Beginning this coming January 1, direct rail service between Kunming and Lijiang will be available, connecting Yunnan's capital and most populous city with its most popular tourist destination.

Direct rail access from Kunming to Lijiang not only offers a new and relatively hassle-free way to get to Lijiang's old town, it also provides increased access to other popular destinations including Shuhe, Yulong Snow Mountain, Tiger Leaping Gorge and Lugu Lake.

The new train line will operate twice daily, with the day train leaving for Kunming at 8:20 am and arriving at Lijiang East Station at 7:30 pm for a total of more than 11 and a half hours plus a faster night train that leaves Kunming at 10:00 pm and arrives just under nine hours later at 6:55 am.

Ticket prices for the train will range from 130 yuan to 614 yuan.

Construction on the rail line connecting Dali with Lijiang has been completed and will be running in time for the National Day holiday during the first week of October, according to a YunnanNet report. Construction on the rail line began in 2004.

The 164 kilometer rail line passes through some serious mountain country, with more than half of the trip made up of bridges or tunnels. Bridges account for 22 kilometers of the journey, with 78 kilometers passing through tunnels.

The Dali-Lijiang (大丽) line will begin at Dali East Station, traveling along the eastern shore of Erhai Lake with stops at Shangguan (上关), Xiyi (西邑) and Heqing (鹤庆) before arriving in Lijiang. At present, information about departure times and trip duration is unavailable.

Lijiang is one of China's most popular tourist destinations – in the first half of this year it was visited by 3.44 million tourists. The opening of a new rail connection with Dali and Kunming should translate to even more travelers visiting the city, which features attractions including its old town (a UNESCO World Heritage site), Jade Dragon Snow Mountain and the nearby Tiger Leaping Gorge.

The extension of the Kunming-Dali rail line to Lijiang brings a proposed Kunming-Lhasa rail line one step closer to reality. The line will next be extended to Shangri-la and then to Lhasa.

The Kunming-Lhasa rail link would make Yunnan's capital the third provincial capital in western China with a direct rail link to Tibet after Xining in Qinghai and Chengdu in Sichuan, which will begin construction on a Chengdu-Lhasa rail line this month.

India's national government has decided not to go forward with plans to rebuild the Stilwell Road connecting northeast India's Assam State with Yunnan in China, according to a BBC report.

The decision follows a continuing impasse regarding the long-disputed border shared by China and India. Recent talks between the two countries ended with no resolution of border issues and a promise to talk more in the future.

The Stilwell Road is a former World War II supply route built in 1944 under the supervision of US General 'Vinegar' Joe Stilwell. The 1,700-kilometer (1,000-mile) road once connected Kunming with the city of Ledo in Assam state, with most of the road passing through northern Myanmar's Kachin state.

Several prominent officials in Assam state had been pressing for the reopening of the Stilwell Road in recent years, which they had viewed as being a potential source of economic growth which could stabilize India's occasionally restive northeast.

In 2006, more than 10,000 demonstrators demanded that the government reopen the road. Some analysts have estimated that as much as one-fifth of bilateral trade between China and India could pass through a revived Stilwell Road.

In addition to New Delhi's reluctance to reopen the Stilwell Road, the government of Myanmar has been cool to the idea of an international highway passing through Kachin state, much of which is controlled by the Kachin Independence Army, which has had a ceasefire with Myanmar's ruling junta since 1994.

The Chinese portion of the road, which heads westward from Kunming, has been completed for several years. Progress in Myanmar, where more than half of the road is located, has been slow. In 2007, India became the last of the three countries to start work on the road.

The Indian government's reversal of its decision to rebuild the Stilwell Road suggests that despite recent diplomatic breakthroughs between the two Asian powers, there are concerns bubbling beneath the surface. These concerns are likely to include Indian worries about China diverting the Brahmaputra River, Chinese involvement in the arms trade around Assam and China's stance toward Arunachal Pradesh, which Beijing calls 'South Tibet'.

Nazeeb Arif, a native of Assam state and former secretary-general of the Indian Chamber of Commerce who is a major proponent of rebuilding the Stilwell Road, told the BBC that trade with China would be a boon to the region's economy, which lags behind much of the rest of the country:


Although New Delhi's unwillingness to rebuild its portion of the Stilwell Road is a major setback to pan-Asian transport integration, China will likely continue to increase its connectivity with the rest of South Asia, especially Pakistan, Bangladesh and Nepal.

Earlier this week, the Nepalese government recently approved the launch of direct flights between Kathmandu and Kunming. The thrice-weekly flights will be plied by China Eastern Airlines and will make Kunming the third mainland city after Beijing and Guangzhou to have direct air links with the Nepalese capital.

Railway officials have detained a man for stabbing two people to death and injuring another on the 2640 train from Kunming to Chengdu after a dispute over the man's alleged "loud humming", according to a Xinhua report.

The arrested man, who police said is surnamed Yan, allegedly got into an argument around 10:35 am on Saturday with three other male passengers, over Yan's loud humming while listening to his portable CD player.

The other passengers, surnamed Luo, Ren and Wu, dragged Yan down to the floor of their train car and began to beat him. Yan then pulled out a folding knife and retaliated, stabbing all three of his attackers.

Luo died onboard the train and Ren died afterward in a hospital. Wu is hospitalized in stable condition.

