In response to Hiketsu, our listings section is offered free of charge to local businesses... also, only one of the 40 candidates for a Best of Kunming Award is a paid advertiser on this site.
Hiketsu is correct in saying that many of the candidates are concentrated in one part of the city. It seems that only 14 of the 40 candidates (just over one-third) are more than a kilometer from Yunda, but that is not so surprising as the Yunda/Cuihu area is well known for its food and drink options and it is not so easy for new restaurants or bars to survive far from the center of the city.
Yuquanzhai (www.gokunming.com/en/listings/item.php?listing_id=287) - the restaurant Ahmet is referring to in the above post - has recently moved across Yuantong Jie and is now just a few meters east of Yuantong Temple. In addition to the main restaurant, it has a small noodle shop and vegetarian grocery store.
There is also Green Mountain Vegetarian Restaurant (www.gokunming.com/en/listings/item.php?listing_id=111) an Indonesian/Chinese vegetarian restaurant in Guanshang near the airport, which offers a more Southeast Asian menu and does some rather convincing fake meat. A bit of a journey for most people in Kunming, but it's a good way to get off the beaten path and try something different.
Moonlight Corner Thai Restaurant (www.gokunming.com/en/listings/item.php?listing_id=100) in the Expo Gardens near the Golden Temple in northeast Kunming is not a vegetarian restaurant, but its Thai cooks are very accommodating to vegetarians. They are happy to make virtually any dish on their extensive menu without meat, except for obvious ones like grilled chicken or fish. Their green and red veggie curries are as authentic as you'll find anywhere in China.
Check out the calendar, there's plenty of English corners coming up at TCG Nordica... also I believe there's an English corner across from Green Lake Hotel at Cuihu Park on Thursday evenings...
Nice work Ben. I've wondered about this area every time I've taken the train from Kunming to Guangzhou. I always keep my eyes open around 5:30 or 6 to make sure to catch a few seconds of the remarkably tall waterfalls on the east side as they catch the late afternoon sun... some of my favorite scenery in southwest China. Will go there next time I'm passing through - thanks for scoping it out first!
It's hard not to feel that once the oil refinery in Anning goes online people will talk about Kunming's once-blue skies the way older residents talk about swimming in a clean Dianchi.
My favorite Tengchong-style restaurant in Kunming. Their ersi and erkuai are trucked over from Tengchong and are the real deal — Kunming ersi and erkuai do not compare.
The restaurant itself is a bit jumbled, but there are a couple of tables outside in the courtyard that are nice to sit at when the weather's pleasant.
Don't believe them when they say they don't have lufu.
Xingyi: Guizhou's peaceful Karst paradise
发布者Nice work Ben. I've wondered about this area every time I've taken the train from Kunming to Guangzhou. I always keep my eyes open around 5:30 or 6 to make sure to catch a few seconds of the remarkably tall waterfalls on the east side as they catch the late afternoon sun... some of my favorite scenery in southwest China. Will go there next time I'm passing through - thanks for scoping it out first!
Interview: Mr Chelonian
发布者Last saw them at the Speakeasy in 2008, one of the more memorable performances I saw there. I hear they're still a very good show.
Kunming battling Chinglish
发布者Best one for me was in the old airport in the late 90s: "Warmly welcome foreign fiends"
How bad is Kunming's air?
发布者Interesting to compare Philippe's air pollution shot from this article with the worst one I could find five years ago:
www.gokunming.com/en/blog/item/483/kunming_goes_car_crazy
It's hard not to feel that once the oil refinery in Anning goes online people will talk about Kunming's once-blue skies the way older residents talk about swimming in a clean Dianchi.
Around Town: Business closings during Spring Festival
发布者Tusheng Shiguan is closed until the 15th.