@kingofthekerb I just meant to upvote your comment but clicked down by mistake. I see nothing wrong with the advice. A further thought, if Yunnan really has got that bad, has Guizhou gone the same way? It’s a 40 minute flight away.

You won't see much from a plane - not exactly 'off the beaten track'.

much of guizhou is still pretty wild. can't say i've seen a single tourist (local or foreign) anywhere i went in guizhou. but it's not got the good weather/natural beauty/coolness of yunnan

There are lots of places in Guizhou that are worth visiting that are withing a day's drive of Kunming. Tourist prices are also much lower. I visited an ancient town (National 5 star) and entrance was only 20rmb.
Guizhou is not a centre for tourism yet, and is not a centre for fleecing tourists either.

Guizhou is an interesting idea--I hadn't considered that. It sounds like if neither had any tourists, Yunnan would be a better choice, with more impressive scenery and better weather. But the fact that Guizhou has very few tourists makes it appealing. For those who have been to both, which do you recommend? Given that I speak Mandarin, can I less touristy experience in Yunnan (like I would in Guizhou) if I just avoid the major hotspots?

Also, I appreciate and welcome more advice about how to travel in Yunnan away from the crowds. So far, people have said:
-If the Tourist groups go right, you go left
-Take buses rather than trains

Any other advice like this for how to explore Yunnan would be great. And specific places are always great too.

Also, do any of you have a travel blog of your own or one you recommend?

If you're heading to Guizhou, I highly recommend town-hopping in the Dong minority eastern part of the Province. Start in KalLi and take buses clockwise around the eastern border.

Parks and temples are not normally on my must do list, however a return to Qianling Park and Hongfu temple in Guiyang are already planned before I leave China next December. The ‘park’ is massive and nothing like your average park in China. Look it up and see what I mean.

Guiyang has changed dramatically since I was there last, about 10 years ago. Travelling towards Guiyang, and even as close as Water-City, there is a lot of dramatic scenery. If you are travelling by road, the brown tourism road signs are also much more prevalent than they are in Yunnan. I am not sure if this means that there is more to see, but there is certainly much that is easier to find.

Guizhou has lost a lot. Many minority villages that were hidden gems, have gone touristy in a quick and bad fashion. I still like Guizhou, but I'd say the hidden gems days are gone, unless you get really remote.