Hi everyone. I'm new to this forum.

My name is Sora. My best friend and I are visiting Kunming in September for a full month. I've been to China only once before, years ago, and mostly stayed in Beijing, so this experience is going to be brand-new for me.

I was wondering if any of you locals could reccommend things we should pack (besides the obvious) or places we shouldn't miss visiting while in town? I'm talking about any place of interest, any local spot you love - restaurants, parks, museums, shopping centers, etc. We do have a place to stay during our travels, so we don't need a hotel.

We're both 25 years old, white and female. We live in California (U.S.) and neither of us know any Chinese. I have made myself a small stack of Mandarin flash cards so I will at least know a few common phrases, but I'm sure that a lot of what I'm trying to communicate will still end up lost in translation. I'm very nervous.

Any response from any of you would be greatly appreciated! :) Thanks a bunch.

Hi Sora,

It would probably be helpful to understand your purpose of visiting Kunming for a whole month. Do you intend to study? Or to visit Kunming as part of an overall travel plan?

The reason for asking is that Kunming is a good, if a little slow (pace of life), place for living / studying, but has little to recommend in the way of tourist sites, compared to other places within Yunnan, or the rest of China.

Cheers!

We are going to Kunming for pleasure; not intending to study. My friend's father works as a doctor in and out of the city, so we are coming to visit him. However, he'll be busy a large part of the time and I believe we'll be spending many days on our own.

We're not specifically looking for tourist sites or anything exciting... just ways to spend our time.

Let's get the obvious out of the way first. You'll probably be told to visit Wenlin Jie (文林街), which is also known as 'foreigner street'. Truth be told that although quite a few foreigners congregate here, it's still no more than about 3 dozen or so. KSR it ain't! For that we can be truly thankful.

There are lots of Western style [food] coffee shops, which are good places to sit, talk, study, play cards and surf the 'net [wifi]; lots of restaurants - all types - and a fair few clothes shops, and other shops, as well as bars.

The other reason Wenlinjie is mentioned is because it's next to Yunnan University, and has a large (Chinese) student population, and is also in close vicinity to Green Lake Park (翠湖公园). Green Lake Park has a lot of recommendations because it's fairly central, big (relatively speaking), has lots of fauna but I feel lacking in green, open spaces. The park always has lots of performances from traditional folk songs and instruments to family entertainment; people playing mah jong and cards, and English Corner.

That said, I originally found the park disappointing, because by London standards, it's small and lacks green, open spaces.

The only other parks are all on the outskirts of Kunming. Check out this thread for more info: www.gokunming.com/en/blog/item/382/kunming_park_guide

There are very few cultural activities in terms of museums, galleries, etc. Kunming is quite undeveloped in that regard. But if you're interested in local colour, there are lots of places where you can see people dancing in groups to music each evening - all family friendly and a whole lot of fun, especially Government Square (?) on Dong Feng Dong Lu (东风东路).

There are some art galleries to see around the Loft area (embryonic art scene) on Jindingshan Bei Road (金鼎山北路), which are quite interesting - plus there are a few eateries: www.gokunming.com/en/listings/item/lof_32505/

I'm still not au fait with the all the restaurants, especially as I haven't really spent time in the north parts of Kunming. Perhaps others could provide advice, or read the listings of reviews for restaurants.

As for shopping, you have extremely upscale and stupidly expensive Gingko for Western high-end designer things [clothes]; Qingnian Lu (青年路) has a lot of shops from high-end designer (Gucci) to regular, local clothing ware. Also check out Zheng Yi Lu (正义路), which also has lots of shops including foreign restaurants in the shopping malls - from Brazilian, to Russian, to Japanese.

For nightlife, there are various bars (Hump is the obvious one) and Kundu for clubs. However, the night-life is typical SE Asian fare re: opulent clubs where you stand around tables, with people drinking and smoking, listening to extremely loud and excruciatingly bad music, with a small spot to dance. You may find the experience amusing fun or unsophisticated (delete as appropriate).

If you need to get away due to Kunming sucking the life out of you, there are places on the outskirts to visit such as Xi Shan (西山- Western Mountains), Bamboo Temple (筇竹寺): www.gokunming.com/en/blog/item/1654/getting_away_bamboo_temple and Black Dragon Pool (黑龙潭): www.gokunming.com/[...] not to mention the heavyweight Stone Forest (石林): www.gokunming.com/en/blog/item/1571/getting_away_stone_forest

With all this in mind, please be advised that Kunming ain't London, Tokyo, Beijing, Shanghai, Hong Kong, et al. There isn't a great deal to do in the conventional sense, and I personally would be stuck if I had a month here with nothing to do i.e. no work / study.