Employees aboard the train said they heard passengers scream that someone had been killed. By the time they had made it to the scene of the fight, it was allegedly already over.

Police are still investigating the case and have not said if Yan will be charged with any crimes.

Beginning today, Kunming taxis will once again begin collecting a gas surcharge of one yuan on all fares to offset the recent rise in fuel prices, according to a Dushi Shibao report.

The Kunming municipal government's passenger management office said that since the more than four jiao increase in the price of gasoline at the end of June, fuel expenses have been increasingly eating into taxi drivers' revenues.

In the first half of this year, Kunming drivers received government subsidies of 298.6 yuan per car to mitigate rising fuel costs.

Originally the city government was considering a 1.5 yuan fuel surcharge, but drivers reportedly said that collecting the 0.5 yuan was difficult. As a result, the fuel surcharge was reduced to one yuan.

The new surcharge comes several months after the abolishment of the previous one yuan fuel surcharge, which had been enacted in November 2007.

Despite construction work having already begun, it is now official: Kunming will soon have its own urban light rail network.

The city's light rail system was approved by the State Council in Beijing on June 8th of this year and construction is formally set to begin in August, although China Railway Construction Construction signs have been surrounding construction sites around Kunming for the last several weeks and some work is already underway.

According to city planning officials, Kunming's light rail network will consist of a total of six lines made up of three main lines (lines one through three) and three auxiliary lines (four through six). The three main lines will combine to cover 62.6 kilometers, serving a total of 47 stations. All told, the six lines will cover 162.6 kilometers.

The first phase of construction, which will include lines one and two, is scheduled for completion at the end of 2012.

Here's a rough summary of the different lines:

One: will span 34 kilometers, connecting downtown Kunming with Chenggong new city

Two: will connect north and south Kunming.

Three: will connect east and west Kunming primarily via Dongfeng Lu and Renmin Lu

Four and Five: will serve as feeder lines for the main lines

Six: will connect Kunming's new airport, currently under construction, with the city

In addition to relieving pressure on Kunming's notoriously inefficient road network, the subway and elevated rail stations are expected to have a positive effect on nearby residential and commercial property values.

The Yunnan provincial government and the parent company of China Eastern Airlines have reached an agreement to form a new joint venture airline to serve the high-potential but relatively undeveloped Yunnan aviation market, according to a China Daily report.

The company, 65 percent of which will be owned by China Eastern Air Holding Company with the remainder held by the Yunnan State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission, will begin a new chapter in the historically strained relationship between the airline and the Yunnan government.

During a 2005 restructuring of China's domestic aviation industry, Shanghai-based China Eastern took over Yunnan Airlines from the Yunnan government, after which it ceased being an independent company.

China Daily sources said that relations between the two parties soured after China Eastern reallocated most of Yunnan Airlines' capacity to serve the Shanghai market, thus reducing the company's local market share. According to the source:


According to the agreement, the new airline's fleet will reach 40 planes by the end of this year and 50 by 2011. Financial terms of the deal have yet to be disclosed.

The deal's announcement comes as Kunming is building a new airport that is expected to significantly increase its domestic and international air links. The new airport is officially scheduled to launch operations by 2011.

ADB, Singapore Cooperation Enterprise to focus on Kunming projects
The Asian Development Bank (ADB) and Singapore Cooperation Enterprise (SCE) signed a memorandum of understanding with the Kunming municipal government on Monday to cooperate on infrastructure improvements in Kunming, according to Singapore media reports.

Focusing on building 'commercially viable infrastructure projects', ADB and SCE will advise the Kunming government on how to attract investment in areas such as water supply, wastewater management and transport management. SCE's involvement suggests that more Singaporean firms are likely to take an interest in investment projects in Kunming.

Yunnan coffee to be sold at Starbucks outside of China
Starbucks announced that it will market coffee drinks made with beans grown in Yunnan in markets outside of China, the first time that Chinese-grown beans will get major exposure beyond the mainland.

"We are proud to offer our customers the opportunity to experience a truly world-class coffee from China," Starbucks Coffee International president Martin Coles, said in a statement on the company's website.

The while business in markets including the US is suffering, Starbucks is enjoying the beginning of what is expected to be a prolonged period of expansion in mainland China, where it currently operates 350 outlets.

The Yunnan blend – no international launch date has been given so far – will be marketed as 'South of the Clouds Blend', and will incorporate beans from Latin American and Asia Pacific farms. It will be available on a trial basis in Greater Chinese Starbucks locations from January 11 to February 19 of this year.

Despite enjoying a generally positive domestic reputation, Yunnan beans will face a major challenge in overcoming international concerns about the safety of food products sourced in China. Starbucks said it intends to work closely with farmers from Baoshan to meet company sourcing standards and eventually develop a 'superpremium' Yunnan blend.

Kunming government outlines 2009 goals
Kunming mayor Zhang Zulin (张祖林) announced the municipal government's short-term goals on Tuesday at the fifth session of the 12th Kunming People's Congress, according to local media reports.

According to government plans, economic development will be the primary goal, with emphasis on expanding demand via growth in investment and consumption. Improving the city's traffic infrastructure is near the top of the list, followed by several social programs including strengthening social security, improving the city's medical and education hardware and software and encouraging new hiring through preferential policies.