hey, i'm thinking of heading to heijing for a couple nights and was wondering about trains.. from my understanding it takes about 3 hours to get there, but which train station do i need to go to?
also - recommendations on where to stay in heijing?
and are there any other interesting things to see/do in the heijing vicinity?
thanks in advance!
There's a train that leaves from the main station (Nanyao) at the south end of Beijing Lu at 7:30am.
It costs twelve yuan and takes six hours. I think one may be able to cycle there at the same speed.
Heijing sounds like a cool little town though. Kunming Information Hub just put together a list of the best unknown old towns in Yunnan, they put Heijing in at number 10:
Apparently there are now two trains from Kunming per day that stop in Heijing, both leaving KM before 8am. The faster one is the K674 to Xichang, which takes just a bit over 3 hours: www.huoche.biz/dcK674.aspx . The other one is the 6162 which takes most of the day as it stops everywhere and will wait long times for passing trains. Both trains leave from Kunming's main railway station.
The Heijing station is a few km south of town, but there will be transport waiting to take you into town. You will probably have to pay the entrance fee when you arrive, I remember it being Y40, which technically gives you the right to a tour around town and access to the various attractions.
A couple of days is probably stretching it a bit for Heijing. There are a couple of impressive salt-merchant houses, a temple up the hill with nice views, a walk along the river north of town past a few brine wells to a brine-drying building where they demonstrate the salt-making process. Heijing is a small, quiet place, do not expect anything in terms of nightlife or other entertainment.
When I was there there were a few simple guesthouses, around the Y50 mark with bathroom, plus one fancy place at the northern end of town.
Due to its geography, Heijing is not well connected by bus, so excursions by road are a bit difficult. However, you could take the train a bit further north to Yuanmou where they have the Yuanmou Earth Forest 土林 and the museum for the Yuanmou Man 元谋人, one of the earliest hominids found in China (well, one of his teeth). From Yuanmou it is an easy bus ride back to KM.
It might be a good idea to get to Yuanmou by bus first because of the convenient transport there (there's a highway from Kunming).
From Yuanmou you can take the early morning train to Heijing, which is the first or second stop back in the direction of KMG and takes about 1-1.5 hour.
In Heijing it's possible to spend the night in two mansions of former salt merchant families. Expect to pay around 50Y for a not-so-comfortable room, but at least the setting will be great.
I found this whole part of Chuxiong prefecture to be rather surprising. Heijing is well worth a two day stay, Yuanmou even more. There's a phallic shaped pagoda in Dayao 大姚, a 3 hour drive from Yuanmou through dry mountain scenery, passing an unexpected cascade on the way.
Etc...
bringing this back again... anyone know if there is a faster way back to kunming from heijing than the 6+ hour train? ie. taking a bus, or getting transport to a closer city such as lufeng or chuxiong..?
thanks!
There is one direct bus to Heijing from the west bus station at 1:50pm, but not sure how long it takes. There are numerous buses every day from the same station to both Lufeng and Chuxiong.
The road is not much faster than the train, taking around five hours. There is not much difference going via Chuxiong or Lufeng, the Lufeng road is a bit shorter, but then it is a little slower.
Technically, the fastest way would be to take a bus from Heijing to Guangtong 广通 to catch the 14:29 train to Kunming, which gets there in just over one hour.
I am hoping to go to Heijing in December and was hoping to stay at the Wu family courtyard - but I am struggling to find any contact details for them. Does anyone know how I could contact them?
I would also be keen for any advice on things to do in the area as I would like to stay two nights.
Heijing is a city in Central Yunnan Province.
Heijing can be reached by train from Guiyang and by bus from Chuxiong.
At the train station you'll probably find horse carriages and mini buses waiting for you. A horse carriage into Heijing costs ¥5.
There is a city entrance fee. The horse carriage/taxi will stop at the ticket office and make you buy a ticket before driving on into the city.
Once you're in the city you'll be able to and will have to walk everywhere.
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I prefer to go by bus if I am in a hurry but I do enjoy the slow train, especially when I am with a small group of friends and we can all sit together and do some People Watching.
