Me at the entrance of the Yuantong Temple
Kunming is known in China as the eternal Spring city due to its nice weather all year long, so we headed there hoping for sunny and warm weather after being in permanent cold since Mashhad in Iran. Well, what we found in Kunming was rain, even colder weather than in the Stans and a freezing cold hostel, so the visit to the city was reduced from 2 days to a single one. Please, Kunming should be known as the Winter city!
We told the staff at Chengdu's hostel that we were heading for Kunming. "Oh, they have a beautiful weather, there!", they told us. So we happily got on the train, which after 20 hours took us to the eternal Spring city.
The train ride was very pleasant, this time only having to spend one night in it. Reading, eating soups and sleeping was all we did during the 20 hours. When we finally arrived at Kunming's train station, we found out that, at least in Winter, Kunming is not exactly what you understand by an "Eternal Spring City". It was raining cats and dogs and it was freezing cold. To make things worse, the guys from the hostel we had previously booked were supposed to pick us up from the station, but nobody showed up there. After waiting for some half an hour, we decided to go and find the hostel ourselves. Normally, we put a star on Google maps in our phone, so we're going to the hostel following the directions, but this time we didn't have a star as we were supposed to be picked up.
Kunming's cable system on the street
So, under the rain and in the cold, we started the quest for the hostel. And it was not easy. As nobody understands English we were not even able to ask, so we tried to find a place with Internet. Nothing, no Internet at all anywhere, not even in a McDonald's. We took the metro, then a bus trying to approach the hostel, we even tried in a shopping mall to find some internet connection... but nothing.
In the end, after some 2 hours wandering completely lost in Kunming and under the rain, we came accross a coffee shop with wifi internet, so we could finally get the exact directions to the hostel and somehow we arrived there, in the end.
The hostel, called "The Hump", is right in the middle of Kunming, with a quite nice courtyard but with not so nice stuff. They said they went to the train station to pick us up but they didn't find us. Quite hard to believe, as we were the only foreigner there, so we were quite visible.
In the end, after some 2 hours wandering completely lost in Kunming and under the rain, we came accross a coffee shop with wifi internet, so we could finally get the exact directions to the hostel and somehow we arrived there, in the end.
The hostel, called "The Hump", is right in the middle of Kunming, with a quite nice courtyard but with not so nice stuff. They said they went to the train station to pick us up but they didn't find us. Quite hard to believe, as we were the only foreigner there, so we were quite visible.
The square just in front of our hostel
Anyway, we went to the room, and surprise: they don't have any kind of heating. The only warm thing you have is an electrical blanket. Later we found out that this is quite common in all Yunnan. They are used to warm weather so they don't have heating anywhere. And I mean really anywhere. Wherever you go it's freezing cold: restaurants, bars, hostels, bus stations... Probably they used to have warm and nice weather in the past, but I can assure you that during the Winter it is really cold, so these people should start thinking about investing in heating systems! Actually, if you have a heating system company, it is really a good idea to go to Yunnan to offer your services, you'll be a pioneer! Really, it's a pain to be cold everywhere and not being able to warm up even a bit nowhere. Definitely not normal!
That first day in Kunming ended by going for a walk when the rain finally stopped in the surroundings of the hostel. There was a big square with two huge Chinese gates, souvenir shops, skyscrapers and not much more.
That first day in Kunming ended by going for a walk when the rain finally stopped in the surroundings of the hostel. There was a big square with two huge Chinese gates, souvenir shops, skyscrapers and not much more.
One of the two pagodas in Kunming
After that unpleasant first day in Kunming we already decided that instead of spending two nights there, we would shorten the stay to just one night and head South to Xishuangbanna the following day in a sleeper bus.
The rest of the day we just went to a nearby restaurant to have some noodles (noodles with soup this time, typical from Yunnan) and to a bar to have a beer, being both places really cold, can you imagine everybody inside a bar wearing Winter jackets? So that's Kunming in Winter.
The following day we told the staff at the hostel to book a bus ticket to go to Jinghong, the capital of the region of Xishuangbanna, our next destination, and we devoted the day to explore a bit Kunming. This day, despite being cloudy and cold, it was not raining, so at least we could go sightseeing a bit.
The rest of the day we just went to a nearby restaurant to have some noodles (noodles with soup this time, typical from Yunnan) and to a bar to have a beer, being both places really cold, can you imagine everybody inside a bar wearing Winter jackets? So that's Kunming in Winter.
The following day we told the staff at the hostel to book a bus ticket to go to Jinghong, the capital of the region of Xishuangbanna, our next destination, and we devoted the day to explore a bit Kunming. This day, despite being cloudy and cold, it was not raining, so at least we could go sightseeing a bit.
