Old town canals, Lijiang
Yunnan It is normal to feel a little bit sick from the high altitude of the Yunnan Highland. The altitude of Kunming is 1,896 meters. while climbing mountains, many tourists will feel sick as the altitude rises higher and higher. The usual symptoms include headache, feeling nauseated, vomiting, choking sensation in the chest, and numb four limbs. It's not necessary to see a doctor for these symptoms disappear in three days as you will be adapted the high altitude..
Its name literally means south of the clouds. The province is one of the most diverse in China. The Northwest of the province is heavily influenced by Tibet, with whom it shares a border. The South is influenced by its proximity to Laos and Myanmar. The province is famed for its multitude of ethnic groups, whose diverse customs can still be seen today. Of China's fifty-five officially recognized ethnic minorities, twenty-five can be found in Yunnan: about one-third of the population is not ethnic Han-Chinese.
Administratively, Yunnan is divided into many prefectures. Some of those are "autonomous prefectures" for various ethnic groups. For the traveller, Yunnan can be divided into 7 regions:
The official language of Yunnan is Mandarin Chinese (or Putonghua as it is known). The region is home to a plethora of dialects from Chinese, Tibetan and Thai language families. Yunnan is home to many minority groups who each have their own different language.
Local towns will often have their own version of Mandarin which are sub-dialects of the South-Western dialect of Mandarin common to Yunnan, Guizhou and Sichuan. Despite a heavy accent, the local dialect of Chinese is very similar to Northern Mandarin with only minor regional differences in grammar and pronunciation.
Until 2005, Kunming was accessible by rail from Hanoi, Vietnam via a narrow-gauge railroad built by the French. This rail route is now closed, though, so the best way to get down to the border is by bus, or by air from Kunming directly to Hanoi.
There is a railway from Hanoi to Nanning, Guangxi, and one with some sensational scenery from Nanning to Kunming. Another rail route reaches Kunming from central China via Guiyang, Guizhou, and a third one comes South to Kunming from Chengdu, Sichuan. All of these train routes offer spectacular scenery, with long stretches of bridges and tunnels.
Kunming has non-stop service from Beijing, Xiamen and other Chinese cities. There are also flights to Southeast Asia. Laotian airlines and the consulate are both in the Camellia hotel, Kunming.
There is a road from Laos into Yunnan. It's not too hard to hitchhike, but it will take some time because of the often abyssmal road conditions and inept drivers.
Golden Peacock Shipping company runs a speedboat three times a week on the Mekong river between Jinghong in southern Yunnan and Chiang Saen (Thailand). Passengers are not required to have visas for Laos or Myanmar, although the greater part of the trip is on the river bordering these countries.
From Kunming you can take a train to Dali, but from there you'll need to travel by bus north to Lijiang and Shangrila. see Yunnan tourist trail for details.
From Kunming you can take a short flight into Jinghong (Xishuangbanna)