I'm going to be a bit annoyingly honest and accurate at the same time: IT DEPENDS.
It's true. It really depends how much time you have. The answer would be very different between someone with very limited leave days, compared to someone who travels slow.
But let me try to answer in more detail below.
Is Kunming worth visiting?
A guest told me last week that before he came, several people had said the same thing to him: don't bother stopping in Kunming, there's nothing there, it's just an airport.
When I heard this, I of course internally retaliated in reflex. How dare they! But the truth is a bit more complex than that. There's no smoke without fire. And perhaps part of me needs to admit: that they're half right. Which means they're also half wrong.
The fact is Yunnan is generally not even included in the list for China first-timers. This has changed a lot recently, as Yunnan gains popularity. Thanks to some New York Times article on 52 Places to Go in 2026 perhaps? Though one may argue, who needs New York Times to tell you to go to Yunnan.
Anyway, the words are out. Many people realise now, that there's this half-hidden half-secret half-off-the-beaten-path place in China, that is not like the rest of China. And it is beautiful. And it is different. And it is worth a visit.
To go to those places, you need to go through Kunming. Dali, Lijiang, and Shangri-La have all the scenery. But Kunming has all the stories.
The problem is, the stories are not obvious. Yes you can check your favourite AI. And it will give you a list of the obvious things, like the Stone Forest, Dianchi Lake, and the Western Hills. And none of the stories. (Also those places are not even in Kunming proper. While the Stone Forest is worth a visit as well, it's way out of the city, and worth a day trip on its own.)
Or it will give you pages and pages of information, with none of the important ones. Really in these days and age, the amount of information is not the problem. After all, what are you going to do with 100 pages of text? 1000 pages of text? The problem is curated information. And that is what we do on our walking tour. We curate the stories, and we tell them to you in a way that makes sense. We spent months and months doing our research and designing the walking tour. Can 5 minutes of AI research replace that? I don't think so. But you can try.
How many days do you need in Kunming?
I once wrote a blog post titled 'How to do Paris in 24 hours'. Though Kunming is no Paris. *chuckle* It's just another way to say, again, that it's all relative.
However I'd say that if you initially decide to skip Kunming altogether, then one day is pretty fair. I do recommend an overnight, of which the night time can be spent watching Dynamic Yunnan (on trip.com it's called 'Shangrila-Dynamic Yunnan'. No it's not in Shangri-la, it's in Kunming. The name is a bit misleading.) It's a show full of Yunnan's ethnic minority dances. The main star of the show is the peacock dance popularised by Yang Liping. I have watched it twice myself, within the period of a couple of years, and I feel like they made some changes. So the show does evolve. The last time I watched it, there were two versions of the peacock dances, which was as impressive as the first time I saw it. It's not like anything I'd ever seen before. Part of the dance used the shadows of the dancer's fingers and hands to create the peacock's movements. It looked like animal movement. Just see it for yourself. There's English and Chinese subtitle on the two sides of the stage, but you don't need too much of it. It's all visual anyway. A must-see if you have the time.
Another night time activity would be the Nanqiang night market near the old town. If you've been to other night markets in Kunming, you may find this one a bit more touristy. But it is still worth a visit for the variety of Yunnan food and snacks. If your time is limited, you won't have time to visit the entire Yunnan, so Kunming is the place to try a lot of the regional food and snacks in one place.
Now where do you go in the daytime? Read on.
What to do in Kunming in one day
We are of course, biased. But I can't imagine a better way to spend the first half day than our walking tour, for a couple of reasons:
1. The first part of our tour is Green Lake or Cuihu 翠湖
If there are two areas that you must visit in Kunming — they are the old town (around Nanping Jie or Nanping Street) AND Green Lake or Cuihu. They're not too far away, but it does take around 20-30 minutes travel time from one spot to another. The old town is pretty much covered by the night market visit, and overall the old town is better at night. Cuihu, on the other hand, is better in the morning. So if you have one day, it makes sense to do Cuihu in the morning, and the old town at night.
Now you can wander aimlessly in Cuihu and have a lovely time anyway. But you want something that leaves a proper mark, I feel like stories are always the way to go.
