Nothing to do in Kunming, don't bother...
After living in Kunming for more than a year all told, I get fairly regular emails from friends, acquaintances, friends of acquaintances, and totally random people asking me about what to do here. Sometimes they’re coming through for a day, others want to spend a few weeks in the province, and a lot of people are hoping to move here. If they’ve been reading the lonely planet, they’re all excited to experience the “Spring City” firsthand. And then I have to break the sad news: all the cool things in Kunming are being bashed down.
First, it was the Muslim district. Right in the heart of town, it was home to some beautiful and historic mosques and some amazing restaurants. They started ripping it down about 2 years ago, and now it is a dirt-and-rubble wasteland filled with pissy security guards and cops.
Then, they started on some of the other old neighborhoods downtown…
And now they’ve moved on to the Bird and Flower Market, Kunming’s always touristy but never disappointing source of goldfish, parakeets, pu’er tea, burmese jade, knockoff Air Jordans, and food-on-a-stick. In early May, they put up some signs. In late May, they built a wall around the beautiful wooden structures along the central street of the market. The wall has been expanding and the buildings are starting to come down. I’ve been half-heartedly documenting this process, and one of these days I will stick it up here, on the net for all to see.
Now, my list of “attractions” worth seeing in Kunming is down to one temple. So honestly, guys, if you are looking to be wowed with 景点，don’t bother with Kunming. Go to Dali or Zhongdian or if you’re really adventurous, Gaoligongshan.