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Forums > Travel Yunnan > Kunming, Dali, Lijiang, Shangri-La

High speed rail train to Shangri-la will finally be completed and in operation this year. Five-hour trip from Kunming, passing through Dali and Lijiang train stations obviously.

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Forums > Travel Yunnan > Lao land border crossing

Passengers can book online. For example, you can try Qunar. Just type 去哪儿 in your WeChat miniprogram search bar. The white camel logo with aqua color backdrop should appear.

Qunar is basically the subsidiary of Ctrip (aka Trip.com). So for the longest time they nearly monopolized the domestic travel/hotel booking market in the Mainland. Ctrip has been expanding aggressively in the tour packages market, making a killing with their vertical integrations.

After registration (or login), click the train tab and type in 老挝 for destinations in Laos. The specific high speed rail stations in Laos will appear in Chinese.

It seems only Kunming South is available for departure everyday fixed at 8:08am. A 7 hour 37 min journey to Luang Prabang for 413 rmb. 8 hr 30min for Van Vieng (475rmb), etc. Even cheaper after claiming vouchers for first-time users of Qunar.

Tickets seem to be available for booking, even for next day travel.

Perhaps all the fuss making the rounds on Chinese social media regarding Myanmar human trafficking for forced spam labor is scaring netizens from traveling to neighboring SE countries. Domestic travel has been booming in its place. That's good news if you're planning a less jam-packed trip to Laos, albeit in the monsoon season.

I'm out of the loop on current border wait time (as @baiyuxiang mentioned) or the latest visa-on-arrival situation, but I do know the best exchange rates for cash are specific Chinese owned shops across towns, not the ATMs or local exchange vendors.

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Update: Kunming Metro Line 9 (construction period '22 to '26), Line 8, and Line 7; Anning Line, Songming Line have new progress

"Yesterday (March 15), the website of the Kunming Development and Reform Commission publicly released 380 key projects (excluding real estate projects) to be implemented in Kunming in 2022, including 200 projects under construction and 140 newly started projects. There are 40 preliminary projects, and the preliminary work is carried out as planned.

In the list of these project schedules, we have been concerned about the Kunming Metro Line 6 Phase III, Line 7, Line 8, Line 9, Anning Line, Songming Line and other rail transit projects.

Among these key projects under construction in the investment plan, the urban rail transit has Line 5, the second phase of Line 2, the northwest extension of Line 1, and the parking lot of Line 8 (Huayugou parking lot).

(chart in Chinese)
dingyue.ws.126.net/[...]

Key newly-started investment projects include Kunming Rail Line 9 Project, Line 6 Phase III Project, and Rail Transit Guangwei Da Driving and Repairing Base.

(chart in Chinese)
dingyue.ws.126.net/[...]

In addition, regarding the Kunming rail transit project, the municipal key preliminary projects in 2022 include the engineering track Line 7, Songming Line, Line 8, Anning Line, etc."

(chart in Chinese)
dingyue.ws.126.net/[...]

source: inf.news/ne/society/817a4f3e04dee5223188b6730582f42d.html

======================

Line 9 (Dabanqiao North – Shizhaishan):

Stations: Dabanqiao North – Dabanqiao – Guolin Reservoir – South Railway Station (Bailongtan) – Jingming South Road – Xiazhuang (Yunnan University) – Chenggong University Town (Radio&Television University) – Yuanbao Village — Radio&Television Media – Jinmapu – Park North Road – Baiyun Village – Jincheng North – Industrial Park – Jincheng – Jincheng South – Zhonggui Village – Shizhaishan

Line 8 (Longquan Road – Fubao East):

Stations: Longquan Road (Shabaying) – Xiaokang Avenue – Linyu bridge – Kunqu High-Speed – Chuanjin Road – Expo Garden – Bailong Temple — Southwest Forestry University – Jinsha Community – Taiping Village – Juhua Overpass – East Railway Station – Guanshang Forest Park – Hongchang West Road – Sanjia Village – Changhong Guangfu – Dingjia Village – Wujiatang Wetland Patrk – Fubao East

Line 7 (Puji Overpass – Qidian):

Stations: Jipu Overpass – Northwest Bus Station – Datangzi –Heilinpu – Changyuan Middle Road – Shagouwei – Nanya – Tianjiadi – Qianxing Road – Dashanghui – Guannan Guangfu – Changhong Guangfu – Century City West – Guandu Ancient Town – Sports City South – Guangwei – Dashuitian – Guolin Reservoir – Qidian

An article was just published on "China's famous 'cable girl' returns to help remote village after graduating from university with medical degree."

