Forums > Living in Kunming > Gift shopping in Kunming for a local A worthy gift would be to learn her native tongue... to traverse online with help of your Chinese friends/staffs to find her novel items nonexistent in Kunming.
You often take her out shopping around town. So whatever you buy in this city she has already seen, which dampens the element of surprise.
Taking the time and effort to learn simple Chinese online lingo would not only impress her, but serves a beneficial learning curve for yourself. A long-term investment to further improve relationship with your child in the 5G+ future. Especially if you intend to stay in China for the long haul. The Chinese internet isn't going anywhere in the decades to come.
You gotta start sometime, why not now?
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@Jan: "... arranging the delivery while preserving an element of surprise would be difficult."
Shipping and package retrievals have been significantly upgraded in the last two years. I'm sure you've already seen the green “Hive Boxes” (aka “feng chao” / 丰巢) placed outside or inside commercial & residential buildings.
All package delivery companies, even EMS, will use Hive Boxes upon customer request. Couriers will store your parcel in one of the container slots and send you a text password combination to open at your own convenience.
Retrievals are free for first 24 hours. If you collect your package within 24-hour time period and the Hive Box screen displays 1 rmb, it is just a misleading donation plea. Just skip (跳过) the message as the payment isn’t mandatory until after 24-hours. 1 rmb fee per day afterwards.
I’ve seen people open Hive Box by entering passwords after 30 days. The person was required to transfer 29 rmb via barcode to open. Convenient for those who’ve been out of town and needed long-term storage.
For maximum privacy. Don’t leave your frequently used mobile number for shipping contact info when making online purchases. This would cut down on annoying call solicitations and spam texts. Leave your seldom-used, secondary SIM card. Just follow Hive Box official account on Wechat. Register by verifying with said secondary number. When packages arrive, Hive Box passwords will be sent via WeChat message in lieu of text messages or calls from courier to your regular mobile phone. Granted you may need to answer their call if Hive Box is full.
To say nothing of convenience, the Hive Box not only maintains privacy and anonymity of recipient, but safety. Especially if recipient is a home alone, underaged female.
If Hive Box is absent in your vicinity, or if particular packages are too big for the Hive Box, there are plenty of package collection services around town. They are called “代收,” which may come in the form of mom & pop shops that charge 1 rmb a day to store your packages. Download Alibaba’s Cainiao (菜鸟) app to find these designated collection centers nearest you.
University life in the not-so-ghost town of Chenggong
Posted byFruits as well, for example 3 dragon fruits for 10 rmb at the fruit vendors in Shilin Street. Market prices in Chenggong obviously take into account low student budgets.
I forgot to include those delicious calamari/squids in my aforementioned 28 yuan buffets.
University life in the not-so-ghost town of Chenggong
Posted byYesterday was my first time scouting Chenggong District. @Cahzriel is right, air quality is much better here than in inner city, Spaciously desolate, local businesses should be relieved college students will be returning en masse around March 4th through the 10th.
Absent in forum discussions, and not specifically mentioned by Jared Foxhall nor by Patrick Scally/Benjamin Campbell in the other Chenggong article, is Shilin Street Barbecue City, Shilin Street (仕林街) is a landmark of eateries stretching an entire block of nearly half a kilometer.
Highly recommended are the 28 yuan per person spicy Chongqing-flavored DIY stir fry buffets near the south end of Shilin Street (bordering JingMing S. Road). All-you-can-eat shrimps, clams, fish (for pescatarians like myself), marinated meats, and large selections of veggies cooked on a giant pan at your table for only 28rmb is nonexistent in KM city center.
Listed by @Philou, Shilin Street is ~600 meters southeast of KRT station YiKang South Rd. (谊康南路) C Exit, or ~600 meters northeast of University Town (大学城) KRT station B Exit:
www.gokunming.com/en/listings/item/33831/shilin_street
Just a heads up, passengers on the KRT train en route to Kunming South Railway Station may have to get off and switch at Chunrong Jie (春融街) for the university town stations. This juncture may be confusing for first-timers.
New high-speed rail line to link Kunming with Dali
Posted byJust announced... construction of high speed rail from Kunming to Dali is complete. Pending finalization/tests, won't be long now till the new line becomes operational. Travel time will be 2 hours!
Visa-less elephant flaunts Yunnan's international border protocols
Posted byGreat news! Hong Kong just voted to ban all ivory sales. HK was a major ivory trading hub and a loophole black market for Chinese Mainland buyers.
Persistent anti-ivory campaigns will hopefully diminish ivory demands among Chinese elites, thereby reducing elephant poaching around the world, particularly in Africa. It's estimated ~30,000 elephants are killed by poachers every year.
Shark fin demands/appetite in China supposedly dropped 70% over the years as a result of similar public education from celebrities on social media.
Visa-less elephant flaunts Yunnan's international border protocols
Posted byThese gentle giants are one one my favorite animals in the world. Too bad I didn't come across any wild elephant migrations during my Xixhuangbanna visit. I wouldn't mind if they bumped round our vehicles like toy cars for a close up encounter.
Btw, props to Kunming's Yuantong Shan Zoo for improving the elephant/lion/bear captivity areas. The skywalk overhead view is an nice addition for visitors. The playful baby elephant was adorable and a must-see.