Kunming Transportation

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Located in the central Yunnan-Guizhou Plateau, Kunming is the provincial capital of Yunnan province and has the reputation of “Spring City”. Kunming is not only a popular tourist city of colorful ethnic culture and natural beauty, but also one of the important central cities in western China area. In addition, it is a significant city in terms of tourism, business and trade. The geographical position of Kunming has a crucial role because it is a gateway city to Southeast Asia and South Asia. Here is the guide to how to get to and get around Kunming.

Get to Kunming by Air

Domestic Flights to Kunming

If you plan to visit Kunming, the most convenient way is to get to Kunming from other cities by air. Most cities provide flights to Kunming, such as Beijing, Shanghai, Shenzhen, Chengdu, Chongqing, Xiamen, Nanjing, Xi’an, Shijiazhuang, Zhengzhou, Guiyang and so on.

The airport in Kunming is called Kunming Changshui Airport, covering 16 airlines including Air China, Southern Airlines, Kunming Airlines, Xiangpeng Airline, Hainan Airlines, Shenzhen Airlines, Xiamen Airlines, Sichuan Airlines, Shanghai Airlines, West Airlines, Shandong Airlines, Beijing Capital Airlines, Aokai Airlines, Chengdu Airlines, Jixiang Airlines, and Chunqiu Airlines. Kunming Changshui Airport is located in the Changshui village, Guandu District, northeast of Kunming, with a distance of about 25 kilometers from urban district. The departing time of plane ranges from 06:00 to 24:00.

You can get to Kunming by air at Kunming Changshui International Airport.

International Flights from Kunming

Kunming Changshui Airport is one of the gateway airports in China, facing Southeast Asia and South Asia. It is also a hub airport in southwestern China, connecting Europe, Asia and Africa. As a result, Kunming is a center in Asian five-hour flight circle. It is convenient for people to go to a lot of countries in Southeast Asia, for example, Laos, Vietnam and Thailand etc.

Every day, there are three direct flights from Kunming to Vientiane, the capital city of Laos. It takes about one and a half hours from Kunming to Vientiane by direct flight.

Hanoi is the capital city of Vietnam, which is a popular destination in Southeast Asia. As the gateway to Southeast Asia and Southern Asia, Kunming offers several non-stop flights to Hanoi from Kunming Changsui International Airport.

From Kunming to Bangkok, the capital city of Thailand, there are about four non-stop flights a day from Kunming Changshui International Airport.

Laos Airlines in Kunming Changshui Airport The flight of Laos Airlines departs from Kunming Changshui Airport.

Get to Kunming by Train

Located about 30 kilometers away from Kunming Changshui International Airport is Kunming Railway Station. As one of the most important railway station in southwest China, Kunming Railway Station operates several main rail lines in China, such as Chengdu-Kunming Railway, Guiyang-Kunming Railway, Nanning-Kunming Railway and so on. There are also trains from Kunming to Dali and Lijiang. It is recommended to take an overnight train from Kunming to Dali, which will save much more money than get to Dali by air and by tourist bus. There are also overnight trains from Kunming to Lijiang, which take about 12 hours by train.

Kunming Railway Station is the major train station in Kunming city.

The newly built Kunming South Railway Station will be opened for service at the end of 2016. The Kunming South Railway Station is 28 kilometers away from Kunming Railway Station, about 3 kilometers to Kunming city center and about 7 kilometers to Dianchi Lake. It is the main train station in Kunming that operates high-speed trains to Shanghai, Nanning, etc.

Shanghai-Kunming High-speed Train The High-speed Train from Shanghai will arrive at Kunming South Railway Station.

Get to Kunming by Road

There are several expressways connecting Kunming with other major cities, such as Beijing-Kunming Expressway, Shanghai-Kunming Expressway, and so on. Also, Kunming is the starting point of Yunnan-Tibet highway, which is one of the five highways to Tibet. With good road condition, it is convenient to drive to Kunming from Chengdu, Chongqing and other nearby cities.

Get Around Kunming

In Kunming, there are several means of transportation, including buses, subways, taxis and city trains. You can choose any of them according to your travel plan and your time.

By Bus

The public bus lines in Kunming cover almost everywhere, including main avenues, scenic spots and suburbs. Bus rapid transit has four lines, namely NO.23, NO.54,K1 and K2. What’s more, there are 122 bus lines in downtown area and 29 bus lines in suburbs. The expense of bus in urban area is RMB 1, and RMB 6 to RMB 12 for suburban lines. The service time is from 6:00am to 22:00.

Kunming City Bus There are kinds of public buses in Kunming City.

By Subway

Recently, there are three metro lines that already put into use in Kunming city, namely Subway Line 1, Subway Line 2 and Subway Line 6. Other six lines are still under construction.

