After over 4 years living and working in Beijing, I packed my life into a backpack and set off on a gap year trip around the US, SE Asia, and China. Needing to slow down a bit and save some money, we ended up in Kunming, the capital city of Yunnan province. It’s been great living here, and it didn’t take long for it to really feel like home. Moving from a mega-city like Beijing to a much smaller city has proven to be a good decision. While I’ll always love the ‘Jing, it’s nice to live in a place where you can breathe!

Downtown Kunming

To give you a glimpse into Kunming life and help you practice your Chinese reading, here’s a little write-up about my new home, in Chinese characters first, and followed by a pinyin transliteration and English.

Chinese

Dianchi Lake as seen from the Western Hills.

以前，我住在北京。去年我们搬到昆明了。昆明是云南的省会。它也叫“春城”因为天气比较好。全年都是春天！昆明不是很大的城市。它比北京和上海小很多。在昆明，本地人都说昆明话。我只会说一点当地话。这里是一个很漂亮的城市，有山也有水。你可以去西山或者滇池。云南菜也很好吃。昆明最有名的菜是过桥米线。昆明的交通还不错。这个城市有机场，火车站，还有四个客运站。这里的公共交通有地铁，公交车，和出租车。我天天骑电动车或者自行车。昆明的夜生活没有北京好，但是还是好玩。这里有很多酒吧，然后每个周末都有音乐会。我很喜欢我在昆明的生活。

Pinyin

Chill out, you’re in Kunming!

yǐ qián, wǒ zhù zài běi jīng. qù nián wǒ men bān dào kūn míng le. kūn míng shì yún nán de shěng huì. tā yě jiào “chūn chéng” yīn wéi tiān qì bǐ jiào hǎo. quán nián dōu shì chūn tiān! kūn míng bù shì hěn dà de chéng shì. tā bǐ běi jīng hé shàng hǎi xiǎo hěn duō. zài kūn míng, běn dì rén dōu shuō kūn míng huà. wǒ zhǐ huì shuō yī diǎn dāng dì huà. zhè lǐ shì yī gè hěn piào liang de chéng shì, yǒu shān yě yǒu shuǐ. nǐ kě yǐ qù xī shān huò zhě diān chí. yún nán cài yě hěn hào chī. kūn míng zuì yǒu míng de cài shì guò qiáo mǐ xiàn. kūn míng de jiāo tōng hái bù cuò. zhè ge chéng shì yǒu jī chǎng, huǒ chē zhàn, hái yǒu sì gè kè yùn zhàn. zhè lǐ de gōng gòng jiāo tōng yǒu dì tiě, gōng jiāo chē, hé chū zū chē. wǒ tiān tiān qí diàn dòng chē huò zhě zì xíng chē. kūn míng de yè shēng huó méi yǒu běijīng hǎo, dàn shì hái shì hǎo wán. zhè li yǒu hěn duō jiǔ bā, rán hòu měi gè zhōu mò dōu yǒu yīn yuè huì. wǒ hěn xǐ huān wǒ zài kūn míng de shēng huó.

English

A small city (for China).

Before, I lived in Beijing. Last year we moved to Kunming. Kunming is the provincial capital of Yunnan. It’s also called the “Spring City” because the weather is quite good. It’s spring all year round! Kunming isn’t a very big city. It’s much smaller than Beijing or Shanghai. In Kunming, the local people speak the Kunming dialect. I can only speak a little Kunming dialect. This is a very beautiful city; there are mountains and water. You can go to the Western Hills or Dianchi Lake. Yunnan cuisine is also very delicious. The most famous dish in Kunming is “Over the Bridge Rice Noodles.” The traffic in Kunming isn’t bad. This city has an airport, a train station, and four long distance bus stations. The public transport in the city includes a subway, busses, and taxis. I ride an e-bike or bicycle every day. Kunming’s nightlife isn’t as good as Beijing’s, but it’s still fun. There are a lot of bars here, and every weekend there are concerts. I really like my life in Kunming.