Yunnan · China
Where to stay in Kunming
Kunming is a city in Yunnan, China, home to about 8,460,000 people.
- Best months
- March, April and October
- Nearest airport
- KMG24 km · Kunming Changshui International Airport
- Currency
- CNYrenminbi
- Time zone
- Asia/Shanghai
- Language
- Chinese, Putonghua, Standard Chinese
About
About Kunming
Kunming is the capital and largest city of the province of Yunnan in China. The political, economic, communications and cultural centre of the province, Kunming is also a major tourism centre in China.
Kunming is one of the most important transport hubs of Southwest China. It is well connected to the rest of China by road, rail and air and also has good air links to Southeast Asia and a few outside the region. Some historic routes no longer exist. The old French-built railway to Vietnam is no longer in service, but a new railway along a similar route (Kunming to Hekou North 河口北), with regular passenger service, has been opened to replace it.
Wikipedia and Wikivoyage contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0; excerpted.
Things to do
What to see and do in Kunming
See
- Burma Road History Museum
- Kunming City Museum
- Kunming Flying Tigers Memorial
- Kunming Zoology Museum
- Victory over Japan Memorial Hall
- Yunnan Art Museum
- Yunnan Nationalities Museum
- Yunnan Provincial Museum
- Yunnan Railway Museum
- Yunnan University Wu Mayao Museum of Anthropology
- Kunming Planning Exhibition Hall
- Yunnan Literature and Art Museum
Do
- Kunming Theater
- Yunnan Art Theater
- Yunnan Grand Theatre
- Kunming Walk
- Sunshine Golf Club
- China Kunming International Art Festival
- Stone Forest
- Jiuxiang Scenic Area
- Earth Forest
Wikivoyage contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0; excerpted.
Where to stay
Which part of Kunming to stay in
There are a number of so-so budget options around the railway station and along Beijing Road north of the station.
Wikivoyage contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0; excerpted.
Where to stay
Hotels in Kunming
32 hotels within 25 km of the centre, as recorded in Wikidata. Each name links to its encyclopedia article where there is one.
| Hotel | Opened | From centre |
|---|---|---|
| Atour Hotel (Kunming Dian Lake) | 2.7 km | |
| CitiGO Hotel Green Lake Kunming | 1.7 km | |
| Expo Garden Hotel | 6.1 km | |
| Expo Hotel | 7.0 km | |
| Grand Hyatt Kunming | 2024 | 1.5 km |
| Grand Park Hotel Kunming | 0.6 km | |
| Grand Park Kunming | 0.8 km | |
| Hampton by Hilton Kunming Guandu | 3.6 km | |
| Happy Castle International Hotel | 12.2 km | |
| Henson Hotel | 3.7 km | |
| Holiday Inn Express Kunming West | 3.5 km | |
| Howard Johnson Flower City Hotel Kunming | 8.4 km | |
| Hualuxe Kunming | 8.1 km | |
| InterContinental Kunming | 7.9 km | |
| Jize Haili Binya Hot Spring Resort | 7.3 km | |
| Kunming Jinbi Club Boutique Hotel | 1.2 km | |
| Kunming Jinjiang Hotel | 2.9 km | |
| Kunming Kai Wah Plaza Hotel | 2.8 km | |
| Long Way Hotel | 4.8 km | |
| Mangnet V Hotel | 1.5 km | |
| Mengjing Xiyue Hotel | 1.2 km | |
| Qing Tian Xin Yue Hotel | 10.6 km | |
| Seyearn Boutique Hotel (Beijing Road Tangzi Lane Metro Station) | 2.4 km | |
| Shengshi Qianhe Hotel Kunming | 10.6 km | |
| SilkTree Hotel | 9.7 km | |
| Sofitel Kunming | 1.5 km | |
| Taiyi Donghui Garden Hotel | 9.2 km | |
| Wenhui Hotel | 2.8 km | |
| Xi Ting Hotel | 10.2 km | |
| Xishe Yinshi Hotel (Youth Road Golden Eagle Plaza) | 1.6 km | |
| Yunxianju Tea Culture Theme Hotel | 19.3 km | |
| Zhenzhuang Guest House | 1.3 km |
When to go
The best time to visit Kunming
The most comfortable months for a city stay in Kunming are March, April and October. May is the warmest month, with average highs of 24 °C; July is the wettest, with about 211 mm of rain.
Comfortable means average daytime high between 18 °C and 29 °C and under 80 mm of rain in the month. Averages for 1991–2020 over the surrounding area, a grid square about 50 km across, so a coast or a nearby mountain can make the town itself warmer or cooler. Data: CRU TS v4.10, Climatic Research Unit, University of East Anglia (Open Database License).
Getting there
Getting to Kunming: airports and arrival
The nearest airport with scheduled flights is Kunming Changshui International Airport (KMG), about 24 km from the city centre in a straight line.
Getting in
Kunming is well connected to anywhere in China or Southeast Asia and reasonably easy to reach from outside that region.
Getting around
Kunming has generally good roads but they are often badly overloaded with traffic, and not only at peak times. By Western standards, the driving is often appalling; see Driving in China. For any journey by ground transport, a generous allowance for traffic delays is good planning. The metro system consists of five lines, with more under construction. The metro operates from approximately 07:00 to 22:00, and fares are ¥2–10 depending on distance traveled. To buy a single-journey ticket card, select your destination on one of the ticket machines and insert the required cash.
Wikivoyage contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0; excerpted.
KMG · Kunming Changshui International Airport
Local knowledge
Eating, drinking and staying safe in Kunming
Drink
The main club area is in the Wuhua district, specifically Kundu Bar Street. Clubs are open until 05:30 or 06:00. There are probably more than 10 clubs to suit every style and taste.
Stay safe
Kunming is in general a very safe city, and tourists are very unlikely to be victims of violent crime. It is generally not a problem for women to roam the streets alone at night. Just be sure to avoid the touts at the airport, train stations and tourist attractions as they are bound to rip you off. Instead, use public transport or a ride hailing app like Didi Chuxing. Otherwise, the biggest risk to tourists is the ever-present electric scooters; they are much quieter than motorcycles, though they will usually use their horn to let you know that they are coming. Dianchi Lake (滇池) is highly polluted. Do not swim in the lake or eat fish caught in it.
Wikivoyage contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0; excerpted.
Questions
Kunming: questions travellers ask
When is the best time to visit Kunming?
The most comfortable months for a city stay in Kunming are March, April and October. May is the warmest month, with average highs of 24 °C; July is the wettest, with about 211 mm of rain.
Which airport is closest to Kunming?
The nearest airport with scheduled flights is Kunming Changshui International Airport (KMG), about 24 km from the city centre in a straight line.
What currency is used in Kunming?
renminbi (CNY).
Nearby
Destinations near Kunming
Sources: city facts from Wikidata and Wikipedia; airports from OurAirports; climate from CRU TS v4.10 (University of East Anglia Climatic Research Unit), 1991–2020 monthly means, 0.5° grid; places to stay, guest scores and amenities from each operator's own public pages. How this guide is made.