The committee in charge of Kunming's no-car days has reduced the scope of no-car days to only include the area within the city's first ring road, citing current construction on the Second Ring Road's western portion as well as roadwork starting today on the road's eastern and southern segments.

For the last three months, the area between the first and second ring roads was off limits to odd- or even-numbered cars on alternating months. Beginning this Saturday and continuing on the last Saturday of each following month, private automobiles will be banned from the area within the First Ring Road from 9:00 am to 5:00 pm.

The First Ring Road includes Huancheng Dong Lu, Huancheng Nan Lu, Xichang Lu and Yieryi Dajie. Buses and taxis will still be allowed to operate within the no-car area.

Over the next 12 months, Kunming will invest six billion yuan (US$878 million) into improving traffic flow on the Second Ring Road. Roadwork on the second ring road is scheduled for completion by September 2009.

Related articles:

Kunming first Chinese city with monthly no-car days

Kunming's no-car days expand to second ring road

Kunming goes car crazy

Tags: construction, environment, First Ring Road, no-car days, Second Ring Road, traffic

Friday: Korean musical performance at TC/G Nordica
The Korean musical performance group Han Dream will perform at 8 pm tonight at TC/G Nordica. According to Nordica, the performance will include Korean traditional dance, music and drum performances. Admission is 30 yuan for adults, 15 yuan for students and 10 yuan for children. For ticket sales or additional info, call 4114691 or 4114692.

Friday: 80s Party at The Hump Bar
The Hump Bar will be throwing an 80s party tonight with a 50 yuan bar tab for the best dressed man and woman, party starts at 10:30, admission is free.

Saturday: No-car day
Tomorrow is the last Saturday of the month, which means another no-car day in Kunming. All private cars are banned from operating within the first ring road from 9 am to 5 pm, all private cars with license plate numbers ending in odd numbers will also be excluded from operating within the second ring road during that time.

Saturday: Speakeasy Bar 7th birthday party
Speakeasy Bar turns seven on Saturday and his hosting a 'Chinese-style fancy dress' party to celebrate. Free alcoholic punch and snacks will be available beginning at 9 pm, supplies will be limited. Music will be provided by DJs Kris, Christian and Fan Yu. Admission is free.

Tags: DJ Christian, DJ Fan Yu, Kris Ariel, no-car days, Speakeasy Bar, TC/G Nordica

The end of the year is a special time in which editors and writers around the world recycle content from the previous twelve months and repackage it as new content. We at GoKunming are not above this practice, so here's our look at the people and events that shaped 2007 in Kunming and Yunnan.

January
Internet access in Kunming and around Asia was severely limited after a late-December earthquake in Taiwan severed some rather important undersea cables to North America. Normal or near-normal access was quickly restored to China's coast and elsewhere around Asia, but more remote places such as Yunnan province were forced to wait until February for normal internet access to be restored.

Kunming native Jin Feibao hiked to the South Pole, only to discover that it was already an American city.

Yunnan First People's Provincial Hospital and the Xishan Public Security Bureau opened China's first drunk tank for foreigners, citing increased numbers of 'drunken incidents' involving foreigners.

February
The popular American pseudo-Chinese restaurant chain PF Chang's Chinese Bistro launched a special 'Flavors of Yunnan' menu that ran from Chinese New Year to September at more than 130 locations across the US. Although it was difficult to not be critical of the menu's lack of authenticity, it seemed to be a promising indicator that the unique dishes and cooking styles found in Yunnan were beginning to be noticed by the outside world.

A down-on-his-luck businessman in Fumin County near Kunming got his 15 minutes of fame for painting a mountain green in order to improve the mountain's fengshui with the hope of improving his personal fortunes as well. The mountain which had been quarried for 20 years was covered with nearly half a billion yuan's worth of bright green paint over 45 days.

Yunnan province was singled out for praise by UK medical journal The Lancet for its efforts in combating the spread of HIV/AIDS. In terms of HIV/AIDS infections, Yunnan has been one of the more harder-hit regions of China and is where China's first case of HIV/AIDS was reported in 1985. The Lancet said that Yunnan "has shown strong support for implementation and advocacy of harm-reduction strategies that reduce HIV transmission in its many drug users".

