When traveling to Yunnan, don’t just treat Kunming as a transit station anymore! This city is romantic and healing, with Siberian red-billed gulls arriving on schedule and winter cherry blossoms in full bloom, making you feel like you’re in a fairy tale world.
With its pleasant temperature, bright sunshine, and blooming flowers, this treasure trove of a city is too precious to miss. So, I’ve prepared this “Kunming Travel Must-Play List” for you!
Yunnan Provincial Museum
The Yunnan Provincial Museum is the largest cultural relic collection unit in Yunnan. It is a palace of history, art, and science where history meets reality and thought blends with art.
Yunnan has a total of 52 ethnic minorities, so in the Yunnan Provincial Museum, we can see Dai silver-gilt curtain headgear, Yi silver-engraved flower headbands, Zhuang silver cloud shoulders, Wa silver shawls, Yao silver top plates, and traditional costumes of different ethnic groups… While showcasing the historical context, it also reflects the unique characteristics of ethnic minorities.
The museum is close to Guandu Ancient Town and not far from Haileshi World. After visiting, you can go for a stroll and eat! Admission is free (closed on Mondays).
Guandu Ancient Town
Guandu Ancient Town is just opposite the Yunnan Provincial Museum, and the ancient town area is free all day. Friends who plan to visit the provincial museum can come here to stroll and eat after visiting the museum~
This is one of Kunming’s famous historical and cultural ancient towns. During the Ming and Qing dynasties, it was already a developed commercial and handicraft town. In the Tang Dynasty, it was Nanzhao and an ideal place for the nobles of the Dali Kingdom to stop and visit Dianchi Lake.
The ancient town is rich in cultural landscapes, with five mountains, six temples, seven pavilions, and eight temples, as well as various lively and complete shops. The most eye-catching feature is the Vajra Throne Pagoda in front of Miaozhuan Temple, known as the “first of the six temples.”
Green Lake
At the beginning of spring, with the new year approaching, Kunming’s Green Lake Park has already been decorated for the Spring Festival, with festive flowers adorning every corner and tulips blooming along the shore.
When you come to Kunming, be sure to see the spring at Green Lake. The patches of tulips and Siberian gulls hovering over the water are as beautiful as an oil painting.
Kunming Old Street
Kunming Old Street is full of ancient charm and a unique cultural atmosphere. Walking along the street, you’ll find well-preserved Ming and Qing dynasty buildings on both sides, with ancient door lintels and wood carvings imbued with a strong sense of history.
This is an old street where citizens live, so it can be visited all day, but I recommend going during the day or at dusk, as the old street has more charm in the daytime~
Nanqiang Street and Alley
When visiting Kunming, in addition to checking out the scenic spots and enjoying the scenery, if you want to taste various local specialties, then “Nanqiang Street and Alley” is a place you definitely shouldn’t miss, because the food here is just too delicious and fun to explore!
Nanqiang Street and Alley is one of the only two remaining historical and cultural blocks in Kunming. It originated in the early Qing Dynasty and, although it has been rebuilt, it still retains its original features and has become a national-level night cultural and tourism consumption cluster recognized by the Ministry of Culture and Tourism.
Dali grilled cheese fans, fermented bean curd, pot-edge potatoes, Hekou rice noodle rolls, Dai-style pounded chicken feet… Countless Yunnan specialties and snacks, eaten from one end of the street to the other, are full of joy!
Dounan Flower Market
The best time to buy flowers in Dounan is after five o’clock in the afternoon, when the flower shops themselves come to purchase rather than sell to tourists, so the flowers are the freshest! Of course, if you’re coming to visit, it’s better to come early, so you can stroll around and take your flowers to the park to watch the sunset and take photos~
Laoyu River Park
Laoyu River Park is really beautiful, and you must come here when you visit Kunming! If you don’t have enough time and can only choose one wetland park by Dianchi Lake to see the seagulls, you must go to Laoyu River! Although it’s a bit far from the city center, it’s really worth it~
The tulip flower field next to it is also highly recommended for checking in. Although there is an entrance fee, ￥20 per person is still very affordable. The fairy-tale-like beautiful scenery is worth the ticket price at a glance!
Haigeng Dam
If you want to see the cute seagulls and personally feed them, then I recommend taking the Haigeng Dam—Haihong Wetland Park cycling route. Along the way, you can pass by Haigeng Park and see the dam, bald cypress trees, seagulls, cherry blossom trees, and more!
The seawall dam is where the seagulls are most abundant, located near Xishan in Kunming. You can also take the cable car up to the Xishan Longmen Grottoes, overlooking the panoramic view of Dianchi Lake. From Xishan, you can see the panoramic view of Kunming, and from this angle, Kunming looks like a “coastal city”~
Haiyan Village
Haiyan Village is known as Little Sanya. It has palm trees, sandy beaches, and many trendy and petty bourgeois cafes and restaurants. The photos taken here are especially good and have a great atmosphere. You might think you’ve come to Sanya for a vacation without knowing it~
Find a small shop and stay until the afternoon to watch the sunset, which is absolutely stunning~