Yu Yanqia, a member of the Lisu ethnic minority, nicknamed 'cable girl' comes from high up in the mountains of Yunnan province." She was documented in 2007, crossing the river at age 8 to go to school.

"A nationwide fundraising initiative was set up afterwards and a bridge was built over the river the following year using the money raised. Yu and other local children were spared from risking their lives every day just to get an education."

"She has decided to return home as a medical worker after her graduation from university, the first person in her village to obtain a higher degree."

The story and photos of her can be viewed here:

www.scmp.com/[...]

The Dali–Ruili railway appears to be completed after over a decade since breaking ground.

Wikipedia entry may need to be updated:

"Darui railway (大瑞铁路), is a single-track electrified railroad under construction in Yunnan Province of Southwest China. The line is slated to run 336.39 km (209 mi) from Dali to Ruili on the border with Myanmar. The line traverses rugged terrain, and bridges and tunnels will account for 75% of the total track length, including the 34.5 km Gaoligongshan Tunnel through the Gaoligong Mountains.

Construction began in May 2011 and was scheduled to take six years. However, this has been repeatedly delayed, and as of 2019 the railway is scheduled to open only in 2022. Cities and towns along route include Dali, Yangbi Yi Autonomous County, Yongping County, Baoshan, Mangshi and Ruili.

The line will have a design speed of 140 kilometres per hour (87 mph)."

en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dali%E2%80%93Ruili_railway

Appreciate the update.

It's entirely possible the starting point of the new light rail would be located near Yuquan Road (玉泉路) in the proximity north of Yunnan Tourism and Culture College (云南文化旅游学院).

The open track of the light rail visibly runs parallel to Yuquan Rd. This road is renamed "旅游环线" further up north, though still labelled as Route S223 if navigating on maps. A swathe of land is available to the east of S223, compared to areas south of tourism college. Details of the stations should be announced in the months to come.

As for public transport connections to the light rail. Bus 11 may approach the potential station starting point, while bus 101 should reach even closer to the designated location your Lijiang friend described.

Both bus routes start at Lijiang Old Town. Bus 11, often packed with locals, terminates at tourism college along S223. Bus 101, which caters to tourists, travels all the way to the main entrance visitor's center of Jade Dragon Snow Mountain with fixed rate of 15 yuan per pax, notwithstanding the alighting point.

A heads up for commuters going up the mountain:

The bus 101 driver will ask to see negative test result (within 48-hour period) upon boarding. More strictly enforced if boarding 101 at the preliminary 忠义市场 Lijiang Old Town bus station.

En route to the national park gate, all passengers' temperatures will be scanned, movement tracking and health codes will be inspected at a security check-point prior to reaching the Dongba area.

At this time, entering the east portal access through the main gate on S223 would encounter stringent measures compared to the south portal access across from Yuhu Village.

Downloading offline map apps for hiking/tubu is recommended as network signals are weak or nonexistent deep into the mountain trails.

Reviews

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For a limited time until June 26, 2022, the 66th top floor observatory will be open to public for free. Visiting hours: 14:00 - 21:00, weekends and holidays. One of the best breathtaking views of the cityscape. Great for family. Below the skyscraper is intersection of MRT Line 3 (pink) with Line 2/1.

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For those following the tragic saga of the baby calf elephant (born at Kunming Zoo), who was forcibly separated from its mother to perform as solo act elsewhere for profit, there's finally some good news. After months of social media uproar and complaints over the cruel treatments of the calf in tears during training in leaked vids, the calf is soon returning back to our local zoo. The visibly depressed mother and calf will soon be reunited after a brief quarantine period. One extra star for the zoo for adhering to the voices of the public. A step in the right direction. More compassion for our animal friends in captivity.