Kunming is the capital of beautiful Yunnan Province located in the far southwestern corner of China. Its proximity to other neighboring provinces such as Guizhou, Sichuan, and Tibet as well as its shared border with Myanmar, Laos, and Vietnam make it one of the most popular holiday destinations in China. Kunming is also increasingly becoming a travel hub as the closest major city in China to both India and Thailand in addition to the growing popularity of nearby Dali and Lijiang in Yunnan Province. Known as the "Spring City", Kunming boasts some of the best weather in China with a consistently pleasant climate and some of the freshest and cleanest air of any major city in the country. Kunming also offers the traveler a wide range of things to see and do from Ming Dynasty relics to the luxuries of modern department and convenience stores. Excellent cuisine and shopping opportunities are abundant, and an array of historical and cultural attractions will keep anyone busy for as long as he or she is here.

Dianchi Lake Scenic Area

The Dianchi Lake Scenic Area is located in the southwest part of Kunming City. Dianchi Lake is, beyond question, the center of the resort. There are numerous attractions along the lake captivating tourists. Among these are the Yunnan Nationalities Village, Grand View Park (Daguan Park), White Fish Park (Baiyukou Park), Haigeng Bank, Kwan-yin Hill, Western Hills Forest Park, temples and pagodas. Towns, big or small near the lake provide visitors with an opportunity to experience customs of the local people. Measuring about 300 square kilometers (74,132 acres), it is the largest freshwater lake in Yunnan Province and the sixth largest one in China. With picturesque scenery and its location on the Yungui Plateau, the lake has a reputation as 'A Pearl on the Plateau'. Unfortunately, the lake has been badly polluted. Although efforts have been made to save the lake, they have been largely unsuccessful. The lake is crescent-shaped, about 39 kilometers (24 miles) in length and 13 kilometers (8 miles) in width at its widest. Its natural banks are formed by mountains on all four sides. More than twenty rivers nurture the lake which has a shoreline of 163.2 kilometers (101 miles). Four surrounding hills contribute to the picturesque landscape, making visitors intoxicated and linger around. You may appreciate the beauty of the lake and hills from a boat, and explore this cradle of Yunnan culture.

Yunnan Nationalities Village

Located on the north bank of Dianchi Lake in Kunming City, Yunnan Nationalities Village is the epitome of ethnic groups in Yunnan province, which gives you a chance to see the various culture and lifestyles of ethnic people in Southwest China in a short time. As a national 4A level scenic spot, the entire park consists of 25 ethnic villages, including Yi, Dai, Bai, Miao, Jingpo, Wa, Hani, Naxi, Dulong, Zhuang, etc. With many real-life examples of the original villages, you can see how they live in their traditional houses. From their colorful clothes and local food, you get a glimpse of the lifestyles, customs, and beliefs of these ethnic groups. You could see the mini “Three Pagodas of Dali” in Bai Village, the bamboo houses and Buddhism pagoda in Dai Village, and delicate embroidery and silver jewelry of Miao people in Miao Village. You could even dress in the costumes of that particular ethnic group and take your own photos. In Yunnan Nationalities Village, you can enjoy not only the art of architecture, but also shows of singing and dancing by local people. Every morning, different villages hold the opening ceremony, and cultural live shows are put on from time to time, so you can schedule your time accordingly. Some traditional festivals of these ethnical groups are held here including the Sanyuejie Festival of Bai people, Splashing Water Festival of Dai people, Torch Festival of Yi people, and Three Flowers Festival of Naxi People and much more. With an area of 1,260 acres, Yunnan Nationalities Village is a huge park, so you’d better prepare good walking shoes. Besides, small electric carts are also available if you are not able to walk it all yourself.