Lighting candles at the Yuantong Temple
We started by the surroundings of the hostel, a really modern and Westernised area full of skyscrapers, shopping malls and Western shops and cafés. Kunming must probably be the most Westernized city in China. Really, at some times you feel you are somewhere in Europe instead of in the Asian country. So we just spent a few minutes there, had some fried tofu (the first and last fried tofu for us, as it was really disgusting) and headed to the two pagodas, one of the famous sights of Kunming.
In some 15 minutes walking we were at the pagodas. Well, if you haven't seen any pagoda before, they are quite Ok, but if you have seen any before, these ones are perfectly missable. They are quite small, you cannot get inside them... the good thing is the location. They are one in front of the other one connected by a nice street, so still quite enjoyable the walk there. The best thing, though, was coming accross a Chinese bakery, quite hard to find in the whole country. We bought a couple of really tasty pastries and continued our Kunming walking tour.
In some 15 minutes walking we were at the pagodas. Well, if you haven't seen any pagoda before, they are quite Ok, but if you have seen any before, these ones are perfectly missable. They are quite small, you cannot get inside them... the good thing is the location. They are one in front of the other one connected by a nice street, so still quite enjoyable the walk there. The best thing, though, was coming accross a Chinese bakery, quite hard to find in the whole country. We bought a couple of really tasty pastries and continued our Kunming walking tour.
Next stop: the Yuantong Temple. A traditional Chinese Buddhist temple. And this one was really worth the walk up there and the admission price. We got there after some 30 minutes walking from the pagodas. During the walk we could confirm the Western feeling that Kunming has, but still, there were some cool narrow streets, small Chinese shops and stuff.
When we got to the temple, we could notice it was a quite important worship place. Outside it, a lot of shops selling everything related to Buddhism: Buddhas, incense, praying stuff... so after visiting the shops we entered the temple to discover that this is one of the most beautiful temples of China. We entered through a wide street and after crossing the main gate we found the temple itself. It has a main building in the middle of an artificial lake full of small turtles (literally, full of turtles in there) and some smaller temples surrounding it.
When we got to the temple, we could notice it was a quite important worship place. Outside it, a lot of shops selling everything related to Buddhism: Buddhas, incense, praying stuff... so after visiting the shops we entered the temple to discover that this is one of the most beautiful temples of China. We entered through a wide street and after crossing the main gate we found the temple itself. It has a main building in the middle of an artificial lake full of small turtles (literally, full of turtles in there) and some smaller temples surrounding it.
Buddha, bring me warm weather!
We spent some good hour enjoying the temple and its surroundings, taking pictures of the beautiful setting and even lighting some incense and praying a bit to Buddha, at least for some better and warmer weather in Yunnan.
From there, and running out of time in the city, we went to visit the Green Lake Park. It is the typical Chinese Park, smaller than the one in Chengdu but with people doing fitness, singing and so on. But the most special fact about this park are the seagulls. In this time of the year, thousands, literaly thousands, of seagulls visit the park. You see them everywhere, as well as people taking pictures while feeding them, photographers offering you to have a picture with a seagull... they even sell teddy seagulls! crazy... these Chinese are crazy and the seagull thing in this park is crazy as well.
From there, and running out of time in the city, we went to visit the Green Lake Park. It is the typical Chinese Park, smaller than the one in Chengdu but with people doing fitness, singing and so on. But the most special fact about this park are the seagulls. In this time of the year, thousands, literaly thousands, of seagulls visit the park. You see them everywhere, as well as people taking pictures while feeding them, photographers offering you to have a picture with a seagull... they even sell teddy seagulls! crazy... these Chinese are crazy and the seagull thing in this park is crazy as well.
The Green Lake Park, better named the Seagull Park at this time of the year
After the seagulls it was time to head back to the hostel, pack our stuff and go by metro to the bus station. We had an overnight bus which should take us to Jinghong after 12 hours. This time there was no train going there, so the only option was the sleeper bus, but in China they are quite Ok, as they have beds instead of seats, so the overnight journey is not that painful.
At the station, after freezing a bit and chatting with a guy from Chengdu about the NBA and some other stuff, we jumped into the bus, covered with the provided blankets and hoped for definitely warmer and nicer weather in the capital of Xishuangbanna, where we intended to spend some days visiting minority villages and enjoying the South-East Asia part of China.
If you plan to visit Kunming, check out our Travel Guide as well as all our pictures from China!
At the station, after freezing a bit and chatting with a guy from Chengdu about the NBA and some other stuff, we jumped into the bus, covered with the provided blankets and hoped for definitely warmer and nicer weather in the capital of Xishuangbanna, where we intended to spend some days visiting minority villages and enjoying the South-East Asia part of China.
If you plan to visit Kunming, check out our Travel Guide as well as all our pictures from China!
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