Kunming makes a really good base for exploring Yunnan because there are a wealth of absolutely stunning places to visit and explore if you like to get out and about and do things. I personally think spending a month here in Kunming without exploring what Yunnan has to offer would be a waste e.g. Dali, Lijiang, Tiger Leaping Gorge, Zhongdian (Shangri-la), Deqin (if the road is open - doubtful), Lugu Hu (my personal recommendation - stunningly beautiful); as well as other places like Xishuangbanna in the SW for the whole SE Asian vibe; Puzhehei; and hiking in Nujiang Valley (along the Yunnan - Burmese border).

Hope that helps for starters. Hopefully, others can also post and provide advice.

Cheers!

I came across this post via GoKunming's twitter feed and as I'm another incoming newbie to the area at the end of this month, I'd just like to offer a big thanks to putonghua73 for taking the time to post all that info.

I'd read and have heard of some of the bars and central areas you talk about, but I'm also looking forward to using Kunming as a base to explore the region so this has definitely helped to give me some good pointers.

Cheers :D

Wow, putonghua! Thanks so much for all your information and recommendations. I need to write everything down on a list and bring it with me.

I have another question, though: What is the weather like in September? What sort of clothing should I bring? Is it hot or cold? Would shorts be appropriate, or should I only bring long pants?

Hi Sora,

The majority of the young women (under 30) wear extremely short shorts / hot pants / skirts. At the moment, it's the rainy season with torrential downpours. That said, I would bring both shorts and long trousers.

Please forgive me, because I can barely type, since I've been out drinking with friends for the last 8 hours, as well as spending time in Top One Club and then Soho club [Kundu] - first time in 4 months!

I really need to go to bed. You'll be fine whether you bring shorts or long trousers.

Cheers!
(he with tinnitus)

Me again. After googling the places you mentioned... Your personal recommendation, Lugu Hu, looks GORGEOUS. I think my friend and I will make a point to see it.

Green Lake Park and the Bamboo Temple also look nice. My friend's been mentioning the JiuXiang Cave, which she's very interested in seeing. Have you ever been there?

P.S. You sound awesome. Can we go out drinking with you in Kunming? :)

One more question: kind of odd. My friend and I saw some YouTube footage of circuses with acrobatic performances and animal acts. One, involving a goat on a tightrope, was our favourite. Do you know of any circuses we could go see while in China?

Glad that both of you [emitphotos & Sora24] have found the information useful. In all honesty, it's pretty standard information - all I have done is collate the hard-work of others [article authors].

Green Lake Park - once you make the necessary mental adjustment i.e. "Toto, I Don't Think We're in Kansas Anymore..." - is a lovely park, especially when the light transitions from day to dusk, and all of the lights start appearing and twinkling. Very family friendly, and it's lovely and a refreshing change to walk around at night and see families - young and old - out and about enjoying the evening, without an undertone of menace and belligerence.

Bamboo Temple is very peaceful and interesting; a good diversion for an afternoon.

Some classmates arranged a trip to visit JiuXiang Cave quite some time back. One of them writes a blog which details his experiences in China - so you could possibly find more information there: chinanewbie.posterous.com/

Sorry, I have no information on circuses or other animal acts, because I find those types of performances exploitative.

You and your friend are more than welcome to join me and my friends when you arrive. For any affidavit, I shan't be drinking (soft drinks only) because last night has absolutely ruined me, and re-confirmed my decision to return to my (semi) teetotal ways!

P.s. A couple of important pointers:
1. when out and about - especially when on buses - make sure all of your valuables e.g. purse, mobile, etc are firmly on your person, and that your bag is kept in front of you. Nearly all of my teachers and Chinese female friends have had items stolen from bags (some have had their bags cut).

2. if you wish to use Facebook, Youtube, or any other 'net service restricted by the Great Firewall of China, you will need to use a VPN [virtual private network]. I use a combination of Freegate (FreeU10) and proXPN. Set them up before you arrive in China because the Great Firewall blocks Freegate searches.

Both are for Pc only. Mac users may need to use a paid service like Witopia.