The history of Yunnan University of Finance and Economics makes some fascinating reading.
　　When the Communist Party took over the Financial Department from Kuomintang in March 1950, a total of 400 cadres were trained in financial courses in order to meet the urgent demands for financial and accounting management experts.
　　In early 1951, the financial training courses developed into the Yunnan Financial Cadres Training School when authorized use of the school seal commenced. In June 1951, the State Financial Department appointed Zhai Changzong, Deputy Director general of the Financial Department, as the President of Yunnan Financial Cadres Training School. Subsequently, Yunnan Commercial Cadres Training Schools, Grain Administration Cadres Training School, Supply and Marketing Cadres Training School and Banking System Cadres Training School were established. These four training schools, together with Yunnan Financial Cadres Training School were called five Small Cadre Schools.
　　Before the end of 1958, CPC Yunnan Provincial Committee approved the financial systems integration of five small cadre schools into an accumulation of the schools, the Yunnan Finance and Trade School.
　　However, an official decision on “the withdrawal of the Yunnan Finance and Trade School and the restoration of four professional cadre schools in the lines of commerce, cooperation, finance, and banking system" was made by CPC Yunnan Provincial Committee in March 1964. The cadre schools were thus under the supervision of Provincial Commercial Department, Supply and Marketing Cooperatives, Provincial Finance Bureau, and the People's Bank of China Yunnan Branch.
　　During the Cultural Revolution, the cadre schools could not operated with many of the teaching buildings occupied, all teachers forced to leave for a stint in “May 7 cadre schools,” usually farms run by a major urban unit. Through repeated efforts by relative business sectors, Grain Administration Cadres Training School, Commercial Cadres Training Schools, and Financial Cadres Training School finally resumed in June 1973.
　　On June 19, 1978, CPC Yunnan Provincial Committee decided to remerge the above-mentioned cadre schools into Yunnan Finance and Trade School directly led by the CPC Yunnan Provincial Finance and Trade Department.
　　March 30, 1979, CPC Yunnan Provincial Revolutionary Committee approved Yunnan Finance and Trade School as a tertiary school to enroll and offer courses to junior college students (two years’ program for the student enrolled in 1979 and three years’ program for the student enrolled in the following two years) This move literally prepared Yunnan Finance and Trade School for the future four years’ undergraduate educational programs.
　　The State Ministry of Education issued a document on “the instauration of Yunnan Trade and Economic College” on August 26, 1981, which approved the establishment of Yunnan Trade and Economic College as a tertiary university under the leadership of the People's Government of Yunnan Province. On November 7, the provincial government delegated the administration of Yunnan Trade and Economic College to Yunnan Educational Committee and Provincial Finance Office.
　　The predecessor of Yunnan Economic Management Cadres College was Yunnan Industrial Cadre School founded in November 1979. The People's Government of Yunnan Province renamed the school as Yunnan Economic Management Cadres College, in August 1983.
　　In February 1998, the People's Government of Yunnan Province were granted the approval from the State Ministry of Education to integrate Yunnan Economic Management Cadres College and Yunnan Trade and Economic College and the new Yunnan University of Finance and Economics officially declared its establishment in February 1999.