{"id":11431,"date":"2015-08-26T09:25:16","date_gmt":"2015-08-26T13:25:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/chinese\/?p=11431"},"modified":"2015-08-26T09:25:16","modified_gmt":"2015-08-26T13:25:16","slug":"20-reasons-to-visit-yunnan","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/chinese\/20-reasons-to-visit-yunnan\/","title":{"rendered":"20 Reasons to Visit Yunnan"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>There&#8217;s been a lot of talk about Yunnan province here on the blog lately, and for good reason &#8211; I recently finished up a year of living, working, and traveling there. I&#8217;ve been a lot of great places across China in my half a decade here, but none has captured my imagination and inspired me quite as much as Yunnan. Maybe it&#8217;s something in the rice noodles, maybe it&#8217;s the postcard-worthy landscapes, maybe it&#8217;s the fascinating ethnic minority culture, or maybe it&#8217;s just the countless epic nights out in Kunming. Whatever it is, Yunnan truly is a special place and one that I would encourage everyone to visit. They say a picture is worth a thousand words. In that case, this post will give you 20,000 reasons to check it out. I&#8217;ll leave it up to you to come up with that many words, but in the interest of keeping things short and sweet I&#8217;ll give you the pictures and 20 reasons to visit Yunnan:<\/p>\n<h2 style=\"text-align: center\">1. You&#8217;ll really feel like you are &#8220;South of the Clouds.&#8221;<\/h2>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-11433\" src=\"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/chinese\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2015\/08\/02-DSC_0158.jpg\" alt=\"02-DSC_0158\" width=\"600\" height=\"402\" srcset=\"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/chinese\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2015\/08\/02-DSC_0158.jpg 600w, https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/chinese\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2015\/08\/02-DSC_0158-350x235.jpg 350w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\" \/><\/p>\n<h2 style=\"text-align: center\">2. The food is the bomb.<\/h2>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-11444\" src=\"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/chinese\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2015\/08\/13-DSC00944.jpg\" alt=\"13-DSC00944\" width=\"600\" height=\"400\" srcset=\"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/chinese\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2015\/08\/13-DSC00944.jpg 600w, https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/chinese\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2015\/08\/13-DSC00944-350x233.jpg 350w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\" \/><\/p>\n<h2 style=\"text-align: center\">3. &#8220;Just another afternoon in the park&#8221; is anything but.<\/h2>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-11434\" src=\"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/chinese\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2015\/08\/03-Cui-Hu.jpg\" alt=\"03-Cui Hu\" width=\"600\" height=\"429\" srcset=\"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/chinese\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2015\/08\/03-Cui-Hu.jpg 600w, https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/chinese\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2015\/08\/03-Cui-Hu-350x250.jpg 350w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\" \/><\/p>\n<h2 style=\"text-align: center\">4. Experience the uniqueness of China&#8217;s ethnic minority groups, many of whom live here.<\/h2>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-11445\" src=\"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/chinese\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2015\/08\/14-DSC01222.jpg\" alt=\"14-DSC01222\" width=\"600\" height=\"400\" srcset=\"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/chinese\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2015\/08\/14-DSC01222.jpg 600w, https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/chinese\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2015\/08\/14-DSC01222-350x233.jpg 350w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\" \/><\/p>\n<h2 style=\"text-align: center\">5. Landscapes like these are the norm.<\/h2>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-11447\" src=\"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/chinese\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2015\/08\/16-DSC01742.jpg\" alt=\"16-DSC01742\" width=\"600\" height=\"136\" srcset=\"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/chinese\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2015\/08\/16-DSC01742.jpg 600w, https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/chinese\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2015\/08\/16-DSC01742-350x79.jpg 350w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\" \/><\/p>\n<h2 style=\"text-align: center\">6. Visit caves with lazer light shows.<\/h2>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-11443\" src=\"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/chinese\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2015\/08\/12-DSC00862.jpg\" alt=\"12-DSC00862\" width=\"600\" height=\"400\" srcset=\"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/chinese\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2015\/08\/12-DSC00862.jpg 600w, https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/chinese\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2015\/08\/12-DSC00862-350x233.jpg 350w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\" \/><\/p>\n<h2 style=\"text-align: center\">7. Local village taxis are pretty awesome.<\/h2>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-11435\" src=\"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/chinese\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2015\/08\/04-DSC_0538.jpg\" alt=\"04-DSC_0538\" width=\"600\" height=\"402\" srcset=\"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/chinese\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2015\/08\/04-DSC_0538.jpg 600w, https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/chinese\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2015\/08\/04-DSC_0538-350x235.jpg 350w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\" \/><\/p>\n<h2 style=\"text-align: center\">8. Hike the Tiger Leaping Gorge.