Recently, I wrote a short post about Kunming in Chinese. Due to my low-level of Chinese writing abilities, I wasn’t able to say a whole lot about my new home in that post. Plus, I realize that for a lot of our readers, a post like that is quite hard to follow. Never fear, because today I’m bringing you a post in English about Kunming, with some useful Chinese vocabulary thrown in for good measure.

A Brief Introduction

Kunming is the provincial capital of Yunnan and is also the largest city. It serves as the political, educational, cultural, and economic center of the province, and it’s a major transportation hub linking China to SE Asia. With a population of just under 6.5 million, it’s the 16th-largest city in China. Like much of China, the city has been growing at breakneck speed, with old buildings meeting the wrecking ball and high-rises going up in their places. Despite its rapid development, Kunming still feels worlds apart from the mega-cities such as Beijing, Guangzhou, and Shanghai.

Weather

Although it’s located pretty far south, Kunming’s elevation helps keep the weather nice and mild. Denver might be the Mile High City, but Kunming is actually higher than the Colorado capital (ok, maybe not in some ways – there’s no legal weed here). It’s known as the Spring City in Chinese thanks to its pleasant weather. It never really gets that hot during the summer, and snowfall is almost unheard of in winter. As a result, homes and offices here do not have either central heat or air conditioning. Unlike other big cities in China, the air in Kunming is actually quite clean – no need for apocalyptic face masks here!

Sightseeing

There’s not nearly as much to see here as in cities like Beijing, nor is there one major tourist attraction that brings people in such as the Terracotta Warriors of Xi’an. There are, however, quite a few interesting places to visit in and around the city. Perhaps the most famous tourist attraction is the Stone Forest, which is actually quite far (60 miles) from the city center. Inside of the city, it’s all about parks, temples, and museums. A stroll around Green Lake Park is one of the best things you can do in Kunming, which along with a stop at Yuantong Temple makes for a great and cheap day of sightseeing – the park is free and entrance to the temple is just 6 RMB ($1).

A bus ride can take you to lots of scenic areas on the outskirts of the city, such as the World Expo Gardens, Grand View Park, or the Western Hills. With mountains and lakes so close by, it’s easy to escape the concrete jungle and get out in nature, even if only for a couple of hours. There are lots of great options for day trips as well, such as Fuxian Lake or the hot springs of Yuxi.

Culture

When you talk about the local culture in the Spring City, you’d better do it in Kunming hua (the local dialect). The pronunciation is quite different from standard Mandarin, so don’t be surprised if you can’t understand local people chatting with each other here. Explaining Kunming hua is a bit tricky, but thankfully some readers of GoKunming have put together a useful guide. My personal favorite word in Kunming hua is “old watch” (老表 – lǎo biǎo), which basically means “redneck,” or “wanker” for our British friends out there.

As is the case with just about every city in China, the cuisine is a big part of the culture here. By far the most famous dish is “Over the Bridge Rice Noodles” – a stone pot of rice noodles accompanied by a variety of things that are added to the bowl, such as ham, mushrooms, and quail eggs. These famous noodles can be found just about anywhere in China, and on nearly ever street corner in Kunming.

Many of China’s ethnic minority groups call Yunnan province home, making for an interesting cultural mix in Kunming. The largest group in the city are the Yi (彝族), at around 400,000. Walk around Green Lake over the weekend, and you’ll see lots of ethnic minority people dressed in their extremely colorful garb, dancing, singing, and playing traditional instruments.

Another interesting aspect of Kunming culture is the city’s obsession with seagulls. Every winter, thousands of gulls flock here from Siberia and gather around the Green Lake. Locals and tourists adore the birds, as they happily fork over their RMB for bags of breadcrumbs to feed them. Some even pay to have their photo taken with one. This is a stark contrast to my hometown, where we absolutely loathe these annoying flying rats who swarm our picnics and crap on boats.

Nightlife

For all the night owls, there’s plenty to do in Kunming. Of course, the local favorite is a night of drunken singing at one of the city’s countless KTV joints. On Wenlin Street, there are quite a few bars that are primarily frequented by locals looking to show off. As for the city’s expat population, they can usually be found drinking on the porch at Salvador’s, doing pub quiz at O’Reilly’s, or engaging in a heated game of foosball at the legendary Moondog. The city’s nightlife is centered around one square, called Kundu. Here, you’ll find quite a few pretentious night clubs and one cool bar – the Mask. They host a weekly open mic night, and always have live music going til the wee hours of the morning on weekends.

Vocabulary

• Kunming (昆明 – kūn míng)

• Yunnan province (云南省 – yún nán shěng)

• provincial capital (省会 – shěng huì)

• Spring City (春城 – chūn chéng)

• Green Lake park (翠湖公园 – cuì hú gōng yuán)

• Yuantong temple (圆通寺 – yuán tōng sì)

• Western Hills (西山 – xī shān)

• Grand View Park (大观楼 – dà guān lóu)

• Expo Garden (世博园 – shì bó yuán)

• Kunming dialect (昆明话 – kūn míng huà)

• “old watch” (老表 – lǎo biǎo)

• over the bridge rice noodles (过桥米线 – guò qiáo mǐ xiàn)

• ethnic minority (少数民族 – shǎo shù mín zú)

• Yi people (彝族 – yí zú)

• seagull (海鸥 – hǎi ōu)

• The Mask bar (脸谱酒吧 – liǎn pǔ jiǔ bā)