User profile: Ocean

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Forums > Living in Kunming > Is basic/advanced Chinese necessary to live there???

I agree with laotou - learning a little basic Chinese goes a long way. Concentrate on speaking and listening if time/money is short. Reading and writing is a whole other level. And there are usually ways to get around the language problems - Chinese friends are always willing to help you (writing addresses for taxis, suggesting where to buy things, ensuring you don't get ripped off too badly, etc). Don't let the language put you off.

And hey, onlyone, I've visited about 100 countries and I lOVE living in Kunming! I guess it depends what you're after...

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Forums > Living in Kunming > Things to Do in Kunming

I recommend GuanDu old town (public bus from the railway station) for a quiet day out. HeiJing (presevred ancient town) is only 3 hours away by train. And for something less conventional, "Dwarf Empire"? ;-)

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Forums > Food & Drink > non smoking

Prague Cafe is non-smoking on the ground floor, I believe. Does anyone know whether the Government plan to ban smoking in public places throughout China from Jan 1st 2011 is still (theoretically) coming into law?

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Forums > Living in Kunming > Chinese driver's license

"One rumor says that it is always the same 100 questions in english, doesn't it ?"

I took the computer test in English (without any prep) a couple of months ago, scoring 76% (pass is 90%). I then spent time studying the 2000+ possible questions (from the downloadable document doing the rounds here) and retook the test (passing with 96%). The questions are certainly NOT the same. I'm afraid the English is pretty poor on many questions, too. Even knowing the answers doesn't guarantee you can understand what some of the questions actually mean or why the other options are wrong. (eg "What should you do at a red light: "Stop", "Yield" or "Not pass"!). Some supposedly correct answers contradict other supposedly correct answers! I just dismissed the blindingly obvious answers (and there are a lot of those) and learned the remaining 200 or so parrot-fashion! If you have a driving licence from elsewhere, the traffic signs are very similar. The various speeds and police fines under different circumstances take some memorising though! Good luck!

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When I worked for a year at Mengzi Teacher's College in 1996 we used to go into town by horse and cart. Returning a decade later it was taxis only and my old College had been swallowed up by the huge HongHe University. Such is progress in Chinese.

Reviews

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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!

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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.