Atlas of China
Kunming to Dali 昆明 – 大理
Door to door, the high-speed train comes out ahead: about 2 hours against about 3½ hours by flight, counting about 20 minutes to board a train and 2½ hours of airport time for a flight. Fares run ¥109 against about ¥400. The stations are in or near the city centres, which is what tips it.
| Way | Time | Door to door | Fare | A day |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| High-speed trainKunming 昆明 → Dali 大理 | 1 h 55 minD8652, fastest | 2 hours | ¥109standard class | 5506:23–21:24 |
| FlightKunming Changshui (KMG) → Dali Fengyi (DLU) | 1 h 10 minin the air | 3½ hours | about ¥400varies by day | 108:00 |
| By road347 km, estimated | 6 h 40 min | 6½ hours |
By train
55 direct high-speed trains a day run from Kunming to Dali, between 06:23 and 21:24. The fastest, D8652, takes 1 h 55 min, and a standard-class seat is ¥109. Coming back, 56 trains a day, the fastest 1 h 52 min (D3938, 05:00 to 21:30).
Dali: The station is in Xiaguan; the old town is 20–30 minutes north by taxi.
By air
One nonstop flight a day from Kunming Changshui (KMG) to Dali Fengyi (DLU), 1 h 10 min in the air, at 08:00, with China Eastern Airlines. One flies back. Door to door, with the airports at each end, count about 3½ hours; fares vary by day and are typically about ¥400.
By road
Roughly 347 km by road and about 6½ hours of driving, estimated from the distance.
At the other end
Featured places around Dali.
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Dali Old Town & Erhai Lake 大理古城与洱海
Bai courtyards, old stone gates and lakeside bike rides beneath the Cangshan peaks
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Weishan Ancient Town 巍山古城
An unhurried Ming grid town south of Dali, where the Nanzhao kingdom was born
Around Kunming: Chengjiang Fossil Site & Fuxian Lake, Green Lake Park, Western Hills & Dragon Gate.
On the map
Open either city on the illustrated map, or put both in a trip and let the planner lay out the days and the legs between them, with the same tables these numbers come from.
Book
About Kunming · About Dali · Where Kunming reaches in a day · All routes
Trains are every direct train on 2026-10-28 or 2026-11-11 in the 12306 timetable, with standard-class fares; one weekday, so weekend and holiday services differ, and the fastest train may not run every day. Flights are the airlines' schedules for 2026-10-28, plus routes Wikipedia lists for small airports. Drives are routed on OpenStreetMap roads (extract of 2026-10-21) where the pair was routed, else estimated from the distance. Door-to-door times add about 20 minutes to board a train and 2½ hours of airport time to a flight. How to book is in the guide to trains and 12306; the rail times are open data on the data page.