal articles, 4 dissertations, 3 books, and 1 chapter about development in Yunnan Province. Of these, 17 articles, 1 dissertation and 1 chapter explicitly considered traditional ethnic environmental knowledge as directly relevant to the formulation of successful development in the region. 5 articles focused on the role of women in development; of 1