March
A great place for hiking, biking and navel gazing, the sleepy town of Dali inched a little bit closer to Kunming with the completion of the new Kunming-Dali highway. The new road reduced travel time between Kunming and Dali to around four hours – not much longer than the total time required for someone living in downtown Kunming to fly to Dali.

Following in the footsteps of the town of Zhongdian in northwest Yunnan – which was officially renamed 'Shangri-la', the city of Simao was renamed Pu'er with the hope of cashing in on the boom in interest in pu'er tea. Unfortunately, Pu'er was hit by a major earthquake a few months later.

April
The Mekong River, which flows out of China via Yunnan, was drying up in its lower reaches in Southeast Asia. Water levels as low as one meter on the border of Laos and Thailand made river travel or transport all but impossible for much of April. The low levels were attributed to a combination of an intense dry season and the completion of two dams – Manwan and Dachaoshan – on the Lancang River, as the Mekong is known in Yunnan.

Yunfest 2007, perhaps the best documentary festival in China, was cancelled under a shroud of rumor and confusion. GoKunming hopes to see the festival back in Kunming in 2009.

Kunming's re-emergence as the center of Asia made progress as India began rebuilding its section of the Stilwell Road and overland transport agreements between China and Vietnam streamlined the movement of goods and people between Yunnan and Vietnam. Border wars with India in 1962 and Vietnam in 1979 led to long periods of icy relations between the two countries and China. With the return of relative political and economic stability to most of East Asia, Southeast Asia and South Asia, Yunnan appears poised to become a hub for commerce, politics and transport between the three dynamic regions.

May
Kunming hosted China's 7th National Disabled Games, a major test for the city, which is keen to host more international events. In general the games were well-managed and inspiring to disabled and non-disabled attendees alike. One of the more popular events was blind soccer (football) - check out this video clip to see how they do it.

June
June was both a good and bad month for Kunming's image as the Kunming Fair totaled US$150 million in completed deals and Kunming was named China's 'Solar City' as well as one of China's 'rising urban stars'. Slightly less positive, nearby Dianchi Lake made an appearance in domestic and international media as its waters turned bright green from an algae outbreak.

July
Kunming became one of the first Chinese cities with a 'drive-thru' McDonald's. The old town of Lijiang began charging an 80 yuan entry fee as UNESCO warned China that some of its World heritage sites in Yunnan were designated for 'examination' due to concerns regarding development and tourism (Lijiang) and damming (Three Parallel Rivers Protected Areas).

Yunnan's rainy season inflicted heavy damage provincewide as dozens of people died and thousands were displaced by heavy rains and flooding.

August
Former Kunming Deputy Mayor Hu Xing was sentenced to life in prison for bribery after being extradited from Singapore to Kunming. Hu, who allegedly took more than 40 million yuan in bribes while in office, was in charge of Kunming's roads and highways for several years, which may partially explain the dismal state of Kunming traffic.

Food prices in Yunnan were rising quickly, causing concern for workers and business owners around the province, and pu'er tea was leading all luxury goods in China in terms of price growth.

September
Kunming held its first no-car day in which only buses and taxes were allowed to operate within the city center. The city later became China's first city with regular no-car days - although the no-car day on December 29 was apparently forgotten.

Starbucks announced that it would begin sourcing coffee beans from Yunnan amid rumors that Starbucks outlets would come to challenge Kunming's homegrown café scene in 2008.

October
China's rock godfather Cui Jian headlined the Lijiang Snow Mountain Music Festival just weeks before the first Kunming Outdoor Music Festival was held in Anning.

Yunnan announced major changes to its resident registration system, during 2008 it will be seen what impact the changes will have upon rural migrants moving to cities around the province.

November
While much of northwestern Yunnan was snowed under, Kunming hosted its first-ever international film festival as well as China's largest travel expo, and it was announced that Kunming would be the site of the first war games between the Chinese and Indian armies.

December
Kunming was hit by a major gasoline shortage which disrupted life for many city residents and companies. GoKunming readers selected their favorite places to eat, drink and play in Kunming in the Best of Kunming 2007 awards.

And as a nice year-end gesture, the Chinese government officially scrapped its plans to dam Tiger Leaping Gorge… more about that next year.

The GoKunming team thanks everyone who visited the site in 2007 and wishes all of its readers a happy, healthy and bountiful 2008.

