You are right the Captiva is an AWD. The Nissan Xtrail is also an AWD but has the CV drive, and looking at Xtrail events on YouTube they are quite capable in rough terrain.
The fortuners and others are grey imports. There is a large car market up near the Garden Expo in the North. One of the sales halls is imports.
Q. Do you need a full blown 4x4, or will a 4wd soft roader work for you. There are lots of these. The Chevrolet Captiva is 7 seater and I paid 300k about 18 months ago. They are only available in 2.4ltr petrol now.
A lot of imported, from Thailand etc. SUV for sale in Kunming, including the 4tuner. But these are expensive - 700k+
The Mitsubishi Pajero/Shogun is also made in China as part of a JV and these used to start at about 400 000 rmb for the 4wd.
There is also the Toyota FJ Cruiser is also available, and the basic model comes sans carpet etc for hosing out when mucky. Not sure on the price.
I would avoid some Chinese brands due to reliability. Greatwall are getting good now but I am not sure about the spares distribution outside China, should you break down.
@Alex,
I haven't seen them yet, as I have just returned after a long spell away. I would imagine that they are indeed LED. These are also usually dual intensity, they are less bright after dark so that people are not dazzled.
LEDs burn less energy, and should last for many 10s ths of hours, but as they are very low voltage the transformers used to generate a lot of heat and the transformers used to fail. As I see more of these LED signs around the world I am assuming that the systems are now more reliable. If this is the case we will see lot more of them, a good thing IMHO.
I only wish reliable LED technology was available for domestic use at an affordable price, LEDs cost only about a cent to produce. LEDs don't contain the toxins of low energy lamps, and last longer.
@geogramatt
We are on the same page, but sadly rushed development (usually to meet political ends) changes what can happen.
I know where you are coming from with urbanisation. In an ideal world I agree with you. But TIC.
In many developing cities the usual case of non-joined up government means that unless the infrastructure goes in first, this safe development cannot happen.
This new development usually requires green field sites. Brown field development, usually (not always) means that a redeveloped city block still needs to plug into the surrounding ancient infrastructure.
We recently had complaints from a poster on here, about lack of water supply for most of the week. This is perhaps dues to new development on old infrastructure. In the last city I lived in, we lived in an new area with inadequate infrastructure, we lost water for up to a week at a time every 3 months or so. This lack of mains water affects sanitation.
I also agree with you on population density figures, I did not want to post too long, and skipped the issue of local areas of more density. In the last city I lived in the most densely populated area was 38000/km2. Like most statistics, there is room for more detail.
No results found.
Great to know it is no longer dry.
Good review BTW
This has moved.
The cut flowers are about 700m east on Duonan Jie. The plants and trees are about 700 m west and follow Duocai Section.
A reasonable choice of lumber that has improved over time. Fancy hardwoods like walnut, and mahogany are in abundance. There are some plywood and rubber-wood boards available. There are also some kiln dried imported softwoods and merbao available. Some of the lumber is very green, so look for the kiln dried if you need stable timbers.
Echo everything said by others.
Breakfast great and the serve from 8am. Most other places say 9am and they still are not ready.
Sandwiches are cheap 22-32, and really packed full of filling. We got some sandwiches for a day out, the only mistake I made was ordering two, as this was too much. These are seriously good sangars, and they are wrapped in alu foil.
In fairness to Metro, they are a wholesalers, and not really a supermarket. Hence the need for a card, which can be got around.
They have improved in the year I have been away. They now carry a more consistent range of imported foodstuffs and they also seem to have sorted out the mported milk supply.
They have a wider range of electrical appliances now, there is a coice of more than one toast. There is also a better range of seasonal non foods, like clothes, shoes, garden furniture and camping gear.
Kunming's metro could cost 300 billion yuan
发布者If they worry about cost, and only provide minimum service until things pay for themselves, then they will always be in a debt cycle. For example, if the service only runs the cheapest (minimal) service from 9-5 people cannot possibly use it for work. They screw themselves.
There is a real need to bite the bullet. Then the best returns can be realised, only if they take the risk and run the service as a viable alternative to driving. Short term loss will be high, but utilisation will follow very quickly.
There is a need to follow the models of service provision in Shanghai and Beijing, but accept that the break even point in Kunming will take longer to realise. However, if you don't, the losses will continue for many years.
Kunming to offer visa-free transit stays
发布者Not sure, but would that be transiting? I think transit ticket is for an onward journey to a third country.
Perhaps you could fly from somewhere, via Kunming, to HK or vice vesa.
Airport temper tantrum lands Yunnan official in prison
发布者That last statement contradicts itself.
Kunming to offer visa-free transit stays
发布者Shanghai and Beijing are also major business hubs and doing a few days extra business, while breaking a long haul trek, makes sense. Also, both cities are tourist centres in themselves.
Kunming is neither. Kunming wants to be a trade centre with ASEAN, but that is not yet happening. Kunming is not really a destination, more of a spring board to Yunnan (which you cannot do in 3 days). All you can really do is play golf, which some people do.
Airport temper tantrum lands Yunnan official in prison
发布者I think the crime was getting caught, and so publically. Getting caught on camera and having it go viral is an embarrassment to gov. This is not good for social order.
There has also been a trend towards more unruly behaviour at airports, some of which have gone viral (like the Shandong woman in Guangzhou airport). This case in Kunming might be an exemplory/detterent sentencing.
Either way, it is a step in the right direction.