Subway Line 1, with a total length of 23.7 kilometers, starts from South Ring Road, runs from north to south, and ends up at University Town South Station.

Subway Line 2, with a total length of 20.9 kilometers, is the main line in south-to-north direction. It starts from the north of Yinhe area and ends at Nanshi District which is located in the northern side of Dian Lake.

Subway Line 6 is the first subway line in Kunming city and it connects Kunming Changshui International Airport and Kunming Downtown Area.

By Taxi

It is easy to catch a taxi in Kunming since there are about 7000 taxis in this city. The starting fare is RMB 8 (within 3 kilometers), and the price is RMB 1.8 per kilometer (beyond 3 kilometers). However, if you take taxi after 10:00pm, the starting fare is RMB 10(within 3 kilometers), and the price is RMB 2.4 per kilometers (beyond 3 kilometers). The convenience is that the service time is all day lone.

By Bicycle

What makes Kunming special is that there are many places offering bicycle renting, such as Kun Lake Hotel and Cha Flower Hotel. Because Kunming is not so big, traveling around Kunming by bike is rather economical and environmentally friendly. The rental is RMB 2 per hour. If you want to bike all day, the rental is RMB 15 on condition that you pay guarantee deposit first.

From Kunming to Other Destinations in Yunnan

As we all know, there are also other tourist destinations in Yunnan, such as Dali, Lijiang and Shangri-La. You can leave Kunming for these cities by plane, coach, train or self-driving.

Kunming to Dali

There are five main passenger depots in Kunming offering long distance coach to Dali Ancient Town, namely North Coach Station, West Coach Station, South Coach Station, East Coach Station and Northwest Coach Station. You will spend about four hours to get to Dalifrom Kunmingby coach, with the cost of almost RMB 100.

In addition, you can also choose to take an overnight train from Kunming to Dali. There are eight trains from Kunming to Dali Ancient Town every day, including K9612, K9642, K9682, K9686, K9616, K9602, K9632, and K9692. The earliest train K9612 starts at 9:40 and the last train K9692 leaves at 22:37. It will take you about 8 hours totally with the expense of RMB 64 for a hard seat, RMB 97.5 for a hard sleeper bunk, and RMB 149.5 for a soft sleeper bunk. It is highly recommended to get to Dali from Kunming by an overnight train, which is quite cheap for you can save one night accommodation fare.

Kunming Dali Train It is suggested to take a Kunming Dali Overnight Train to Dali Ancient Town.

The most flexible way is drive from Kunming to Dali with a distance of nearly 350 kilometers, following the Yunnan-Tibet Highway. The road condition is quite good, and you can have more chances to enjoy the landscapes en route.

There are also flights from Kunming to Dali. But it is the most inconvenient and expensive to get to Dali Ancient Town from Kunming. That’s why we do not recommend this way to go.

Kunming to Lijiang

If you want to take a trip to Lijiang Old Town after visitng Kunming, the most common way is to get to Lijiang from Kunming by coach. You will spend about nine hours with the cost of almost RMB 200.

In addition, you can also choose to take a train from Kunming to Lijiang. There are six trains in operation every day, including K9612, K9682, K9686, K9616, K9602, and K9606.The earliest train K9612 starts at 9:40am and the last train K9602 leaves at 22:14. It will take you about 8 hours to ten hours totally with the expense of RMB 89 for a hard seat, RMB 141.5 for a hard sleeper bunk, and RMB 217 for a soft sleeper bunk.

Meanwhile, you can drive to Lijiang from Kunming with a distance of nearly 500 kilometers, following the Yunnan-Tibet Highway.

There are about 18 flights from Kunming Changshui International Airport to Lijiang Sanyi International Airport every day. The ticket fee changes a lot, in low season, it is just around RMB 100, but in peak season, it can be over RMB 400.

Lijiang Sanyi International Airport is about 30 kilometers south to Lijiang Old Town.

Kunming to Shangri-La

Since there is no direct train from Kunming to Shangri-la, the most convenient way to get to Shangri-la from Kunming is by coach. The whole journey will take 9 to 10 hours with the cost of almost RMB 250 per person.

If you charter a car from Kungming to Shangri-la with a private driver, you can pay a visit to Tiger Leaping Gorge en route. The distance between Kunming and Shangri-la is about 622 kilometers, which takes about 8 hours by self-driving.

The Diqing Airport is located about 8 kilometers southeast of Shangri-la County. So it is available to get to Shangri-la from Kunming by air. Every day, there are about three to five non-stop flights from Kunming Changdui International Airport to Diqing Shangri-la Airport. The ticket prices of Kungming-Shangri-la flights are changes a lot; please contact us for exact price at your departure date.

Diqing Shangri-la Airport is about 8 kilometers from the center of Shangri-la County.