Stone Forest Geopark

Stone Forest Geopark is situated in Yunnan Province, which covers an area of 400km2 with karst geological landform as its main geological heritage. It is a karst geopark dominated by stone forest geomorphologic landscapes. In Late Paleozoic here witnessed littoral-offshore environment and deposited some thousand meters of limestone and dolomite, laying a foundation for forming the stone forest in the area. This piece of land was originally formed by late uplift of the crust and then were undergone multiphase corrosion by the both groundwater and surface water flowing through fractures in the rock, finally forming various types of composite stone forest geomorphologic landscapes. The first phase of stone forest was formed in the late period of Early Permian 250Ma ago, while the latest phase is being formed. In the history this area was covered by basalt and lacustrine clastic sediment, and undergone several phases of uplift and erosion. Under the special geological, climate and hydrologic conditions, multistage superimposed and well-stratified stone forests were inherited and developed. A wide range of karst stone forest landforms. All the most typical karst stone forest landforms in every part of world can be seen here. There are not only well-developed sward-shaped and knife edge-like karst landforms, but also mushroom and tower-shaped ones. Being an agglomeration of all types of stone forest landscapes, one may call the geopark the "Karst Stone Forest Museum" that has both very high scientific and aesthetic values. The unparalleled stone forest in subtropical plateau. In this protected area, massive low stone teeth and high rock pillars are distributed in clusters in mountain ridges, valleys and depressions, and coexist with karst caves, lakes and waterfalls, forming a full view of karst landscape. Particularly, looking into the distance, the massive 20-50m high stone pillar cluster here seems to be a "forest", so people visually call it "Stone Forest". Here is an ideal place for studying both regional geological evolution and karstification. Having lived in the stone forest area for more than 2,000 years, the life style of Sani people of Yi nationality is closely bound up with the karst stone forest. The oft-quoted and widely loved epic Ashima, the warm Yi Torch Festival, the lively Axitaoyue (a traditional dance of Yi Nationality) and a song full of deep feeling named "Guests from Afar, Please Come to Stay" have all been spread far and wide. The rich and varied national culture and the pronounced national lifestiles are combined with pleasant environment of the stone forest landscape, forming a beautiful scenery in perfect harmony of the nature with people and increasing the attraction of the stone forest landscape.

World Horticultural Expo Garden

Sitting in the northeast suburbs (6 kilometers from the city center) of Kunming, the World Horticultural Expo Garden is a venue for the 1999 Kunming International Horticulture Exposition. It is a first-class Daguanyuan (Grand View Garden), which has typical Chinese and local Yunnan characteristics. The World Horticultural Expo Garden is about 218 hectares (nearly 540 acres) in area, with vegetation coverage reaching 76.7%, including gradual slopes of 120 hectares (about 300 acres). And 10% to 15% of the garden is covered by water. Gardening works of many domestic and foreign places are on display here. Kunming World Horticultural Expo Garden is now divided into five big exhibition halls, seven special gardens and three outdoor showplaces. The five exhibition halls include the China Hall, the International Hall, the Man and Nature Hall, the Science and Technology Hall and the Grand Greenhouse. Seven theme gardens are the Vegetable and Fruit Garden, the Bamboo Garden, the Bonsai Plants Garden, the Tea Garden, the Medicinal Herb Garden, the Tree Garden and the Garden of Famous Flowers and Strange Stones (It was found after the 1999 Kunming International Horticulture Exposition). The three outdoor showplaces are the International Exhibition Gardens, the Domestic Exhibition Gardens and the Exhibition Area for Enterprises. Going straight forward after entering the garden, visitors will see the Grand Greenhouse. With total area of 3,630 square meters (about 0.9 acre), it includes four exhibition areas: the Tropical Plant Exhibition Area, the Temperate Plants Exhibition Area, Plants at High and Cold Elevations Areas (3,000 meters or more above the sea level), Exhibition Centre and Photos Exhibition Area. After visiting the Grand Greenhouse, the tourists can see the Domestic Exhibition Gardens to the north. It is composed of 34 sections according to China's provinces and regions. With different characteristics, these provincial gardens stand in four solid lines. Walking forward to the World Horticultural Expo Garden, visitors encounter the International Exhibition Gardens, which include 33 sections in total. The five big exhibition halls and the seven special gardens are scattered here. Kunming World Horticultural Expo Garden transplants and cultivates 2,551 kinds of plants with a total census of more than 2 million. Among them, 112 categories are rare and endangered species. With the theme of Man and Nature, it shows that human beings are interrelated with Nature in a harmonious way. As the only remains of International Horticulture Exposition, Kunming Expo Garden has created the best record in history. At the same time, it has set a slew of world records in Guinness, such as the largest in area, the fastest in pace of construction and the most in species of plants on display.