Many of you have been extremely helpful on some other questions I've posted the last few weeks. Thank you for that! Now, I have another question/concern regarding the weather in Dec/Jan.

My family is moving to KMG the first week of December and we have been informed from multiple folks that weather will be an issue. We were told to expect frigid temperatures and plenty of sickness across the city. We have 3 children and are trying to prepare ourselves for the 'winter' in the 'mild' city of Kunming.

How do you typically handle the KMG winter?

Is it difficult to keep your apartment warm during the winter?

Is there anything we should bring (winter sleeping bags) from the States to help adjust to the winter?

We are from the midwestern US and winters are generally pretty harsh...but carpet and insulation make a huge difference. :-)

Any help would be greatly appreciated!

The main difference in Kunming as opposed to the north of China is that apartments are not centrally heated or well insulated.

Instead of having temperatures like 22c inside during the winter you can expect something like 12c or lower if its really cold outside (maybe 1-2 week in Jan/Feb if its cloudy).

There are three ways of living through a Kunming winter, 1 is not heating at all, just wear many layers of clothing at all times, 2 having a few electric radiator oil heaters that you only turn on when you are sitting sleeping next to them or 3, Buy a larger Hot/Cold Aircon and try to heat your whole apartment.

We use the 2nd method and also tape up drafts under doors/windows etc.

Some winters are worse than others and the orientation of your apartment and the age of your apartment will also relate to how well its windows/doors are sealing and how warm it is. In general there are about 2 weeks a year that are really cold but those are generally in Feb.

On the plus side in winter if you can see the sun then you can expect day temperatures outside to be in the low 20s (C)

I lived through 50 minnesota winters and Kunming is very mild in comparison. Never wore a winter jacket last winter, wore layers because when sun is out days usually are mild in winter. No winter boots, but i do have a space heater i like to use for my feet when cold because the tile floors do get rather cold. Bring some warm clothes but hopefully will not need them to often. Try to find an apartment which has good sun exposure because it will help to keep your place very warm in the daytime and will carry over into the evening.

Don't bring anything, you can just buy it here. Thin mattress, warm duvet, sheets, pillows, covers - all for about $25

I made the mistake of giving away my winter coats and jackets before coming here from Beijing and regretted it once I realized we weren't going to actually have spring-like weather all year round. For some reason, it seemed like the North part of the city was colder than in the center.

The main question is where are you coming from? Oklahoma or North Dakota? You are asking people here for their opinion and that is a mistake. What is warm to one person may be cold to another. It would be more prudent to state where specifically you are from so others can get a general idea of what warm and cold is? Or just go to wiki or any weather website and see the temps for the period of time and compare to where you are from.

Unlike other cities, Kunming has a dry winter. As such the cold does not feel that cold. It can be a bit windy, and so I find a windproof jacket helps.

As long as you can find a place to live with at least one south facing aspect, it should be OK.

The winters here are generally some of the best weather, but too dry. And with all the construction that means a lot of dust so pretty poor air pollution (by western standards).

At the same time, it barely ever snows. Sometimes you get frost on the grounds in places that don't get sun, but its rare/short lived because its so damn dry. But its not like the locals don't have access to warm stuff, you can buy it everywhere and its cheap, so most certainly don't burden yourself with carrying heavy bags around the place. Just go to the local supermarket/Walmart once you get here and you will able to buy everything you need. Heating your apartment usually isn't worth it, but sometimes we heat a room with small fan heater if we want to be really warm.

Frigid temps? Hardly frigid. Maximum I ever wear is 3 layers.

As for sickness... I can't speak for any other place but compared to my home country (New Zealand), people hardly ever seem to get sick here. My Chinese wife has been sick once in 3 years, with the flu and it only kept her down for 2 days. I remember back home I would get sick 2-3 times a year but in a few years living here, I haven't been sick once! Not sure why, maybe the dry air and altitude means viruses/bacteria aren't as prolific? I lived in Malaysia for a time too and got sick quite a few times there. Also they have weird Chinese medicines here which seem to beat the snot out of colds/flu's.

How about those with kids though? Do kids get a bit sicker than us old ones? Someone else can chime in with the rate of kids getting sick...

It sounds like you might be overpreparing/overthinking a bit. People do live here easily and well without too much effort!

Heating generally doesn't work here since everything is concrete and there usually isn't any insulation at all. If it's an older building your windows will have a terrible draft too. Many residents will use saran wrap or something to seal most windows for the winter. It rarely gets "cold" but sitting inside at 35 degrees all afternoon redefines 35 degrees.

If i know I'll be in a room with a concrete floor then I wear long thick stockings and boots with thick soles. Then if I'm still feeling cold I use those electric hot bags with a cover to put your hands in.

This is great info! Thank you. I figured we might be overthinking it a bit...so I'm glad to hear it's not quite as bad as some have made it sound. We are coming from Kansas...where temps can sit below freezing for weeks at a time. We also get about 30'' of snow a year, so that adds to the beauty of winter.

So what I'm hearing is:

1. Don't forget your extra layers. (bringing and wearing)
2. Try to get a newer apartment

3. Try to get a South facing apartment for sunshine
4. Prepare to use a good amount of electric heating throughout the Dec-Feb months.
5. Drink as much hot tea and hot chocolate as possible. :-)

Thank you again!