Quick:
Buy a pollution mask and earplugs at any drugstore.

Long:
Kunming air is decent as far as city air in China goes. I can list about 40 or so other Chinese cities with worse air. This year's air quality is worse than ever, and it's still better than most other cities in China. So think of it as a positive you are stationed in Kunming and not in Beijing or Chongqing or Zhengzhou or Shenzhen or Changsha or Nanjing or Hong Kong even (it's air is terrible now as a result of being next to Shenzhen).

If you can't take Kunming air, then you have to move to a smaller city. Dali, Lijiang, Jinhong, all have good air as long as your not near construction, but there's more of that in those boomtowns. Another choice would be to live in nearby Chenggong. Ghost towns have better air once construction is finished. Most of Chenggong is built, and very few buses/trucks/cars go through there, so air is better and noise much lower, for now anyways.

Note:
None of this will help you when a bus spews black soot in front of you or you have to bike through Remin Xi Lu.

Kudos to the Chinese couple that got out of their car to stop the fight.

I will have to agree that my encounters with police in China have all been neutral or helpful. Beijing should have a very professional police/civil service by now, so hopefully these document checks will become routine and boring after two weeks. Still, I'm glad Kunming is far away from all that, and hoping the mountains are high enough here. They weren't for Chengdu.

www.china.org.cn/china/2012-05/15/content_25384258.htm

Chinese drivers license is very useful. It's good enough to get by most random inspections. Also makes checking into hotels much easier. Even if you don't drive, I would get one as they are good for 5+ years.

It has your passport number on it and address that is verified by residency department. If you back it up with a paper copy or smartphone pic of your passport and visa, it's quite effective.

It's always wise to tuck away one 50rmb note somewhere. It's a small enough amount that if you "lose" it, you won't give it a second thought. But it's a big enough amount to get you a meal and cab home in Kunming.

@tigertiger
Dairy Queen! How could you forget about Dairy Queen!