Things I Like About Kunming
In response to Jeremiah's new post at the Peking Duck, I thought I'd pitch in a few reasons to love my adopted home, Kunming.
1. The weather. No, it isn't perfect, but when Kunming is nice- and it often is nice as much as we say it isn't- it is really, really nice. White puffy clouds, perfect temperature, bright blue skies, and a light breeze are not infrequent conditions here, which does wonders for your mood. Plus, while pollution has gotten noticeably worse as the city expands, it still cannot hold a candle to the bad air in Beijing, Shanghai, etc.
2. The intimacy. While being a major city and a provincial capital, Kunming still feels very small. I have never paid more than 30 RMB for any intra-city taxi journey, including airport runs. It's very easy to explore the whole city by bicycle, and visits to places on the outskirts don't require a lot of time or money. I love how running into friends just happens and doesn't require intricate planning.
3. The low cost of living. Rent is cheap. Restaurants are even cheaper. A beer in a bar doesn't stretch your wallet. One can live very comfortably in Kunming on 3,000 RMB per month, and that includes rent. For people on limited budgets who want to live in China, Kunming can afford that.
4. The arts/bohemian/international scene. Despite its distance from the coastal cities and Beijing, Kunming has a thriving arts scene and several good galleries located in the city. It also has held events such as the Kunming International Film Festival and an outdoor music festival. There are lots of foreign restaurants (both foreign and Chinese owned) and excellent cafes where on nice days people sit outside and chat.
5. The surrounding countryside. Within easy biking distance there are reservoirs, mountain passes, forests, lakes, and plenty of open space to explore. Yunnan's physical beauty is well-known in China (and elsewhere), but one doesn't have to venture far outside the capital to enjoy it. While there are a million suburban towns here, the sprawl doesn't seem as suffocating as it does in the coastal provinces.
Kunming isn't perfect, and people often move on to bigger and better things. For non-native English speakers, it can be difficult finding work of any kind. The intimacy also can cut both ways, and sometimes it seems that everyone knows each other's secrets.
But for a lot of us here, we wouldn't dream of living anywhere else in this great land of China.
July 31st, 2008 - 11:29
I remember back when I was deciding which 2nd-tier city to move to and Kunming made it down to the final cut. Between Nanjing, Kunming, Qingdao and Xiamen, I eventually went with Nanjing.
Nanjing is great, but after spending most of my time in China between NJ and Shanghai, I am pretty tired of smog and gray skies. When the clear skies come, it’s beautiful, but hardly a common occurrence.
Kunming has always been one of those ‘always in the back of my mind’, ‘want to go to’ places. If I weren’t as rooted as I am now in Nanjing, I would definitely consider hoping on a train and making that move.
For now though, a visit will have to do.