Tags: 2007, 2008, Cui Jian, Dali, Dianchi Lake, food prices, foreigner drunk tank, gasoline shortage, HIV/AIDS, Hu Xing, internet access, Jin Feibao, Kunming Fair, Lijiang, Lijiang Snow Mountain Music Festival, McDonald's, Mekong River, National Disabled Games, no-car days, PF Chang's, Pu'er, Shangri-la, Starbucks, Stilwell Road, The Lancet, Three Parallel Rivers Protected Areas, war games, Yunfest

Kunming Loft Creative Fair: Beginning at 11 am today, the first-ever Kunming Loft Creative Fair will open its doors for two days to shoppers looking for one-of-a-kind items made by local artists and designers. The weekend bazaar will be held at Yuansheng Studio in the Loft/Chuangku art compound at 101 Xiba Lu. The fair runs from 11 am to 10 pm today and tomorrow.

TCG Nordica Community Christmas Fair: The fourth annual Community Christmas Fair will also be held at TCG Nordica in the Loft/Chuangku complex. The fair will feature unique gift ideas, food, live music and activities for children. The fair runs from 5-9 pm today and 10 am to 6 pm tomorrow.

No-Car Day: Tomorrow is the fourth Saturday of the month, which means another no-car day. From 9 am to 7 pm private cars will not be allowed within Kunming's ring road. Buses and taxis will be allowed to operate within the 'no-car' zone.

Latin Fusion Party: The Hump Bar at Jinma Biji Fang will host a Latin Fusion Party Saturday night from 9:00 to sun-up at the ground-level bar. The free party will feature salsa and meringue lessons.

Tags: Christmas, Kunming Loft Creative Fair, no-car days, TC/G Nordica, The Hump Bar, Yuansheng Studio

This weekend around Kunming there will be flurry of events catering to a variety of tastes - contemporary dance, classical music, yoga, girl rock and pub crawling plus the beginning of monthly no-car days will be some of the highlights of the next 48 hours.

Crossing Festival: Contemporary Dance and Cinema at Yuansheng Studio

Beginning this afternoon, Yuansheng Studio in the Loft/Chuangku art compound will be hosting the Crossing Festival, an annual independent festival promoting the development of China's independent contemporary dance and theater, documentary film and experimental video.

Founded by Caochangdi Workstation (草场地工作站) in Beijing in 2005 and co-organized by Borneoco/CultureXpress in the Netherlands, this is the first time for the Crossing Festival to come to Kunming - the only other stops are in Beijing and Shanghai. Two dance performances presented by Chinese choreographers nunu and Eagle Ho will be accompanied by dance films brought by Janine Dijkmeijer, director of the Dutch international dance film festival CineDans.

Dance performances will take place at Yuansheng Studio Friday and Saturday nights at 8:00 - admission is 20 yuan. Film screenings will take place at Yuansheng Studio Friday afternoon at 2:00, Saturday at 3:00 and Sunday around 2:00 - admission to the film screenings is free.

Kunming launches monthly no-car days

Kunming is the first city in China to adopt monthly no-car days in which private vehicles are not allowed into the city center. Saturday is the first of the city's monthly no-car days, with only buses, taxis, government vehicles and private vehicles with 17 seats or more and a minimum of 50% occupancy allowed within Huancheng Dong Lu, Huancheng Nan Lu, Xichang Lu and Yieryi Dajie. The downtown car ban starts at 9 am and lasts until 7 pm.

Yutao Yoga fifth birthday celebration

Yutao Yoga, Kunming's oldest yoga studio, will be celebrating its fifth birthday Saturday afternoon with events including a retrospective exhibit on the studio's growth, a yoga performance, afternoon tea and a lucky draw. Festivities begin at 2:30 and end at 6:00. Yutao Yoga is located on the fourth floor of the Tianhao Building at Qingnian Lu and Renmin Zhong Lu.

Wenlin Jie area Halloween pub crawl

Starting just after the end of the no-car day at 8:00 Saturday night will be the second Wenlin Jie area Halloween pub crawl. Beginning at the Yunda Sunshine Cafe just outside of the Yunnan University north gate on Yieryi Dajie, the roaming costume party will visit several bars before finishing at Chapter One. All costume-wearing partygoers will receive discounts on beers at each stop and there will be Halloween-themed drinking games.

Classical violin concert at TCG Nordica

Following on the heels of last weekend's packed jazz concert, TCG Nordica will host a classical violin concert featuring Li Qi on Saturday night. Admission to the 8:00 show is 40 yuan.

