3 Days of Kunming - Expo Garden - Dianchi Lake - West Hill Park

On your first day in Kunming, a brief city tour might be a good choice. In the morning, take the bus No.47 to get to the famous International Horticulture Exposition. The admission fee is CNY100. You cannot miss the song and dance performance at 10:00 and the Flower Procession. This exposition garden is rather large and it deserves your whole-day visit. In case that you are not very interested in this, you may go to visit the Yunnan Provincial Museum in the afternoon. Walk along the Bailong Road to the southwest, turn left at the crossing of Baita Road and then turn right at the crossing of Renming East Road. Go straight to west and turn left at intersection with Wuyi Road. You will reach there within 1 kilometer (0.6 miles). The provincial museum stands about 8 kilometers away from the Expo Garden and it takes you nearly two hours on foot. If you prefer an autobus or you would like to spend more time at scenic spots, the bus No.95 can take you there directly. Generally speaking, you need to spend about 1.5 hours visiting the museum. You can accommodate yourself at Kunming Mingtong Yinxiang Youth Hotel (Address: No.93 Mingtong Lane, Beijing Road, Kunming). You can take bus No.52 or No. 14 to get there.

On the second day, Dianchi Lake is your main destination. Take the bus No.52 to Daguan Tower, one of the four most famous towers in China. The entrance ticket charges you CNY10. Do not forget to take a picture of the longest antithetical couplet under the sun. If you visit Daguan Tower in autumn, you will be fond of a solitary stroll in the sea of chrysanthemums. Taking a sightseeing boat to explore the Caohai Lake will cost you CNY10. Here you can take a yacht to reach Dianchi Lake directly. It charges you CNY60. If you prefer a cheaper way, take the bus No.4 firstly and then change to the bus No.73 at Mile Temple Stop. Upon arrival, you will see the Haigeng Park. The admission fee is CNY8. It is an interesting experience to ride a bicycle and the rent is CNY30 per hour. After visiting the Dianchi Lake, you cannot miss the Nationalities Villages, which are just next to Dianchi Lake. The entrance ticket costs you CNY70. In daytime, there are time-phased folk dances and elephant shows. In the evening, it is enjoyable to watch a lantern show, the water screen movie and firework display. The food in the villages is more expensive than those outside. In addition, when you go shopping, be careful to identify and guard against being cheated. It is convenient for you to stay overnight in villages or outside.

After one night of rest, you are going to climb West Hill today. Set off from Nationalities Villages, go along the Dianchi Road, pass by Haigeng Park and walk to west. If you do not want to walk to West Hill from Nationalities Villages, cable car is available nearby. You need to pay CNY35-40 for a one way ticket. After about one-hour's walking, climb up by stone stairs and you will get to Longmen, the highlight of West Hill tour. The admission fee of West Hill Park is CNY40 and Longmen is CNY30. Longmen is the best venue to hold a panoramic view of Kunming City and Dianchi Lake. Go on hiking in the mountain and there are attractions along your way, like Little Stone Forest and Lingxiao Arbour. Approximately, it takes you 3 hours to climb up to the peak of West Hill. Get down the mountain from the other side and exit from eastern gate.