{"id":11993,"date":"2016-02-17T10:00:00","date_gmt":"2016-02-17T14:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/chinese\/?p=11993"},"modified":"2016-02-16T06:54:48","modified_gmt":"2016-02-16T10:54:48","slug":"the-classic-yunnan-backpacking-trip","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/chinese\/the-classic-yunnan-backpacking-trip\/","title":{"rendered":"The Classic Yunnan Backpacking Trip"},"content":{"rendered":"

There’s been a lot of posts about Yunnan province<\/a><\/strong>\u00a0(\u4e91\u5357\u7701 – y\u00fan n\u00e1n sh\u011bng) here recently. That’s partly because I spent a year living there, and also because it’s just a downright awesome place. I mean, what other province in China has 18 oddities<\/a> about it? I’ve also given you 20 reasons why you should visit<\/a> the land “South of the Clouds.” With so much to see and do across this beautiful corner of China, you’ve got tons of options for traveling there. First of all, I’d recommend making your first trip there exactly that – your first one. Unless you’re going to spend a few months moving around, you’ll need to save some places for a return visit further down the road. That being said, there is a classic backpacking route that most folks tend to stick to more or less on their first visit to Yunnan.<\/p>\n

Doing this trip is relatively easy in terms of transportation, all places have a solid infrastructure in place for tourists, and you’ll be able to get by even if you don’t speak Chinese too well (although that always helps no matter where you are in the country). For all you backpackers out there, here’s a rundown of this classic trip through Yunnan, including useful information on transportation and hostel recommendations:<\/p>\n

Kunming (\u6606\u660e – k\u016bn m\u00edng)<\/a><\/h2>\n
\"Kunming\"

Another beautiful Kunming day.<\/p><\/div>\n

It makes sense to start your Yunnan trip off in the provincial capital. Known as the “Spring City<\/strong>” (\u6625\u57ce – ch\u016bn ch\u00e9ng) for its mild weather and green surroundings, Kunming is a much better place to visit than other Chinese mega-cities. In fact, we often joked about how it was more of a concrete village than a city after we moved there from Beijing<\/a>. Although it’s not full of famous attractions like the ‘Jing, and it’s not exactly a cosmopolitan metropolis like Shanghai, there’s quite a bit to do in Kunming<\/a>. Spend a few days here to start your trip, walking around the Green Lake, hiking up in the Western Hills, wandering through the Bird & Flower Market<\/a>, and getting acquainted with Yunnan food such as the famous “over the bridge rice noodles<\/strong>” (\u8fc7\u6865\u7c73\u7ebf – gu\u00f2 qi\u00e1o m\u01d0 xi\u00e0n). There’s also a solid nightlife scene, with plenty of local bars to choose from and live music just about every night of the week.<\/p>\n