Kunming 昆明Kūnmíng

About Kunming

Yunnan's capital spreads along the northern edge of Dian Lake, and its mild weather all year has earned it the name 'City of Eternal Spring'. In winter, gulls from Siberia crowd Green Lake Park, while the cliff-cut shrines of the Western Hills & Dragon Gate look down over Dian Lake. Excursions lead to the limestone maze of the Stone Forest and the patchwork fields of Dongchuan Red Land, and trains run south from Kunming to Laos.

What to eat in Kunming

• Small-pot rice noodles (小锅米线)
• Yiliang roast duck (宜良烤鸭)

Featured places in Kunming

• 

  Stone Forest 石林

  A maze of limestone blades and towers you can lose yourself in

  Best time: Mar–Jun, Sep–Nov · Time needed: Half a day on site · 5A scenic area · 4A scenic area · UNESCO World Heritage

• 

  Dongchuan Red Land 东川红土地

  Hills of brick-red soil patched with green, gold and white crops like a giant quilt

  Best time: May–Jun, Sep–Dec · Time needed: 1–2 days

• 

  Green Lake Park 翠湖公园

  Kunming's favourite park, where wintering gulls wheel over willow-lined causeways

  Best time: Year-round; gulls roughly Nov–Mar · Time needed: 2–3 hours · 4A scenic area

• 

  Western Hills & Dragon Gate 西山龙门

  Taoist grottoes and a single-file ledge path cut into a cliff high above Dianchi Lake

  Best time: Oct–Apr · Time needed: Half a day · 4A scenic area · National heritage site

Listed sites in Kunming

36 sites in Kunming are on the official lists. Those with a page of their own link to it; the rest open as cards on the map.