<\/h2>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-11441\" src=\"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/chinese\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2015\/08\/10-DSC_0280.jpg\" alt=\"10-DSC_0280\" width=\"600\" height=\"402\" srcset=\"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/chinese\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2015\/08\/10-DSC_0280.jpg 600w, https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/chinese\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2015\/08\/10-DSC_0280-350x235.jpg 350w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\" \/><\/p>\n<h2 style=\"text-align: center\">9. Bike rides are just better here.<\/h2>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-11439\" src=\"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/chinese\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2015\/08\/08-G0225895.jpg\" alt=\"08-G0225895\" width=\"600\" height=\"450\" srcset=\"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/chinese\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2015\/08\/08-G0225895.jpg 600w, https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/chinese\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2015\/08\/08-G0225895-350x263.jpg 350w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\" \/><\/p>\n<h2 style=\"text-align: center\">10. Watch a Naxi orchestra jam out.<\/h2>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-11432\" src=\"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/chinese\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2015\/08\/01-DSC_0114.jpg\" alt=\"01-DSC_0114\" width=\"600\" height=\"402\" srcset=\"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/chinese\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2015\/08\/01-DSC_0114.jpg 600w, https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/chinese\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2015\/08\/01-DSC_0114-350x235.jpg 350w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\" \/><\/p>\n<h2 style=\"text-align: center\">11. Camping music\u00a0festivals are here to stay.<\/h2>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-11448\" src=\"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/chinese\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2015\/08\/17-DSC02223.jpg\" alt=\"17-DSC02223\" width=\"600\" height=\"400\" srcset=\"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/chinese\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2015\/08\/17-DSC02223.jpg 600w, https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/chinese\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2015\/08\/17-DSC02223-350x233.jpg 350w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\" \/><\/p>\n<h2 style=\"text-align: center\">12. Join in the most epic water fight ever.<\/h2>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-11449\" src=\"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/chinese\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2015\/08\/18-G1616748.jpg\" alt=\"18-G1616748\" width=\"600\" height=\"331\" srcset=\"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/chinese\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2015\/08\/18-G1616748.jpg 600w, https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/chinese\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2015\/08\/18-G1616748-350x193.jpg 350w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\" \/><\/p>\n<h2 style=\"text-align: center\">13. Sunsets on Erhai Lake in Dali.<\/h2>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-11451\" src=\"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/chinese\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2015\/08\/20-DSC02717.jpg\" alt=\"20-DSC02717\" width=\"600\" height=\"400\" srcset=\"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/chinese\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2015\/08\/20-DSC02717.jpg 600w, https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/chinese\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2015\/08\/20-DSC02717-350x233.jpg 350w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\" \/><\/p>\n<h2 style=\"text-align: center\">14. Shangri-la is an actual place here.<\/h2>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-11438\" src=\"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/chinese\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2015\/08\/07-G0205871.jpg\" alt=\"07-G0205871\" width=\"600\" height=\"450\" srcset=\"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/chinese\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2015\/08\/07-G0205871.jpg 600w, https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/chinese\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2015\/08\/07-G0205871-350x263.jpg 350w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\" \/><\/p>\n<h2 style=\"text-align: center\">15. Grocery shopping with mom is exciting.<\/h2>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-11436\" src=\"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/chinese\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2015\/08\/05-Shaxi.jpg\" alt=\"05-Shaxi\" width=\"600\" height=\"429\" srcset=\"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/chinese\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2015\/08\/05-Shaxi.jpg 600w, https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/chinese\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2015\/08\/05-Shaxi-350x250.jpg 350w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\" \/><\/p>\n<h2 style=\"text-align: center\">16. You&#8217;ll gain a new appreciation for rice.<\/h2>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-11446\" src=\"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/chinese\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2015\/08\/15-DSC01292.jpg\" alt=\"15-DSC01292\" width=\"600\" height=\"136\" srcset=\"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/chinese\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2015\/08\/15-DSC01292.jpg 600w, https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/chinese\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2015\/08\/15-DSC01292-350x79.jpg 350w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\" \/><\/p>\n<h2 style=\"text-align: center\">17. This is what a short Saturday walk looks like.