A view of Kunming, the capital of Yunnan, the province where most tobacco companies are located. Here, 10 billion cigarette cartons are produced every year, mainly by the two companies Hongta and Honghe. Overall, every year the tobacco industry provides about 15 million US$ of tax revenues to the Yunnan, representing about 50% of the totality of tax revenues. Rural provinces such as Yunnan rely on tobacco revenues and large cities such as Kunming have expanded thanks to this industry. The World Health Organization and several NGOs argue that the dependency of rural provinces on tobacco is distorted by the fact that this is the only taxed crop.

The monument to cigarettes in the Cigarette Park belonging to the Hongta Group and celebrating the history and importance of tobacco in the history of Yunnan and China. Hongta Group has also built a tobacco museum, a tobacco library, and restored a temple that gives the name to the group.

The Hongta cigarette factory production line in Yuxi. The company claims that this is the world's most advanced cigarette production line, with fully automated robots and Italian rolling machines. In the Yuxi factory, more than 135 billion sticks are produced per year, covering 12% of China's total production.

Lu Kai, a Master student at the College of Tobacco Science, at the Yunnan Agricultural University, inaugurated in 1996 in Kunming. Overall, every year the tobacco industry provides about 60 million US$ of tax revenues to the central government of China, For this reason, the government funds research on tobacco, mainly to produce pest-resistant varieties able to give a higher yield.

Morning gymnastics session for retired female workers inside the campus of the Kunming Tobacco factory, in Kunming. Benefits and corporate welfare for company workers are such that a job in Honghe is regarded as very prestigious. The factory belongs to Honghe tobacco company, part of the Honyun Honghe Group. With 230 billion cigarettes per year, the group represents the world's fourth-largest producer after Philip Morris International Inc., British American Tobacco PLC and Japan Tobacco Inc. in terms of production volume and annual revenues of more than 6 billion US$

The golf course belonging to the Hongta Group, which showcases a sculpture of a pipe able to produce smoke.

The city park of Yuxi. The city is the capital of tobacco, home to the largest tobacco factory of Asia, which provides 60% of the city's GDP, and surrounded by tobacco farmers. In the region, almost 70% of tax income comes from the tobacco industry. The tobacco industry has been largely responsible for the economic growth of the province but it has failed to spread wealth to the rural area where around 87 percent of the province’s total population live. Out of a total population of 41 million, about 6 million people in the province still live below the national poverty level at an annual income below RMB 500.

The cigarette boutique in the Hongta Hotel, belonging to Hongta Group. Hongta was established in 1956 as a small scale tobacco factory and today it is the largest tobacco enterprise in China, expanding in energy and transportation, finance insurance, medicine and the light chemical industry.

A Muslim couple during their wedding reception. Bride and groom wait for guests outside the restaurant and offer them sweets and cigarettes. Smoking is a social habit in China and expensive cigarettes (up to 30 USD per pack) are usually given as presents to friends and colleagues. About 50% of men smoke in China, with 1 million deaths per year linked to tobacco use.

The Philip Morris China office, located on the 17th floor of The Exchange Building, in the modern SoHo neighbour of Beijing. According to government figures, imported brands account for 4% of cigarettes sales, but these data do not take into account smuggled cigarettes. In September 2004, Philip Morris received permission to start making Marlboros in China.