Day 7: Chongqing to Kunming, Saturday 27th September 2025
Chongqing West Railway Station
24°, cloudy, clearing
NZ$1 = Y4
Y1=NZ$0.25
Up at 6am, left 6:30am, metro, Line 2 to Loop Line to Chongqing West Station, arrived at 7:40am, in through security ticket check etc. Bought some snacks for breakfast as there was no breakfast menu at the McDonalds!
Today’s train was the G2873 from ChongqingXi to KunmingNan ( Kunming South ), leaving at 8:53, and arriving at 13:58. We had bought two 2nd class tickets for NZD$211.
We waited for our gate to open, passed through the manual lane, and headed down tot the platform at 8:35am. As our train was starting here it was sitting on the platform waiting. We got on board coach 3, stowed our bags at the end of the carriage and found our seats. We left at 8:52am, 1 minute early. They close the gates for the train 5 minutes before departure time so they can leave as soon as all the passengers are on board.
It was a good run through rolling hills, we crossed the Yangtze just after leaving Chongqing, and stopped at a few smaller station before we arrived at Guiyang North station. Guiyang is a city that most people outside China have never heard but has a population of 6 million, is 1200m above sea level and is a major hub for trains in the area ( we would pass back through here later in our trip ). After leaving Guiyang the train got a bit quicker ( we were travelling at 240km/h before Guiyang but got up to 300 km/h after Guiyang ). The countryside changed a bit as well with flat plains and karst limestone hills, then back into mountainous country with views out over the valleys below. Then after some long tunnel we headed down into Kunming, passing the impressive looking airport on the way.
Off the train at 1:55pm, downstairs, through passport check and out into the concourse. We headed down to the metro ( after loading the Alipay QR code for Kunming metro ) then onto Line 1 and north into town. Kunming South station ( where most of the fast trains arrive ) is about 20kms south of the city centre and about a 50 minute metro ride, it currently has 30 platforms. Line 1 started underground the travelled above ground for most of the way into town ( which meant we could see the lay of the land, which was mainly flat and semi-rural with a weird mix of market gardens and huge apartment complexes ). After heading back underground ( and weirdly changing line numbers from 1 to 2 at the main railway station without changing trains ) we got out at Dongfeng Square Station at 3pm. We walked to Qingnain Rd, past the Panlong Jialing River, grabbing some free street food on the way ( some kind of nutty flavoured pastry ) and walked to our hotel.
And for information Kunming is the capital of the Yunnan Province and has a population of 8 million and sits at 1,800m above sea level.
For the next 2 nights we were staying at the Kunming Xisheyin City Hotel ( NZD$164 for 2 nights with Chinese breakfast included ) but we would be staying at a different hotel when we came back to Kunming in a few days time. We checked in at 3:20pm, had our passports scanned and then down from reception on the 5th floor to room 413. It is not unusual in Asia to have a hotel that does not occupy the whole building; this building had offices and shops on the lower floors and the hotel from level 4 upwards to level 7 with the reception at level 5. The reception level also had a bar, a restaurant area and an outdoor garden. The room was a bit quirky ( which is why we booked it ) with nowhere to put our bags and odd light switch combinations, but clean and plenty big enough.
Rested for a bit then out 3:45pm, walked through the streets around the hotel ( lots of shopping streets ) then headed west to Nanping Pedestrian Street. This street is the main shopping street in central Kunming and leads into old streets at each end. We entered the shopping street form the north and walk south for the 5 or 6 blocks. We could see a stage with performers so we stopped to watch. There were various ethnic groups performing a single piece each on the stage.
Yunnan province is known for having the largest number of ‘ethnic groups’ in China; an ‘ethnic group’ is anyone of non-Han Chinese ethnicity, of which there are 55 recognised ethnic groups in China. Han Chinese make up 90% of the population of China overall , but from province to province the number varies, and Yunnan has 25 ethnic groups living in the province and they make up about a third of the population of Yunnan.
We watched the performers for a while then carried on walking. At the south end of Nanping Walking Street we crossed Jinbi Plaza ( which looked like they were setting up stages there as well ) then south through some ( recreated ) old streets and shops/stalls. We walked back to Nanping Walking Street then north, walked through a couple of shopping malls, stopping at a Sunncha store for a cold drink ( not 100% sure what they were but they were tea based with fruit, and they were cold ).
We walked back to our hotel picking random streets to go down and arrived at 5:40pm. Time for a rest.
Out again for tea at 6:30pm, walked down along the Panlong Jialing River / canal ( very quiet and peaceful ) then after a bit ore wandering found a restaurant just in the same block as our hotel; Y35 for a beef Rice noodle dish, soft drinks and a beef salad.
Walked around streets around the hotel, found another mall to look through and a Thai style food area. A lot of the streets and shops are lit up at night so it was very pleasant to stroll around. We headed back to the hotel after stopping at KFC (!) for Liz to get a Matcha, arrived at the hotel at 8:15pm.
First impressions of Kunming are good; it has a nice relaxed feel for a big city.
Zoomable Map ( pin is located on the Xisheyin City Hotel )