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Forums > Living in Kunming > Kunming City Planning

Lit road signs at night are pretty essential if you travel at more than 40kph.
Unless you mean lit advertising hoardings.

Although lit streets waste energy, as long as people continue to drive or ride without lights, they too are important.
IMHO

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Forums > Living in Kunming > Kunming City Planning

High-rise is an issue. Although the population density of Kunming is only 300/km2 overall, the urban density is 1500/km2, in Panlong District 2380/km2, and in Wuhua 2150/km2. I live in the relatively quiet XiShan 950/km2.

Chenggong is a relatively low 570/km2. This will rise, but they will have the modern infrastructure to cope with more people.

The only thing I like about high-rise is that you can escape the smog and mosquitoes on the upper floors.

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Forums > Living in Kunming > Kunming City Planning

Here is an alternative view, that may or may not be worth considering.

The problem with population is the concentration of associated problems. Social and environmental. Especially if the local infrastructure/services cannot handle them. Pollution in cities in Asia is generally much worse than those in Europe and America, so are the problems of urban poor.

It depends what principle you want to apply for pollution. Dilute and disperse, or concentrate and contain. There are large areas around Kunming that are not prime arable land.
At the moment China's food production is going down as people leave the land, most going to the city. Food then has to be transported in, with its associated traffic and pollution problems.

If there are fewer dense cities, with more suburban areas, and people have a garden to grow food, and many Chinese love growing stuff if they have a garden, this can help.
If there are more satellite towns, that are closer to the source of food production, this also helps. People can work on the farm and in town (common in Europe).

Slowing the shift to urbanisation will slow the progress towards huge agri-businesses that have their own problems, both on the local economy and environment.

I have forgotten the time-scales (sorry) but recent study estimated that 51% of China's population will soon be urban. Currently it is about 40%.
When I did my Bachelors and Masters in Environment, many years ago, urbanisation in developing countries was viewed as a major challenge to both the environment and the society. This was years ago, but I don't think this view has changed much.

I am not saying I am right, and anyone else is wrong. This is just a counter position to consider.

Sorry for the long post.

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Great article.
The place is well worth a visit.

I had the pleasure of visiting last year. The old town is a bit like Dali without the tourists. Food and service are also good in hotels and restaurants, perhaps service ethic influenced by the old confucian culture. We didn't get price gouged either.
The area is also famous for its pottery. Some of it is really nice.
Tuanshan is great and well worth the money. Compared to other Yunnan sites (150+) it is good value too. Tuanshan is largely intact and un-modernised. You can actually see original painted beams with gold leaf, those that are in the shade are still very colorful.

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The posh new stations have different gates, but these bullet trains stop at many stations on route, that are not super modern. The trains then stop at regular ungated platforms, however the train stops on a mark, and the passengers are pre-lined up at the appropriate marks on the platforms.

I am glad for the delay. That should mean more time spent constructing the tracks to the standards required, and not just a rush to finish the line asap, with possible associated construction quality issues.

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Actually, if you go the the 3.5 website they have some nice recipes there. It is in Italian, but Google chrome translates it.
I will give the recipe a go. It can't be worse than some of the stuff I have been told to eat.

Reviews

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A reasonable choice of lumber that has improved over time. Fancy hardwoods like walnut, and mahogany are in abundance. There are some plywood and rubber-wood boards available. There are also some kiln dried imported softwoods and merbao available. Some of the lumber is very green, so look for the kiln dried if you need stable timbers.

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Echo everything said by others.
Breakfast great and the serve from 8am. Most other places say 9am and they still are not ready.
Sandwiches are cheap 22-32, and really packed full of filling. We got some sandwiches for a day out, the only mistake I made was ordering two, as this was too much. These are seriously good sangars, and they are wrapped in alu foil.

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In fairness to Metro, they are a wholesalers, and not really a supermarket. Hence the need for a card, which can be got around.

They have improved in the year I have been away. They now carry a more consistent range of imported foodstuffs and they also seem to have sorted out the mported milk supply.

They have a wider range of electrical appliances now, there is a coice of more than one toast. There is also a better range of seasonal non foods, like clothes, shoes, garden furniture and camping gear.