Kunming: Living Guide
This city has been blessed with unimaginable landscapes and snowy mountains making it a heaven for photographers. It’s known as ‘Spring City’ for escaping freezing winters and boiling hot summers. Filled with Chinese culture but still has enough going on for expats with lively bars, clubs and places to relax.
The Basics
The capital and largest city in Yunnan Province, with 6.25 million inhabitants. The nearest cities being Anning 28km, Yuxi 73km, Panzhihua 195km away.
The weather is like spring most of the year, averaging at 15°. There is a big drop in temperature from day to night between November and February. There are patches of sun and good weather lasting from March to October.
Kunming has a great bus system, and the metro has 3 lines in use and another 3 under development. Taxis are always available too!
City Highlights
Turtle Club
Dance till you drop at this expat hotspot with up-beat tunes. It’s brimming with stylish décor and some reasonably priced drinks. Covering everyone’s tastes from single malt whiskeys, excellent cocktails, to beers and wine. Provides a clubbing atmosphere but easy enough just for a quick drink with friends. Open from 8pm to 5am.
Dongchuan Red Land
Mountainous terrain covered in a plethora of beautiful colours causing a unique and stunning landscape for sightseeing and photography opportunities. Nature lovers are taken back by ‘God’s magic Palette’, due to the size of the grounds - but bring an umbrella as its never short of some rain. Open all day, free to visit, and more enjoyable with some sunshine.
Dounan Flower Market
Yunnan is known for its flowers so visiting this huge flower market is a must! Over 500 florist shops with some offering great deals for only 2-3 yuan! Open 24/7, in the day its quiet and for small sales but most visited from 8:30pm onwards, with the peak at 3am for wholesale. For an evening trip take a taxi or daytime by bus 105, 118, 134.
Moondog
A trendy untraditional bar in the center of the city, known for its welcoming environment, superb drinks and yummy food in the day. Offering lots of games to help people socialise such as liars’ dice which will have you drinking all night, a chilled game of street fighter on Xbox or poker with the barman. Open from 8pm to 6am on weekends.
Wenhua Street
A food lovers paradise as the streets are lined with bars, restaurants, dessert shops and cafes. Offering a selection of tasty snacks from local delicacies, Japanese, Korean or western foods. Based downtown near the colleges, lots of students and teachers come for a cheap meal.
Yunnan Minority Village
A theme park showing the 25 ethnic minority groups residing in the nearby areas. There are some dazzling pieces of architecture and religious artefacts. In summer there are energetic traditional dances and shows, providing some great entertainment. Costing around 90 yuan per ticket, open from 9am to 6pm and most people take 2-3 hours to view it.
Surrounding Areas
Anning
A city filled with Chinese culture which makes an ideal getaway for a history lover. Also, it can be a very relaxing weekend away in the Anning hot springs where you can get a quality massage or take a chilly dip in Tanglangchuan river.
Yuxi
Yuxi is an interesting subtropical city to visit, hosting festivals that show the diverse local ethnic culture like the beginning of Summer Festival in Chengjiang County where masses come view it. As well as some alluring scenic spots like Fuxianhu lake or visit the forest with the hometown of wild edible mushrooms. Accessible via train and bus!
Panzhihua
Another relaxing weekend getaway to get in touch with nature but might be a bit chilly as peak temperature is between 15-20°. The Dragon Pool caves provide a picturesque area with wildflowers making an amazing picnic spot. While Ertan scenic area boasts some tremendous mountains and vast forestry, where lots of visitors hike through.
We hope this helps you decide if Kunming is for you!