Kunming Transportation

By Air
Kunming Wujiaba International Airport is 5 km far from the downtown. Flights are available to main China tour cities, including Beijing, Chengdu, Chongqing, Xian, Shanghai, Guilin, Dali, Lijiang, Shangri-la, Guangzhou, Shenzhen, etc. There are also international fights frequently departing to most main Asian cities like Hong Kong, Singapore, Kuala Lumpur, Vientiane, etc.

Bus No. 52, 67, 78. 103 (RMB 1) or a taxi (RMB 15-20, 20 min) can reach the airport from the city.

By Train
Kunming railway connects with Guiyang (Guizhou Province), Chengdu (Sichuan Province), Nanning (Guangxi Province) and Hanoi in Vietnam. Trains also daily run to Shilin (Stone Forest), Dali, etc.

Kunming Railway Station (also known as Nanyao station),is located about 4 km from the city center. Bus No. 23, 68, 80 (RMB 1) or taxi (RMB 10, 10 min) can reach the railway station. Train ticket office (8:00-17:30) is located at the No. 19 Kunshi Lu, behind the Nanjiang Hotel.

By Bus
There are four major long distance bus stations in Kunming:

The South station is directly opposite the Nanyao railway station on Beijing Lu. This is Kunming's major bus station and has bus routes to most regional destinations. There are two classes of bus generally available here: the cheaper Regular and the faster and more luxurious Gaokuai (literally "Highway Express"). The station is well managed and ideal for all manner of tourists.

The Railway station square bus station has buses for most destinations in Kunming, although it is less organized with more private buses that have less fixed schedules. Most of the buses here are normal coaches and are cheaper than Gaokuai buses. Buses to Shilin and Jiuxiang start here, but the best way to reach these places is by train, as the buses on this route tend to pick up as many tourists as possible along the way and the supposed 2 hour drive invariably ends up being at least 4 hours.

The Western station used to be the second largest bus station in Kunming, but is currently the third largest after the Huangtupo Station. Buses run to most regional destinations from here. The station is well managed.

Huangtupo station is growing bigger every day , but since this station is far from the city and most bus routes are not to tourist destinations, (with only two sleepers to Zhongdian departing at 3 PM and 7 PM, probably stopping in Lijiang and Dali), it is not widely used by tourists.

City Transportation
Public bus is a great choice to explore Kunming. More than 50 routes of bus can conveniently take you to main street, scenic area, and suburb places of Kunming. The buses usually charge RMB 1 and run from 6:00 am to 10:30 pm. And yet Bus No. A1 charges RMB 2 and runs among the main scenic spots in Kunming like Expo Park, Kunming Museum, Jinma Fang, Yunnan Nationalities Village, etc.

Taxi charges RMB 8 (daytime) and 10 RMB (night) as the flag down fare.

Bicycle is also one nice choice to explore this laid-back city. Many backpacker hotels and hostels offer bike rental service at around RMB 15 per day.,

Author/Editor By : HCT

374