• World Horti-Expo Garden 昆明世博园 5A scenic area
  The grounds of the 1999 Kunming International Horticultural Exposition cover about 220 hectares of wooded slopes in the north-eastern suburbs, next to the Golden Temple.
• Daguan Lou and Daguan Park 大观楼 4A scenic area · National heritage site
  A lakeside park in south-western Kunming whose focal point is Daguan Lou, a three-storey Qing-dynasty pavilion facing south over Dian Lake towards the Western Hills.
• Fenglongwan Resort 凤龙湾 4A scenic area · on the map
  A resort built around the Fenglongwan Reservoir, dammed on the Malong River in 1956, at Tangzi in Xundian county.
• Golden Temple (Taihe Palace) 太和宫金殿 4A scenic area · National heritage site
  A Taoist temple complex on Mingfeng Hill whose centrepiece is a hall cast entirely of copper, 6.7 metres high, rebuilt here in 1671 by the general Wu Sangui with more than 250 tonnes of copper after the original of 1602–1604 had been moved to Jizu Mountain.
• Guandu Ancient Town 官渡古镇 4A scenic area · National heritage site
  An old ferry settlement near the northern shore of Dian Lake, about 10 km south-east of central Kunming, whose temples, pavilions and lanes were restored and partly rebuilt in 2001–2003.
• Jiaozi Snow Mountain 轿子雪山 4A scenic area · on the map
  A high massif on the border of Luquan County and Dongchuan District in northern Kunming, rising to more than 4,000 metres as the highest point of the eastern Yunnan–Guizhou Plateau.
• Jiuxiang Scenic Region 九乡风景区 4A scenic area
  A karst area in Yiliang County where more than 20 caves have formed in layers along the Maitian River, a tributary of the Nanpan; where cave roofs have collapsed, the river runs through gorges and under natural bridges.
• Kunming Botanical Garden 昆明植物园 4A scenic area · on the map
  A research garden in the northern suburbs of Kunming, founded in 1938 and run by the Kunming Institute of Botany of the Chinese Academy of Sciences.
• Kunming Sunac Ocean World 昆明融创海世界 4A scenic area · on the map
  An indoor aquarium in the Sunac cultural-tourism complex by the Caohai part of Dian Lake in Xishan district, which also holds an indoor ski and snow park.
• Laoyuhe Wetland Park 捞鱼河湿地公园 4A scenic area · on the map
  An urban wetland park on the eastern shore of Dian Lake in Chenggong district, laid out where the Laoyu River enters the lake.
• Qinglong Gorge, Anning 青龙峡 4A scenic area · on the map
  A forested gorge of about 19 square kilometres in Qinglong subdistrict, north-west of central Anning, with streams, waterfalls and old climbing vines along its trails.
• Xinglin Grand View Garden 杏林大观园 4A scenic area · on the map
  A park themed on traditional Chinese medicine in the Taiwan farmers' enterprise park of Shilin county, combining medicinal-plant gardens and displays on Chinese medicine with wellness activities and a hot-spring spa.
• Yulong Bay 玉龙湾 4A scenic area · on the map
  A leisure park near Taiping in Anning, set among lakes and forested hills about 24 km from central Kunming and listed as a 4A site in 2022.
• Yunnan Ethnic Village 云南民族村 4A scenic area
  An ethnographic theme park of about 89 hectares on the shore of Dian Lake, where replica villages show the houses, crafts and customs of Yunnan's ethnic groups, including the Bai, Dai, Yi, Wa, Naxi and Tibetans.
• Yunnan Military Academy 云南陆军讲武堂 4A scenic area · National heritage site
  The former campus of a military academy founded in Kunming in 1909, in the last years of the Qing dynasty, which trained more than 9,000 officers before it closed in 1935; its graduates included Zhu De and Ye Jianying as well as cadets from Korea and Vietnam.
• Yunnan Wildlife Park 云南野生动物园 4A scenic area · on the map
  A large zoo opened in 2004 on the forested slopes of Jindian (Golden Temple) National Forest Park in north-east Kunming.
• Anning Confucian Temple 安宁文庙 National heritage site
  Also called the Lianran Confucian Temple, it was founded in 1302 under the Yuan dynasty in what is now the old centre of Anning, and after Ming and Qing rebuilding it grew to 22 buildings arranged in seven successive sections.
• Anti-Japanese War Victory Memorial Hall, Kunming 抗战胜利纪念堂 National heritage site
  A palace-style hall blending Chinese and Western elements, completed in January 1946 on the site of the Qing Yunnan–Guizhou governor's office to mark victory in the war against Japan; from 1950 it was called the People's Victory Hall.
• Caoxi Temple, Anning 曹溪寺 National heritage site
  A Chan Buddhist temple at the foot of Cong Hill, 1.5 km south of Anning's hot-spring town of Wenquan, probably founded in the Dali Kingdom period by monks devoted to the patriarch Huineng.
• Dizang Temple Sutra Pillar 地藏寺经幢 National heritage site
  A seven-tier octagonal pillar of red sandstone, about 6.5 metres tall, carved in the Dali Kingdom period with Esoteric Buddhist imagery: Heavenly Kings, Buddhas and bodhisattvas fill tiers of niches, with texts in Chinese and Sanskrit.
• Eastern and Western Pagodas 东西寺塔 National heritage site
  Two 13-storey brick pagodas in the dense-eave style, about 400 metres apart in central Kunming, first built under the Nanzhao kingdom in the 9th century.
• Former Site of National Southwest Associated University 国立西南联合大学旧址 National heritage site · on the map
  From 1938 to 1946 Peking, Tsinghua and Nankai universities shared a wartime campus in Kunming as National Southwest Associated University, and what remained after they returned north grew into today's Yunnan Normal University.
• Fulintang Pharmacy 福林堂 National heritage site
  A traditional Chinese medicine shop at 31 Guanghua Street, founded in 1857 and regarded as the oldest surviving pharmacy in Yunnan.
• Haikou Chuanzi Sluice 海口川字闸 National heritage site
  A combined sluice and multi-arched stone bridge built in 1836 at the outlet of Dian Lake, at Zhongtan village in Haikou.
• Historic Buildings of Yunnan Observatory, Fenghuang Hill 凤凰山天文台近代建筑 National heritage site
  Three historic buildings on Fenghuang Hill in eastern Kunming, within what is now the Yunnan Observatories of the Chinese Academy of Sciences.
• Huize Hall, Yunnan University 会泽院 National heritage site
  The landmark building of Yunnan University, built in 1923–1924 to a design by the engineer Zhang Banghan as the main building of the university's predecessor, Donglu University, on the site of the old Yunnan provincial examination hall.
• Kedu Red Army Long March Memorial 柯渡红军长征纪念馆 National heritage site
  A memorial museum, opened in 1977, in Dangui, a Hui village in Kedu town, Xundian County, set around two courtyard houses where the headquarters of the Central Red Army stayed on 30 April 1935 during the Long March.
• Lu Han's Mansion 卢汉公馆 National heritage site
  The 1930s residence of Lu Han, chairman of Yunnan province, opposite the east gate of Green Lake Park: a two-storey house with red tiles, carved stone door and window surrounds and steep, Gothic-influenced roofs.
• Qiongzhu Temple 筇竹寺 National heritage site
  A Buddhist temple on Yu'an Mountain north-west of Kunming, known as the first Chan (Zen) temple in Yunnan: tradition dates it to the Tang, and it rose to prominence when the monk Xiongbian taught here in the early Yuan dynasty.
• Shilongba Hydropower Station 石龙坝水电站 National heritage site
  Mainland China's first hydropower station, built in 1910–1912 on the Tanglang River, the only outlet of Dian Lake, with German Siemens generators and Austrian Voith turbines; it is still generating today.
• Shizhaishan Archaeological Site Park 石寨山考古遗址公园 National heritage site
  Shizhaishan, a low hill near the south-eastern shore of Dian Lake, was the burial ground of the rulers of the ancient Dian kingdom; excavations from the 1950s onwards yielded the 'Seal of the King of Dian' and bronze cowrie containers topped with scenes of sacrifice and oath-taking.
• Tomb of Sayyid Ajjal Shams al-Din 赛典赤·赡思丁墓 National heritage site
  The tomb of Sayyid Ajjal Shams al-Din Omar (1211–1279), a Muslim official from Bukhara whom Kublai Khan sent to Yunnan in 1274 as the Yuan dynasty's first provincial governor; he founded a new city on the site of modern Kunming, where he had a Confucian temple, a Buddhist temple and mosques built, and the admiral Zheng He was descended from him.
• Wang Renqiu Stele 王仁求碑 National heritage site
  A red-sandstone memorial stele raised in 698, under Empress Wu Zetian's Zhou dynasty, by the son of Wang Renqiu, a local official who helped the Tang put down a revolt; it is the only Tang stele surviving in the Kunming area.
• Wenquan Cliff Inscriptions, Anning 温泉摩崖石刻群 National heritage site
  A 200-metre stretch of cliff above the Tanglang River at Anning's hot-spring town of Wenquan, carved with more than 160 inscriptions, mostly poems and descriptions of the springs by Ming and Qing visitors.
• Zheng He Park and Ma Haji Tomb Stele 马哈只墓碑 National heritage site
  The tomb stele of Ma Haji, father of the Ming admiral Zheng He, stands on the western slope of Yueshan hill in Zheng He Park in Kunyang.
• Zhenqing Taoist Temple 真庆观 National heritage site
  Regarded as the largest group of historic buildings in central Kunming, it covers about 2 hectares at the junction of Tuodong Road and Baita Road and dates from the Ming and Qing dynasties.

