Siberian pigeon at Cuihu park
by picek
Siberian pigeons spend harsh winters of their homeland in Kunming. We saw them every day at Cuihu park untill March or begining of April when they were about to fly back to Siberia.
Cuihu is admission free park in city centre near Yunnan University and it's one of the popular places to see, especially in the spring for the pigeons. It's amazing that birds draw so much admiration of locals who come there to take photos. Also this park is always full of people - visitor and local; local come to play traditional Yunnanese and Chinese music (communist songs included and popular), mahjong, chess, tai ji quan in front of the park by the water, dance and body excercise. Many of different kinds of entertainments here. One can also often see minority women here, usually they try to sell something or beg for money.
Like you see... I took few pics of pigeon too. These are pics from my second visit to KM when I spent day there. There aren't yet leaves on the trees and it's before peaches and plums would blossom. Pigeons were there in large mass, larger than 4 years ago! I am glad they do. Pigeons at Cuihu park.
Golf course designed by Jack Nicklaus
by Sharrie
A mere 45 mins drive from the airport will take you to this 500 hectares, 18-hole championship golf course designed by Jack Nicklaus. Other facilities are heated swimming pools, spa & 5* lodges where you can enjoy breathtaking scenery & golfing at its best, well, at least in Asia.
Old Kunming with grass growing on the roofs
by hooiluangoh
Kunming has undergone a major cosmetic surgery since just before the World Expo '99. High rise buildings keep appearing, and the older buildings are being demolished.
Old Kunming streets are lined with double-story shophouses. The groudfloors are built from bricks while the 1st floors are built from timber/wood, with tile roofs serving as the covers. The roofs allow grass to grow, and need to be cleared each winter, or so I understand from a local.
So catch a sight of them before they disappear completely.
Train to Dali
by hooiluangoh
(price is quoted in RMB)
1) The cabin with 6 people cost $86 per person. The bed is hard. A better cabin
will be "Ruan Wo", which means soft-sleeper. This costs $150 per person. Ruan Wo accommodates 4 persons per cabin.
If you hold a $86 ticket and when you see the train itself you change your mind
and want a $150, then you will have to pay $86 X 20% ticket cancellation fee.
2) Cleanliness - I don't know (sorry no experience), but there is no toilet in
the cabin. There is only one toilet for the entire coach, which can accommodate
66 people. (just in case I didn't use the correct vocab, a few coaches linked
together become a train). I did read about this Ruan Wo. Its introduction was quite recent (year 2003).
3) The train journey will start at 10:30pm and end at 6:27am the next day.
Yunnan is the same as Malaysia : car travels faster than train. If you take a bus it takes about 4-5 hours. (now 7 hours because the highway is under construction)
4) The railway stops at Dali. From there to Lijiang, and from Lijiang to
Shangri-la you will have to take a bus.
5) I read the temperatures today.
Kunming : 11 -20C; Dali : 8 - 20C; Li Jiang: 9 - 19C; Shangri-la: 2 - 14C. It's going to be even colder in December especially in Dali, Li Jiang and Shangri-la.
Rice in chicken soup - great for winter
by hooiluangoh about Feng Zhu Xiao Chi
This is an eatery with both indoor and alfresco dining. You pay at the counter as you order, then take the coupon to the kitchen counter to exchange for food.
The menu is in Chinese.
It's a quiet place behind Xiao Xi Men. If you can find the "Jiang brother restaurant", and just take the path on the left, walk past the eatery attached to Jiang, and you will come to this one. A lot of stuff on the menu (include indonesian fried rice), but I recommend the rice in chicken soup (Tu Ji Pao Fan). It costs RMB 5.
And for drink - papaya water - RMB 50 cents.
A surprise is the fermented tofu, which has the authentic taste for those who remember what the real chinese fermented tofu used to taste like in the 70's in Malaysia. And is a free condiment, which you scoop onto a side dish provided.
Lovely Sidewalks
Jinma Biji Fang Square in the center of Kunming
flower made handicarfts
Bird's eye view over the Stone Forest
