Kunming is the capital of China’s southern Yunnan province. It’s best known for its pleasant weather year round and for being a gateway to Silk Road. I spent approximately 14 hours in Kunming on a layover in February 2017. We decided to venture out for some sightseeing in the city before our connecting flight to Phnom Penh. This is an overview of my experience to give you an idea of what you can fit into a short layover in Kunming.
Journey
Seoul (ICN) → Kunming (KMG)
Total Flight Time: 4 hrs 30 mins
Culture
For a city Kunming felt rather small. It wasn’t very crowded compared to other places in China. People we came across barely spoke English but I managed to navigate us around town utilizing my little knowledge of mandarin.
Top Attractions
In the short timeframe we had we were able to squeeze in these two main attractions:
Cuihu Park
Cuihu Park is a serene oasis located in the heart of the city. There is a lake surrounded by lush greenery. It’s a popular urban park where locals go to unwind.
Zhengyi Road
Zhengyi Road is a lively area in the city center with many shops and restaurants. There is a grand archway at the entrance.
Memories
- Sleeping on the airport floor while waiting for the luggage storage office to open- our plane landed at 2:15am so everything was closed
- Munching down an egg tart from KFC at the airport- didn’t taste all that great but because I had been craving Chinese egg tarts for the longest time it did the job
- Catching a beautiful sunrise at Cuihu Park
- Introducing my friend to dim sum- delicious!
- Roaming aimlessly around the city
- Freaking out on the way back to the airport when we thought we missed our stop- we would have been late for our connecting flight
Last Impression
I believe we made the most out of our layover in Kunming. For me the city itself was just alright nothing too special. It felt quite small and there wasn’t a whole lot going on.
I heard Kunming is mostly known for its surrounding nature sites. We didn’t have enough time to explore the outskirts during our layover so if I ever visit again it would be to see those parts.
Check out my guide for top attractions in Beijing. Read about my trip to Shanghai.
Do you usually stay at the airport or venture out during long layovers? Have you been to Kunming? Let me know in the comments!
