Kunming

Introduction

Kunming - Centre at night

© All Rights Reserved Gelli

Kunming (昆明) is the capital of Yunnan province. It is known as the "City of Eternal Spring" because of its year-round sunshine and pleasant, moderate climate. An easy-going and convenient hub for travel in Yunnan, Kunming has a population of around 6 million. It's also noticeably unpolluted for a Chinese city of this size.

Sights and Activities

• The Flower and Bird Market is where a selection of weird and wonderful birds, animals and plants are sold.
• The Central Square is particularly interesting early in the morning, when hundreds of local residents enjoy public co-ordinated tai chi sessions.
• Cuihu Park is a large natural park with a lake and nice scenery, near Kunming.

Weather

The temperature is pleasant all year, from a daytime average of about 15 °C in December/January to about 24 °C from April to August. Rainfall is higher during the summer months, but there are plenty of hours of sunshine during these months as well. December to March is very dry.

Getting There

By Plane

The Kunming Wujiaba International Airport (昆明巫家坝国际机场) (IATA: KMG, ICAO: ZPPP) has flights to most major cities in China, as well as to other parts of Asia. The airport is located 4 kilometres south and east of the city. Some of the major local airlines servicing this airport are Air China, China Eastern Airlines and China Southern Airlines. There are several foreign airlines flying into Kunming, which include Korean Air, Malaysia Airlines, Silk Air, Thai Airways and Vietnam Airlines.

By Train

There are direct trains to Beijing, Shanghai, Guilin, Chengdu, Guiyang and Nanning, as well as Hanoi in Vietnam. Within Yunnan, there is an overnight sleeper train to Xiaguan (Dali New Town).

By Car

If you have access to a car, Kunming is well connected to other large cities by modern, major highways.

By Bus

There are buses to many major cities throughout China. There are also many buses to local destinations within Yunnan, including Dali, Lijiang and Shangri-La.

• West Bus Station (西部汽车客运站), Chunyu Lu / Yining Lu intersection, is the station most likely to be used by foreigners because it has destinations on the northwestern tourist circuit. It is known by locals as Majie bus station (马街客运站). From here, there are buses heading west and northwest to Yunnan cities and towns including: Lincang, Dehong Prefecture, Jingdong, Lancang, Shangchong, Nujiang Prefecture, Diqing Prefecture, Baoshan, Lijiang, Dali, and Shangri-La.
• South Bus Station (南部汽车客运站), Xin Kunluo Lu, has buses to towns in southern Yunnan including: Pu'er, Xishuangbanna, Jinghong, Yuxi, Jianshui, Shiping, Yuanyang, Lüchun, Honghe, Luang Prabang and Vientiane (in Laos), and many others. Buses also go from here to Hekou, the border with Vietnam, from where there are further connections to Sapa and Hanoi by bus and/or train.
• East Bus Station (东部汽车客运站), Dongsanhuan Hongqiao Flyover, has buses heading to east and southeast Yunnan including: Shilin, Hekou, Yiliang, selected destinations in Honghe Prefecture, Wenshan Prefecture, Luliang, Shizong, and Luoping.
• North Bus Station (北部汽车客运站), Longtou Lu, has buses going to the north of Yunnan including: Qujing, Zhaotong, Xundian, Songming, Lüquan, and Dongchuan.
• Northwest Bus Station (西北部汽车客运站) Puji Lu, has buses going to the northwest Yunnan including: Wuding, Yuanmou, Yongren, Huaping, Panzhihua, Chuxiong, Datao, Taoan, Lüfeng, Shuangbai, Nanhua, Mouding, Yimen, and Anning.

Getting Around

By Public Transport

Buses are many and frequent. Taxis are cheap and convenient.

Eat

There are plenty of opportunities for cheap, tasty food. One option is a small cluster of noodle-and-dumplings places to the north of the central square. The streetmarkets offer interesting snacks to the adventurous. If you're craving western food, there are a few western and fusion places on Dongfeng Lu, East of the Central Square.

Sleep

Budget

• The Hump Hostel is a nice cheap city centre hostel. This place has big dorms and a buzzing bar. The Hump Hostel is located at Jinmabiji Square, Jinbi RD (金碧路金碧), telephone: 871-3640359.
• The Cloudland Youth hostel is a quiet hostel although a little bit more expensive when compared to The Hump. The Cloudland is located at No 23 Zhuan Tang Lu (篆搪路23号), telephone: 871-4103777.

Mid-Range

The western travellers' favourite is the Camellia Hotel, which offers a range of accomodations from small dorms to fairly nice doubles. If you book a room here, ask for it to be at the front of the hotel as these rooms are refurbished and double-glazed, whereas the ones at the back of the hotel are scruffy and cost the same.

Upscale

There are plenty of top-end 4- and 5- star hotels in Kunming, including the monstrous and shiny Kai Wah Plaza International, and the Green Lake Hotel.

Learn

• Yunnan University has an excellent Chinese Language program.
• Kunming University has a Chinese Language program.

Keep Connected

Phone

See also International Telephone Calls

Post

China Post (中国邮政) is the official postal service of the People's Republic of China, operated by the State Postal Bureau of the People's Republic of China (website in Chinese only), and has more details about price to send letters, postcards and parcels, both domestically as well as internationally. The Chinese postal service is very good. Remember that in more remote places usually only one post office in a city can handle sending international boxes or letters. Also many times it might be worth having the name of the country you are trying to send to in Chinese characters. Post offices have a striking green logo and can easily be found everywhere in the cities. They are mostly open every day (including weekends!) from 8:00am to 6:00pm, though small offices might have shorter opening times, while the bigger ones in central and touristic areas are sometimes open during evenings as well.

External Links

• Official Website