Nowadays, the vast, ancient land of China is easy to visit, with major cities geared up for the flood of visitors arriving from the West. The capital of fascinating and diverse Yunnan Province is Kunming, the gateway to the region's heritage, natural beauty and plethora of things to do and see. The city itself suffered the destruction of many of its heritage sites during several late 19th century revolutionary conflicts, but there's still plenty to keep visitors busy once they've settled into their Kunming City Centre hotel.
Activities here fall into several categories - temple-touring, shopping and dining, nearby attractions, national parks and other green scenes and heritage-hopping,
The city is easy to get around, with its international airport set just nine kilometres from the downtown district and local buses and taxis taking care of in-town transportation. For more distant destinations, the bus services are excellent and reasonably priced, or tours can be taken to favourite sights around the region. For the energetic, bicycles can be hired for local travel, thus avoiding the interminable traffic jams common in all Chinese cities. Pollution here isn't a major problem, due mainly to Kunming's large selection of green spaces and the forested Western Mountains backing the city.
At the foot of Yuantong Hill is Yuantong Temple, the most important Buddhist place of worship in the province, built in the 8th century and expanded during the Ming and Ching dynasties. Its complex includes many spectacular buildings and is always full of pilgrims and worshippers. The main hall is set in the centre of a small lake, connected to the grounds by a stone bridge, and contains three famous early 14th century Yuan dynasty Buddha images as well as 500 relief-carved Arhats adorning its interior walls. The 17th century Tanhua Temple is another treasure, famed for its grounds with their trees, flowers and Lotus Pond, and Qiongzhu Temple with its amazing Dali-esque carved images nestles a short way from the city in the hills.
Kunming and Yunnan province are home to a large number of ethnic tribal groups, all with their indigenous heritage of arts, crafts and legends. As a result, shopping for souvenirs here has an exotic flavour, with its main focus on carvings in ivory, bone, soapstone, jade, hardstones and wood. Carved artefacts, especially in jade, lie at the heart of traditional Chinese art, and the 3,000-year old craft lives on in the many exquisite modern examples. Tribal textiles are popular as well, with weaving a traditional industry amongst the ethnic groups, as are woven bamboo artefacts. The city's many street and covered markets are a good place to begin your search, with bargaining an essential part of the purchasing process.
Foodies will love this city, with the distinctively spicy Yunnanese cuisine available everywhere from street stalls through local eateries to upscale restaurants. All the usual fast-food joints are here as well, mostly in the city centre. Favourites are crispy duck roasted with honey and pine needles for flavour, hotpots, noodle soups with thinly-sliced meat or fish and a layer of oil, fried goats' cheese and flowers used as food, all accompanied by rice wine or flower teas such as jasmine.
The most famous day-trip attraction here is the Stone Forest, 75kms from the city by bus or guided tour. The soaring, weirdly-shaped karst columns have been eroded over the centuries into a geological moonscape of ever-changing views. Closer to town are the national parks covering the hills, hiding ancient temples, lakes, waterfalls and great hiking trails in their forested depths. Also a primary destination are the 100 caves in the Jiuxiang Scenic Area, home to the YI peoples in antiquity, with their walls covered in millennia-old cave art. The Yunnan Nationalities Village, although set up for tourists, holds eight reconstructed settlements showing the lifestyle and architecture of the minority groups, plus a small museum displaying antique costumes and artefacts.
Lek Boonlert is an editor and content reviewer at DirectRooms and is responsible for all Kunming City Centre Hotel content.
Activities here fall into several categories - temple-touring, shopping and dining, nearby attractions, national parks and other green scenes and heritage-hopping,
The city is easy to get around, with its international airport set just nine kilometres from the downtown district and local buses and taxis taking care of in-town transportation. For more distant destinations, the bus services are excellent and reasonably priced, or tours can be taken to favourite sights around the region. For the energetic, bicycles can be hired for local travel, thus avoiding the interminable traffic jams common in all Chinese cities. Pollution here isn't a major problem, due mainly to Kunming's large selection of green spaces and the forested Western Mountains backing the city.
At the foot of Yuantong Hill is Yuantong Temple, the most important Buddhist place of worship in the province, built in the 8th century and expanded during the Ming and Ching dynasties. Its complex includes many spectacular buildings and is always full of pilgrims and worshippers. The main hall is set in the centre of a small lake, connected to the grounds by a stone bridge, and contains three famous early 14th century Yuan dynasty Buddha images as well as 500 relief-carved Arhats adorning its interior walls. The 17th century Tanhua Temple is another treasure, famed for its grounds with their trees, flowers and Lotus Pond, and Qiongzhu Temple with its amazing Dali-esque carved images nestles a short way from the city in the hills.
Kunming and Yunnan province are home to a large number of ethnic tribal groups, all with their indigenous heritage of arts, crafts and legends. As a result, shopping for souvenirs here has an exotic flavour, with its main focus on carvings in ivory, bone, soapstone, jade, hardstones and wood. Carved artefacts, especially in jade, lie at the heart of traditional Chinese art, and the 3,000-year old craft lives on in the many exquisite modern examples. Tribal textiles are popular as well, with weaving a traditional industry amongst the ethnic groups, as are woven bamboo artefacts. The city's many street and covered markets are a good place to begin your search, with bargaining an essential part of the purchasing process.
Foodies will love this city, with the distinctively spicy Yunnanese cuisine available everywhere from street stalls through local eateries to upscale restaurants. All the usual fast-food joints are here as well, mostly in the city centre. Favourites are crispy duck roasted with honey and pine needles for flavour, hotpots, noodle soups with thinly-sliced meat or fish and a layer of oil, fried goats' cheese and flowers used as food, all accompanied by rice wine or flower teas such as jasmine.
The most famous day-trip attraction here is the Stone Forest, 75kms from the city by bus or guided tour. The soaring, weirdly-shaped karst columns have been eroded over the centuries into a geological moonscape of ever-changing views. Closer to town are the national parks covering the hills, hiding ancient temples, lakes, waterfalls and great hiking trails in their forested depths. Also a primary destination are the 100 caves in the Jiuxiang Scenic Area, home to the YI peoples in antiquity, with their walls covered in millennia-old cave art. The Yunnan Nationalities Village, although set up for tourists, holds eight reconstructed settlements showing the lifestyle and architecture of the minority groups, plus a small museum displaying antique costumes and artefacts.
Lek Boonlert is an editor and content reviewer at DirectRooms and is responsible for all Kunming City Centre Hotel content.
