Kunming travel guide for foreign visitors

Best time to visit

Jan
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From the airport or station to the city

Where you land, the ways into the city centre, how long each takes and what it costs.

From Kunming Changshui Airport (KMG)

昆明长水国际机场

MetroTime35–45 minCost¥6–7
Metro Line 6 from the airport (B2 level) to Tangzixiang, where you change to Line 2 or 3 for the centre. Runs roughly 06:20–23:00.
BusTime50–70 minCost¥25
Airport shuttle buses to Kunming Railway Station and other downtown stops.
TaxiTime35–50 minCost¥100–130
Official taxi rank outside arrivals, or DiDi. The airport is about 25 km from the centre.

From Kunming South Station (high-speed trains)

昆明南站

MetroTime45–60 minCost¥5–6
Metro Line 1 north into the city. The station is in Chenggong, about 30 km south of the centre.
TaxiTime40–60 minCost¥80–110
Taxi rank or DiDi pick-up at the station; long queues at peak times.

From Kunming Railway Station (city centre)

昆明站

MetroTime10–20 minCost¥2–4
Metro Line 1 stops at the station; mostly slower conventional and overnight trains arrive here.

Getting around

Kunming has six metro lines; scan the Alipay or WeChat transit QR code or buy a token. DiDi and taxis are cheap. The centre around Green Lake and the Old Street is walkable. For the Stone Forest, take a high-speed train from Kunming South to Shilin West (about 20 minutes). At 1,900 m the sun is strong even when it feels cool.

Book these before you fly

These sights need a reservation with your passport. Walk-ups are usually turned away.

Top sights

Grey limestone pillars of the Stone Forest stretching into the distance

石林风景区Stone Forest (Shilin)A UNESCO-listed maze of grey limestone pillars, 90 km southeast of Kunming.Booking recommendedHalf a day (3–4 hours on site)

Front of the red-clad Yunnan Provincial Museum building

云南省博物馆Yunnan Provincial MuseumBronzes of the ancient Dian kingdom and the story of Yunnan’s 25 ethnic minorities.Booking required2–3 hours

Blue water and pedal boats in the southwest of Green Lake Park

翠湖公园Green Lake ParkThe city’s favourite park: lotus ponds, dancing groups and, in winter, clouds of gulls.1–2 hours

The Dragon Gate path carved into the sheer cliff of the Western Hills

西山龙门Western Hills & Dragon GateTaoist grottoes and a stone gateway carved into a cliff high above Dianchi Lake.Booking recommendedHalf a day

Dianchi Lake seen from the Haigeng shore, with the Western Hills beyond

海埂大坝Dianchi Lake at Haigeng DamA lakeside promenade facing the Western Hills, famous for winter gulls and sunsets.1–2 hours

Yuantong Temple's halls and bridge over its central pond

圆通寺Yuantong TempleKunming’s oldest Buddhist temple, built around a pond in a hollow below street level.1 hour

Heaps of fresh-cut flowers on the trading floor of Dounan Flower Market

斗南花卉市场Dounan Flower MarketAsia’s largest fresh-flower market: armfuls of roses for a few yuan.1–2 hours

Restored old shopfronts and a pedestrian lane in Kunming Old Street

昆明老街Kunming Old StreetA few restored lanes of Qing and early-20th-century houses, now cafés, snacks and craft shops.1–2 hours

Steps up to the Bronze Hall of Taihe Palace at Kunming’s Golden Temple

金殿Golden Temple (Jindian)A 17th-century Taoist hall cast entirely in bronze, in a pine-forested hill park 7 km northeast of the centre.Booking required2–3 hours

Main hall of the Bamboo Temple (Qiongzhu Si) in Kunming’s western hills

筇竹寺Bamboo Temple (Qiongzhu Si)A hillside Buddhist temple famous for 500 lifelike clay arhats sculpted in the 1880s, each with a different face.1–2 hours (plus travel)

Carved main gate of the Yunnan Nationalities Village

云南民族村Yunnan Nationalities VillageA large lakeside theme park with village houses, dances and food of Yunnan’s ethnic groups, next to Dianchi Lake.Booking recommended3–4 hours

The three-tiered Grand View Tower in Daguan Park

大观公园Daguan Park & Grand View TowerA classical lakeside garden whose Qing-dynasty tower carries a 180-character couplet, one of the longest in China.Booking recommended1–2 hours

Ochre façade of the historic Yunnan Military Academy (Jiangwutang)

云南陆军讲武堂旧址Yunnan Military Academy (Jiangwutang)A yellow-walled 1909 military school on Green Lake, now a free museum of early-20th-century Yunnan history.Booking recommended1–1.5 hours

Temple hall beside the koi pond at Black Dragon Pool Park

黑龙潭公园Black Dragon Pool ParkA free hillside park in Kunming’s northern suburbs with a spring-fed pool, Taoist temples, ancient trees and one of China’s best plum-blossom gardens.1–2 hours

Main entrance of the Yunnan Nationalities Museum in Kunming

云南民族博物馆Yunnan Nationalities MuseumChina’s largest museum of ethnic cultures, beside Dianchi Lake, with costumes, textiles, masks, musical instruments and scripts of Yunnan’s many peoples; free.1.5–2 hours

Ming-era Vajra Pagoda in the square of Guandu Ancient Town

官渡古镇Guandu Ancient TownAn old market town on the edge of Kunming near Dianchi Lake, with temples, a 15th-century stupa and lanes full of Yunnan snacks; free to walk around.2–3 hours

The ornate Golden Horse Arch on Jinbi Square in central Kunming

金马碧鸡坊Golden Horse and Jade Rooster ArchesTwo tall painted wooden memorial arches on Jinbi Road, Kunming’s best-known landmark, in a pedestrian quarter near the ancient East and West Pagodas.30–60 minutes

Stalactites and stalagmites under coloured lights in the Jiuxiang Caves

九乡风景区Jiuxiang CavesA karst area east of Kunming with a boat ride through a narrow gorge, huge lit caverns, twin underground waterfalls and terraced limestone pools; often combined with the Stone Forest.Booking recommended3 hours (full day with the Stone Forest)

Flower beds and topiary at the entrance to the Kunming World Horti-Expo Garden

昆明世博园Kunming World Horticultural Expo GardenThe large free park left from the 1999 World Horticultural Expo, with a big greenhouse, theme gardens for tea, bamboo and medicinal plants, and gardens from Chinese provinces and other countries.2–3 hours

Map

What to eat here

过桥米线Crossing-the-bridge rice noodlesA bowl of scalding chicken broth; you add raw meat, quail egg, vegetables and rice noodles yourself.

汽锅鸡Steam-pot chickenChicken slowly steamed in a clay pot with a spout, giving a clear, rich broth.

鲜花饼Flower cakesFlaky pastries filled with sweet edible-rose jam.

野生菌火锅Wild mushroom hotpotHotpot of local wild mushrooms, best June–September. Wait for the timer the staff set before eating.

小锅米线Small-pot rice noodlesRice noodles cooked to order in a small copper pot with minced pork, pickles and chilli; a Kunming breakfast.

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