Forbes China's newest rankings of the top 100 mainland Chinese cities for doing business suggest that as a business destination, Kunming and western China lag behind much of the rest of China but are starting to catch up.

This year Kunming was rated China's 60th-best city for doing business by Forbes. The ranking may not be impressive in itself, but Kunming was one of the fastest-rising cities in the list, jumping 37 places from its previous ranking of 97.

Not surprisingly, Forbes ranked Shanghai, Guangzhou and Shenzhen the top three mainland cities for doing business. Provinces with the most cities on Forbes' list include Jiangsu, which has 16 cities on the list, and Zhejiang and Shandong, which have 14 cities each.

What may be surprising to some, this year's rankings – the sixth time the magazine has published the list – suggest an increasing level of competition between Chinese cities. They also reflect the rising economic clout of China's central and western regions vis-à-vis the country's coast, where external demand and investment, which have contracted during the global recession, play a bigger role in local economies.

All major economic hubs in central China moved up in the Forbes rankings this year, including number 14 Wuhan (up 19 places), number 25 Zhengzhou (up 37), number 28 Changsha (up eight), number 61 Nanchang (up two) and number 62 Taiyuan, which made its first appearance on the list.

The once laggard region of western China has also been rising in economic importance. Remaining at number 12, Chengdu leads the way for western Chinese cities including number 24 Chongqing, number 31 Xi'an and Kunming. Three western cities made their debut on the list, with Nanning – Kunming's major rival for Southeast Asian markets – entering at the 54 spot, Guiyang at number 92 and Lanzhou at 93.

Kunming explorer finishes Sahara expedition
Kunming native and famous Chinese explorer/adventurer Jin Feibao completed his crossing of Africa's Sahara Desert last week.

Jin and geologist Fei Xuan spent 80 days crossing the desert by various modes of transportation from Ghana's Atlantic coast to Cairo on the Red Sea in an expedition that aimed to raise China's exploration credentials and study the effects of desertification.

During the course of their travels, Jin and Fei fell out of contact with their Kunming operations base, with Xinhua erroneously reporting that the two had disappeared and may have been abducted by "terrorists".

Visa problems became an issue when the two travelers were briefly arrested in Algeria for overstaying their visas while waiting for Egyptian visas after getting denied Libyan visas. Jin and Fei had to fly from Algiers to Beijing to Cairo, skipping Libya and thus being unable to traverse the Sahara without interruption.

The Yunnan Provincial Museum will hold an exhibition of Jin's photos from his Sahara expedition from July 8 through 13. A preview of some of the photos can be found on Jin's English-language blog.

Kunming rail station a 'drug control frontier'
As expected, recent upgrades in transport connectivity with Southeast Asia have helped boost Yunnan's foreign trade and regional influence. Also not surprisingly, it has led to increased inflows of illegal drugs.

The Kunming railway station has become a major jumpoff point for illegal drugs from Southeast Asia to make their way to other parts of China, so much so that China's Ministry of Railways is calling the station a "drug control frontier" according to a Xinhua report.

In the first five months of this year, police at Kunming's train station confiscated 31 kilograms of illegal drugs connected to 242 criminal cases in which 283 individuals were detained.

Pepsi to open 'green' plant in Kunming
PepsiCo Inc announced last Friday that it will build a 'green' bottling plant in Kunming and four other cities in China in the coming two years, according to a Reuters report.

The announcement comes after the world's second-largest soft drink producer announced the opening of a new facility in Chongqing that satisfies the US Green Building Council's Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) standards, which employ water- and energy-saving systems.

In addition to a plant in Kunming – where rival Coca-Cola Co already has a bottling facility – PepsiCo said it will open plants in the cities of Zhengzhou, Quanzhou, Lanzhou and Nanchang.

Jin Feibao image: jinfeibao8844.com

Bus accident leaves 21 dead
The highway between Kunming and Chuxiong was the scene of a fatal collision between a tourist bus and a truck full of watermelons on Saturday. Nineteen people died on Saturday and two more on Sunday, bringing the death toll to 21, according to a Xinhua report.

The watermelon truck reportedly crashed into the back of a tour bus carrying tourists from Beijing, Shanxi and Hunan at 6:40 Saturday morning. Both vehicles lost control and veered off the road. Twenty people were also injured in the accident, all of whom are no longer in critical condition, according to a Yunnan government spokesperson.

Bangladesh, Yunnan discussing rail link
Bangladesh Communications Minister Syed Abul Hossain met with Yunnan government officials last Thursday to discuss a proposed rail line between Kunming and its sister city in Bangladesh, the port city of Chittagong, according to Bangladeshi media reports.

In recent years the Yunnan government and China's central government have expressed their desire to have transport links to Chittagong, which lies on the Bay of Bengal. Port access in the Bay of Bengal would reduce Chinese reliance upon the Malacca Strait, which occasionally has piracy problems. The Malacca Strait is also patrolled by the US and its allies, which adds to Beijing's uneasiness.

A rail line connecting Chittagong with Kunming would pass through mountainous northern Myanmar. In his visit to China, Hossain also met with Chinese President Hu Jintao and Prime Minister Wen Jiabao to seek technical and financial assistance for the project.

Kunming Nanchang rail line to launch tomorrow
Yunnan and Jiangxi provinces will finally be connected directly by rail with tomorrow's launch of the 1235/6 train between Kunming and Jiangxi provincial capital Nanchang, according to a Sohu report citing Jiangxi railway officials.

The new line will feature 20 stops between Kunming and Nanchang. In addition to stops in Yunnan and Jiangxi, the line will also pass through cities in Guizhou and Hunan provinces.

Accident image: news.xinhuanet.com

A feasibility study is underway for a new high-speed rail line between Shanghai and Kunming, construction of which is expected to begin in 2009, according to Kunming media reports.

The new rail line, which is scheduled to be completed in 2015 – around the same time that the rail network linking Kunming and Singapore is hoped to be completed – will shorten the travel time between Shanghai and Kunming from 37 hours to less than nine hours.

The Shanghai-Kunming passenger line (沪昆客运专线) will connect Shanghai and Kunming via the provinces of Zhejiang, Jiangxi, Hunan, Guizhou and Yunnan, passing through the major cities of Hangzhou, Nanchang and Changsha. Its target speed is reportedly 350 km/hr – compare to France's TGV and Japan's Shinkansen aka 'Bullet Train' which currently operate at 320 and 300 km/hr, respectively.

The cross-country line is part of a nationwide rail upgrade that has allocated 500 million yuan (US$73.2 million) in funds for Yunnan province alone.

According to China Rail Ministry plans, Yunnan will not only be on the receiving end of improved rail connectivity with central and eastern China over the next six to seven years, it will also improve its regional and internal rail network. Kunming Rail Ministry officials told local media that the following projects have also been approved:

• Lijiang to Shangri-la (Zhongdian): schedule yet to be made public

• Yunnan to Guilin – construction to start next year and finish in 2015

• A rail line around Dianchi Lake: scheduled for completion in 2010

• Guangtong to Dali: schedule yet to be made public

• Kunming to Yuxi: construction to start next year and finish in 2015