2. You would never find these stories by yourself
That is if you have a few hours. Not three years. But even in three years, if you don't deliberately seek out these stories, you wouldn't pay attention. Not to say that the stories are extremely obscure. In fact, quite a few of them are included in Chinese school textbooks, and there's one particular story that recently was included in the Hong Kong school textbooks as it's deemed to be one of the most important stories to know to understand China.
I don't know about you, but I love hearing stories, and it's a bit different when people tell me those stories.
Apart from the history and stories, we also take you to some very local spots, like my favourite snack stall, the most hidden bookstore, and a poetry hub tucked behind a lane, just to name a few. No, there is no plaque and touristy road signs in Kunming. Not yet, anyway. Takes a local to know.
A Must-have Lunch
Right after the walking tour, we give you the option to go to our recommended local 过桥米线, cross-the-bridge noodles, which arrive as a bowl of broth hot enough to cook the raw ingredients you tip into it yourself, in an order that matters. Get someone to show you the first time.
This dish is truly associated with Kunming. And even though Yunnan theme restaurants started to appear in other cities, and even other countries, as far as Sydney (!), crossing-the-bridge noodle is hard to replicate at other places. It's rather fussy to organise, and I imagine it would cost a bomb somewhere else other than Kunming, and not nearly as good.
Here's my other post on what to eat in Kunming.
Then refer to the previous section for my recommendation on what to do in the evening. Yes it's backward.
Where Kunming fits in a Yunnan itinerary
Almost everybody arrives here anyway. The flights land in Kunming and the trains to Dali and Lijiang leave from here, so the question is never really whether to come. It is whether to leave the same day.
The argument for one night is that you are already in the city, the extra day costs you a hotel and a train you would have caught anyway, and it is the one stop on the route where the interest is human rather than scenic.
I have met many people who, when stopped in Kunming, they decided to extend their stay here. Some vow to come back another time. Some did come back and now live here. Yeah, Kunming is that kind of city. Perhaps it's not much to look at. But it's such a fantastic place to live in. Though I realise time is a luxury for most people. So read on.
Kunming itinerary if you have more time
If you have a couple of extra hours, go to Yuantong temple near Cuihu after the walking tour.
If you have two days, a few options:
- Dounan Flower Market — for the largest fresh-cut flower market in Asia, and the second biggest on the planet. (First is claimed by the Dutch.)
- Western Hills or Xishan 西山 — for an up the hill view of Kunming. If you don't want to spend the whole day, one option is to go to Xiaoheilong (Maomaoqing 猫猫箐, Western Hills), which is a viewpoint at the back of the mountain. Take the subway to Xishan Park Station, then take a taxi to Hani Renjia or 哈尼人家. The Xiaoheilong viewpoint is about 20 minutes light hike away.
- Yunnan Nationalities Village — for a snapshot of the ethnic minorities in Yunnan.
- Daguan Park and Dianchi Lake. Dianchi is the sixth largest freshwater lake in China and the largest lake in Yunnan province. It is said that Kunming got its nice climate because of Dianchi Lake. You can take a boat from Daguan Park to one part of Dianchi Lake with a very nice walking trail and view.
If you have three days, spend one day trip to Jiuxiang Cave and the Stone Forest (石林 or Shilin). The Stone Forest has its big name, but Jiuxiang Cave is in reality the more enjoyable part of the day trip. The cave system is absolutely massive and you'd easily spend a few hours exploring the long trail that includes boat rides and cable car. I'd recommend to go to Jiuxiang Cave first, when energy is high, then to the Stone Forest after. Also most of the big tour buses go to the Stone Forest around 10am to lunch time, so you don't want to be there when they are there. Go in the late afternoon when most people are gone and you have the park (almost) all to yourself. Both sites are about an hour away from Kunming, and about half hour away from each other.
The guest
He stayed. We walked from 10am from Green Lake through the old university quarter and finished at about 1:30pm, half an hour later than planned, because the group were too enthusiastic and kept stopping. He bought some flower cakes. He had his first bowl of cross-the-bridge noodles, we showed him the order to put things into the broth, and then he got on his train later in the day.
I do not know whether he has told anyone since that Kunming is worth a day. But he had come expecting an airport.