{"id":14255,"date":"2018-03-13T10:00:02","date_gmt":"2018-03-13T14:00:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/chinese\/?p=14255"},"modified":"2018-03-11T09:04:17","modified_gmt":"2018-03-11T13:04:17","slug":"luoping-a-sea-of-golden-flowers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/chinese\/luoping-a-sea-of-golden-flowers\/","title":{"rendered":"Luoping – A Sea of Golden Flowers"},"content":{"rendered":"

One of my favorite things about living in Kunming is that there are so many great day and weekend trips from the Spring City. Day trips<\/a> include hiking in the Western Hills, exploring Grand View Park, and doing some temple hopping. With a weekend at your disposal, you can visit the beautiful Fuxian Lake<\/a> or the historic town of Jianshui<\/a>. Today we’ll take a look at another excellent overnight trip in Yunnan. Visiting Luoping<\/strong> (\u7f57\u5e73 – lu\u014d p\u00edng) is very popular in the spring due to its sea of golden flowers.<\/p>\n

A Town of Flowers<\/h2>\n
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The famous flowers of Luoping.<\/p><\/div>\n

Luoping is a county located about 230 km east of the provincial capital of Kunming. It’s on the border where Yunnan meets both Guizhou and Guangxi. The area is famous for its rapeseed flowers<\/strong> (\u6cb9\u83dc\u82b1 – y\u00f3u c\u00e0i hu\u0101), which are also known as canola. They are are typically in full bloom around February-March, creating a sea of yellow in between the majestic karst mountain peaks.<\/p>\n

\"Visiting

One of the many viewpoints.<\/p><\/div>\n

\u7f57\u5e73\u7684\u6cb9\u83dc\u82b1\u662f\u4e00\u79cd\u7f8e\u4e3d\u800c\u851a\u4e3a\u58ee\u89c2\u7684\u666f\u89c2
\nlu\u014d p\u00edng de y\u00f3u c\u00e0i hu\u0101 sh\u00ec y\u012b zh\u01d2ng m\u011bi l\u00ec \u00e9r w\u00e8i w\u00e9i zhu\u00e0ng gu\u0101n de j\u01d0ng gu\u0101n
\nLuoping’s rapeseed is a beautiful and spectacular landscape.<\/h4>\n

The blooming flowers are a major draw for photographers, who flock here every spring to snap pictures of the incredible landscape. It’s not just people who the flowers attract, though. Beekeepers set up tents across town to harvest the honey from the bees who feed on the flowers. After the flowers wither away, their seeds are used to make cooking oil.<\/p>\n

There are several places around Luoping where you can take in the views of the blooming flowers. Some of the most popular choices are the Golden Rooster Hill<\/strong> (\u91d1\u9e21\u5cad – j\u012bn j\u012b l\u01d0ng), the Hundred Thousand Hills<\/strong> (\u5341\u4e07\u5927\u5c71 – sh\u00ed w\u00e0n d\u00e0 sh\u0101n), and the Snail Field<\/strong> (\u87ba\u86f3\u7530 – lu\u00f3 s\u012b ti\u00e1n). When you see these landscapes, you’ll understand where the poetic names come from. While there probably aren’t 100,000 hills in the one, the other two definitely resemble a rooster and a group of snails.<\/p>\n

Epic Waterfalls<\/h2>\n
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The 9 Dragons Waterfall<\/p><\/div>\n

While the main draw for visitors to Luoping is to see the rapeseed flowers in bloom, there’s more to do here to warrant sticking around for a few days. Be sure to spend at least half a day exploring the stunning Nine Dragons Waterfall<\/strong> (\u4e5d\u9f99\u7011 – ji\u01d4 l\u00f3ng p\u00f9).\u00a0Here you can admire the 10-tiered waterfalls set in a scenic valley. The biggest waterfall here is 56 meters high and 110 meters wide.<\/p>\n

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Lover’s Waterfall<\/p><\/div>\n

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Bamboo raft trip.<\/p><\/div>\n

You can also walk along a rocky path to get up close to the Lover’s Waterfall<\/strong> (\u60c5\u4eba\u7011 – q\u00edng r\u00e9n p\u00f9). If you’re so inclined, you can pay a bit extra to take a little cruise on a bamboo raft to get a bit closer to the waterfalls.<\/p>\n

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What a view!<\/p><\/div>\n

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The waterfalls from above.<\/p><\/div>\n

There are several paths throughout the scenic area that will bring you to elevated viewpoints. The scenery is absolutely breathtaking here, so be sure to dedicate at least a few hours to fully explore the place. Plus, you’ll want to get your money’s worth as an entrance ticket costs 60 RMB.<\/p>\n

Travel Info<\/h2>\n
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Ridin’ that train.<\/p><\/div>\n

Luoping is very easy to visit from Kunming. There are five trains per day from the capital to Luoping, but you’ll probably want to skip the earliest one as it’s also the slowest (7 hours) and only has hard seats. The other four trains all take only 3.5 hours and have sleeper tickets available. Tickets range in price from just 38 RMB for a hard seat to 170 for a soft sleeper. Be sure to keep an eye out for some hilarious Chinglish signs<\/a> in the station.<\/p>\n

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So much Chinglish.<\/p><\/div>\n

There aren’t any youth hostels in Luoping, but there are plenty of cheap hotels and guest houses where you can find a decent room. You can choose to stay near the train station for convenience or find a place near one of the viewpoints if you’re hoping to snap some photos at sunrise. The best way to get around town is to hire a driver for the day. It worked out alright for us until our driver’s car broke down. Eventually he had a friend come and pick us up as they pushed his car up the road in search of help.<\/p>\n

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Our poor driver pushing his car up the road…<\/p><\/div>\n

If you find yourself in Kunming in February or March, it’s well worth it to budget a couple of days for visiting Luoping. Taking in the amazing sight of the blooming flowers with the karts mountains as their backdrop will surely be one of the highlights of your trip in Yunnan.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"\"Luoping

One of my favorite things about living in Kunming is that there are so many great day and weekend trips from the Spring City. Day trips include hiking in the Western Hills, exploring Grand View Park, and doing some temple hopping. With a weekend at your disposal, you can visit the beautiful Fuxian Lake or…<\/p>\n

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