I wonder if anyone has been through the process of getting married to a local Chinese peson recently. I'm marrying my Chinese fiancee later this year (in Kunming) and would be interested in any advice/tips about the overall procedure (esp from Brits, as that will be my Embassy etc). Thanks.
I guess I've been really lucky. Four years living in Kunming, taking taxis almost every day, never (knowingly!) cheated. I've found Kunming taxi drivers to be amongst the most pleasant and helpful in China. Never tried to use one whilst bleeding though, to be fair!
I went into Guo Zi Lou in WenLing Jie yesterday and they have "No Smoking" signs prominent (at least on the ground floor). Is that new?
"China" means different things to different people. I think some posts here are meaning the country, some the people, some the government, some the culture/habits. To me they have wildly differing levels of love/hate. And, of course, there is good and bad in every population/culture. Do I lose points for not being strident?
Some Chinese people have bad habits. Most don't. And there is definitely a difference between urban and rural levels of "decent behaviour". But the Chinese people also have a lot of admirable traits - patience, adaptibility, hospitality, curiousity, generosity. It's a shame if we forget, or dismiss, the all the positives because of a few people spitting. (My parents recall a campaign in the UK telling people "not to to spit" as recently as the 1960s!).
No results found.
Ocean
Much improved from a few years ago. Lots of interesting displays, with Plenty of English language translations. Nice open area in the middle where kids can have a run around. And it's free.
Ocean
The Bird and Flower Market hosts a Flea Market on Saturdays and Sundays, 9am to 6pm. There's 30-40 people selling stuff, but nearly all of it is "ancient" coins, comics, badges, ceramics, Mao memorabilia etc. The vendors have official-looking lanyards and numbered pitch sites. Nice for tourists, but not the free-for-all I had hoped for.
Ocean
This place is worth a visit although it's some way out of town and ticket prices are 200+ RMB per adult (the annual family pass is only 900 RMB though).
In "Ocean Park" you have a large aquarium, and dolphin/seal/beluga whale shows. The "Snow Park" there is huge indoor refrigerated building with various ice slides, aerial walkways, skiing, skating, ice sculptures etc. In addition the theme park has funfair rides and a circus (note: inc some animal performances). These are all part of the entrance fee. You could easily spend a whole day here or two days including travel from Kunming.
Ocean
Disappointing. We travelled to the end of the subway in ChengGong and took a Dididche to get to this place and see the "famous floral displays". But all the tulips are in a smallish greenhouse with a 30RMB fee. We wandered down by the lake instead (for free) which was OK. There are paths around the wetlands area according to maps, but we didn't have time/energy to explore them. Come for the wetlands perhaps, but give the "famous flowers" a miss!
Ocean
I've previously railed against this place's terrible customer service (despite having the best range of western food in Kunming). But things are definitely improving. You no longer have to show a card on arrival (a QR code will do as you check out), your bags are not taken off you in order to get in, there are trolley-cars for kids to ride in and a lot of the food items that had gone missing over recent months seem to have been restocked.
Shop owner fined 68,000 yuan, pays 10,000 in coins
Posted byAnd it's not even April 1st! Love it!
Yuxi-Mengzi: China's newest railway
Posted by...correction, "HongHe Prefectural Museum"
Yuxi-Mengzi: China's newest railway
Posted byMengzi North Station is some way from town as mentioned in the article. Unfortunately, the organised rank of buses pictured above is now a sprawl of taxis, private cars, 3-wheeled motorcycles and buses. Taxis cost about 40RMB to the city centre. Buses are 2RMB, but wait until packed full and only go to the bus station, which is still some way from downtown. The North Station is a temporary measure and locals said that the new station - more centrally located near HongHe University - is expected to be open by the end of the year. We'll see...
There is a huge new museum (HongHe Provincial) in the new town, which is worth a visit, primarily for the final section which is a great display of minority costumes, photos, tools, instruments etc.
I stayed at the HongDa JiuDian hotel (86-083-3735588) and highly recommend it. Rooms are 220RMB for a clean, quiet, well-appointed double. Staff are friendly. Breakfast is included and checkout is a late 2pm (which is great if you want to take the 3.50pm train back to Kunming). The lake and old town are 10 minutes walk away.
Airport temper tantrum lands Yunnan official in prison
Posted byHope Mr Yan learns his lesson.
And I don't think @Chingis was referring to any specific incident, rather the recent Salvadors thread where using the R word caused something of a scuffle.
Photos of flash flooding in Yunnan's capital
Posted byWow. It was even worse than I thought.