Girl bands to play Shelter Bar

Two local girl bands will play a free show Saturday night at 9:30 at Shelter Bar (防空洞酒吧). One of the bands - No Answer (打死你也不说) - will be playing next month's Kunming Outdoor Music Festival and will be joined at Shelter by Medusa (美杜莎). After the show, DJ Shuangma and DJ Chengcheng will take the stage.

Tags: Caochangdi Workstation, DJ Chengcheng, DJ Shuangma, girl bands, Halloween, No Answer, no-car days, Yuansheng Studio, Yutao Yoga

Kunming newspaper Dushi Shibao is reporting that beginning on the 27th of this month, Kunming will be the first city in China to have monthly 'No-car days'. After this month, private cars will be banned from entering the city's ring road between the hours of 9:00 am and 7:00 pm on the fourth Saturday of each month.

On September 22 Kunming was one of more than 100 Chinese cities to ban private cars downtown during the day. For twelve hours, downtown Kunming's streets were primarily occupied by buses, taxis, electric scooters and bicycles. The city's effort was one of the most successful in the country, while Beijing and Shanghai's no-car days received lukewarm reviews.

According to municipal government statistics, September's no-car day had a significant effect on air quality. Carbon monoxide levels dropped 32.9 percent, nitrogen dioxide levels dropped 45.1 percent, ozone was down 39.5 percent, carbon dioxide was down 15.4 percent and airborne particulate matter was reduced by more than one-fifth.

The private car ban will still apply to the area within but not including Huancheng Bei Lu, Huancheng Dong Lu, Huancheng Nan Lu, Xichang Lu and Yieryi Da Jie. In addition to being two hours shorter than September's no-car day, there is one other slight alteration - vehicles with at least 17 seats that are at least half-filled will also be able to enter the no-car area.

Related article:

Kunming's first 'No-car Day' successful

Tags: environment, no-car days

Dongfeng Xi Lu at 11:30 am

This past Saturday Kunming held its first-ever 'No-car day' in which private cars were not allowed in the city center. The event was the climax of Kunming's 'Urban Public Transport Week', promoting the city's bus system and other alternatives to driving private automobiles to get around town.

With only buses, taxis and bicycles on the road, major thoroughfares including Renmin Lu, Beijing Lu and Dongfeng Lu were surprisingly uncongested. From 7:00 am to 7:00 pm, the air within Kunming's ring road noticeably lacked the smell of exhaust that the city's streets typically carry.

Police, city employees and volunteers were strategically placed on Huancheng Bei Lu, Huancheng Dong Lu, Huancheng Nan Lu, Xichang Lu and Yieryi Da Jie and were successful at keeping the majority of private cars outside of the city center. There were drivers who refused to accept the downtown ban and attempted to enter the area, most of whom were stopped by police and fined.

Non-cooperators received fines

Public reaction to the 12-hour ban on private cars downtown was mixed. Not surprisingly, people who don't own cars tended to view the experiment positively while car owners typically found it inconvenient.

"I understand the motivation behind it [the downtown car ban], but it created a lot of difficulty for many people," 35-year-old car owner Wang Kun said. "I hope this happens once a year at most."

The Kunming government estimated that the ban affected 200,000 private automobiles, or one-fourth of the city's total number of registered motorized vehicles.

Tags: environment, no-car days, traffic

This Sunday Kunming will initiate its first-ever "Urban public transport week and no-car day", a week of events aimed at reducing the growing reliance by Kunmingers on private automobiles. City residents will be encouraged to take buses, ride bicycles or walk all week. The week will culminate next Saturday, September 22 with a daytime ban on private cars within the city center.　

The private car ban next Saturday will last from 7:00 am to 7:00 pm and was originally going to only include selected streets but was expanded to include the entire region contained within Yieryi Dajie, Huancheng Bei Lu, Huancheng Dong Lu, Huancheng Nan Lu and Xichang Lu. The ban - which is expected to affect 200,000 automobiles - does not include these streets.

According to Kunming government statistics, Kunming has more than 800,000 motorized vehicles operating within the city, 400 new vehicles hitting the streets every day and more than 1.1 million residents holding drivers licenses.

Related Article:

Kunming to address worsening traffic congestion

Tags: environment, no-car days, traffic