<\/h2>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-11442\" src=\"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/chinese\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2015\/08\/11-DSC_0448.jpg\" alt=\"11-DSC_0448\" width=\"600\" height=\"402\" srcset=\"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/chinese\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2015\/08\/11-DSC_0448.jpg 600w, https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/chinese\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2015\/08\/11-DSC_0448-350x235.jpg 350w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\" \/><\/p>\n<h2 style=\"text-align: center\">18. Watch the Chinese version of the Kentucky Derby.<\/h2>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-11450\" src=\"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/chinese\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2015\/08\/19-DSC02891.jpg\" alt=\"19-DSC02891\" width=\"600\" height=\"400\" srcset=\"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/chinese\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2015\/08\/19-DSC02891.jpg 600w, https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/chinese\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2015\/08\/19-DSC02891-350x233.jpg 350w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\" \/><\/p>\n<h2 style=\"text-align: center\">19. Kunming&#8217;s tight-knit live music scene.<\/h2>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-11452\" src=\"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/chinese\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2015\/08\/21-DSC03081.jpg\" alt=\"21-DSC03081\" width=\"600\" height=\"400\" srcset=\"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/chinese\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2015\/08\/21-DSC03081.jpg 600w, https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/chinese\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2015\/08\/21-DSC03081-350x233.jpg 350w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\" \/><\/p>\n<h2 style=\"text-align: center\">20. Where else can you buy a bag of weed and fresh fruit while looking at these views?<\/h2>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-11440\" src=\"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/chinese\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2015\/08\/09-Tiger-Leaping-Gorge.jpg\" alt=\"09-Tiger Leaping Gorge\" width=\"600\" height=\"429\" srcset=\"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/chinese\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2015\/08\/09-Tiger-Leaping-Gorge.jpg 600w, https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/chinese\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2015\/08\/09-Tiger-Leaping-Gorge-350x250.jpg 350w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>There are a million more reasons to start planning your trip to Yunnan, but hopefully that&#8217;s enough to get the ball rolling. If there isn&#8217;t enough time on your China itinerary to squeeze in a visit here, then change it. Trust me &#8211; you&#8217;ll be glad you did.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<img width=\"350\" height=\"233\" src=\"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/chinese\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2015\/08\/21-DSC03081-350x233.jpg\" class=\"attachment-post-thumbnail size-post-thumbnail wp-post-image tmp-hide-img\" alt=\"\" decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" srcset=\"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/chinese\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2015\/08\/21-DSC03081-350x233.jpg 350w, https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/chinese\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2015\/08\/21-DSC03081.jpg 600w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 350px) 100vw, 350px\" \/><p>There&#8217;s been a lot of talk about Yunnan province here on the blog lately, and for good reason &#8211; I recently finished up a year of living, working, and traveling there. I&#8217;ve been a lot of great places across China in my half a decade here, but none has captured my imagination and inspired me&hellip;<\/p>\n<p class=\"post-item__readmore\"><a class=\"btn btn--md\" href=\"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/chinese\/20-reasons-to-visit-yunnan\/\">Continue Reading<\/a><\/p>","protected":false},"author":55,"featured_media":11452,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"content-type":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[378711,9200,115712,371233,371234,272845,378713,371421,115711,378628,378712,378714,378562],"class_list":["post-11431","post","type-post","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-china-ethnic-minorities","tag-dali","tag-kunming","tag-lijiang","tag-shangri-la","tag-tiger-leaping-gorge","tag-travel-to-yunnan","tag-xishuangbanna","tag-yunnan","tag-yunnan-culture","tag-yunnan-landscapes","tag-yunnan-travel-blog","tag-yunnanese-food"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/chinese\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11431","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/chinese\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/chinese\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/chinese\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/55"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/chinese\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=11431"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/chinese\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11431\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":11456,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/chinese\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11431\/revisions\/11456"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/chinese\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/11452"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/chinese\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=11431"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/chinese\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=11431"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/chinese\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=11431"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}