Getting to Kunming

Train, flight and driving times from the cities most visitors come from, with stations, fares and how many run a day; each opens the full comparison.

• Jianshui 建水 high-speed train 1 h 46 min, 7 a day, from ¥51
• Dali 大理 high-speed train 1 h 55 min, 55 a day, from ¥109; one nonstop flight a day, 1 h 10 min in the air
• Lijiang 丽江 high-speed train 3 h 29 min, 9 a day, from ¥190; 2 nonstop flights a day, 1 h in the air
• Jinghong 景洪 high-speed train 3 h 8 min, 25 a day, from ¥219; 5 nonstop flights a day, 1 h 10 min in the air
• Shangri-La 香格里拉 high-speed train 4 h 45 min, 4 a day, from ¥260; 3 nonstop flights a day, 1 h 20 min in the air
• Leshan 乐山 high-speed train 5 h 15 min, 4 a day, from ¥441
• Chongqing 重庆 high-speed train 4 h 39 min, 17 a day, from ¥394; 8 nonstop flights a day, 1 h 35 min in the air
• Chengdu 成都 high-speed train 5 h 51 min, 24 a day, from ¥527; 21 nonstop flights a day, 1 h 25 min in the air
• Guilin 桂林 high-speed train 4 h 28 min, 8 a day, from ¥425
• Sanya 三亚 no direct train; 3 nonstop flights a day, 2 h 5 min in the air
• Changsha 长沙 high-speed train 5 h 24 min, 22 a day, from ¥499; 9 nonstop flights a day, 2 h 5 min in the air
• Guangzhou 广州 high-speed train 6 h 42 min, 20 a day, from ¥647; 19 nonstop flights a day, 2 h 5 min in the air
• Xi'an 西安 high-speed train 10 h 39 min, 3 a day, from ¥807; 17 nonstop flights a day, 2 h 20 min in the air
• Hong Kong 香港 high-speed train 7 h 44 min, 1 a day, from ¥862; 3 nonstop flights a day, 2 h 15 min in the air

Where you can get to from Kunming in a day · All routes

Trips with Kunming

• Yunnan by train: Kunming, Dali, Lijiang and Shangri-La 9 days · Kunming, Dali, Lijiang and Shangri-La

On the map

Open Kunming on the illustrated map to see its outline, its places and listed sites together, and to add them to a trip.

Learn more

• Wikipedia
• Official website
• Wikipedia (Chinese)