Forums > Living in Kunming > Refusing to sell me a phone card
When people can't accomplish something, they typically make up stories.
When people can't accomplish something, they typically make up stories.
Your best bet is to use the taobao travel application, or something similar. You're trying to travel on chinese new year - which I suspect will be near impossible, if not prohibitively expensive.
gokm has some travel agents listed in the LISTINGS section - just look for the search tab AFTER you navigate to the LISTINGS section.
Finally - you MAY be able to hire a car and driver for that period - but it will also be expensive.
@dan
thanks for the status update on the Chengdu consulate's courtesy service termination. Sucks to be a US citizen sometimes.
@kongming
Bus sucks, but if you're young and don't mind being scrunched into a sleeper bus with a bunch of other smoking hacking snorting, snoring and farting passengers, it's less expensive than the train (but NOT right now).
gokm used to have a sister website (gochengdoo.com - it's still operational). Find a RELIABLE visa agent on their website - issue them a proxy letter (aka limited power of attorney) giving them permission to submit your passport renewal application. It'll absolutely be less expensive and less stressful than attempting to travel at this time of year. If you're teaching at a university - they MAY have a US citizen colleague at a related facility in Chengdu who may do this for you for a nominal fee (or even for FREE!). That would be the best solution. Regrets - I don't have any US Expat contacts in Chengdu aside from the embassy staff and they can't and won't do this for you.
VERIFY with the chengdu consulate as to the format of the proxy letter, so it's acceptable - then ems your passport, application, pictures and fees to the proxy and they'll take care of the passport renewal for you. Make sure you include your return address in KM (assuming your around here somewhere), you include the extra fee for return EMS, and the consulate will mail the new and old passports back to you. Hopefully the visa agent can enter the US citizen services area, to drop your passport and fees off for you - shouldn't be an issue, unless SNAFU/FUBAR/SHTF ("ship hits the sand") applies.
This avoids the roundtrip travel horrors, nightmares, and expenses at this time of year (including ground transportation to and from the consulate) and should resolve your passport renewal issue with significantly less stress. Also - make sure you request the extra page passport - it's no additional cost, as well as your passport pictures.
On the travel issue, which you may not have considered - for buses, you can probably use any old foreign ID card, but trains may and planes will absolutely require an authentic original ID - so you'll need to travel with copies of your passport - and you'll run the risk of those copies being rejected at the various ticket offices and boarding platforms, especially airports and potentially train stations.
US Consulate - Chengdu, US Citizen Services weblink:
chengdu.usembassy-china.org.cn/[...]
The US Consulate Chengdu is also listed in the gokm <LISTINGS>.
The US Consulate Chengdu has traditionally required personal or authorized proxy delivery of passports for renewal, however they do provide quarterly courtesy service visits to Kunming, for LIMITED US Citizen Services.
As a US Citizen - email the consulate's US Citizen services email address for information on their next quarterly courtesy service visit to Kunming. The email for US Citizen services is in the CONTACTS section of their website.
The US Consulate - Chengdu used to have an unpaid voluntary representative here, but I believe that position has been vacant for quite some time.
The effects of the new POTUS Trump on US State Department and ultimately US embassies and US consulates around the world are unknown and should prove interesting to observe.
@englishbusiness
This is merely my own opinion.
It sounds as though you are unfamiliar with the business environment in China, much less Yunnan (how you managed to navigate to this website would be an interesting discussion).
My advice is to enroll in some post-graduate certificate level training courses for business executives and management - preferably english speaking.
The goal is NOT to enhance your business acumen, although that may be a beneficial side-effect, but to make connections with various entrepreneurial individuals and groups of individuals of like minds, to form a team. As you don't know anyone - this is still a shotgun marketing ploy - but at least you'd be fishing in the right pond.
Team members should demonstrate both technical (hard skills) and soft skills that match and complement the business' needs, as it begins, grows, and matures, assuming you're trying to start something with a long-term sustainable vision in mind.
You should naturally expect that as your business launches, grows and or expands, partners, employees, etc would want to go their own way - perhaps even compete, etc - so be prepared for those events and perhaps even encourage innovation and entrepreneuring, so you can channel those kinds of energies so they're more cooperative in nature, as opposed to destructively competitive (taiji).
As the capital of this province, Kunming has many such continuing education certificates and classes for new and entrenched executives, seeking to sustain and or enhance their business battle skills and positions.
If you have the money - enroll in EMBA or week-long executive level certificate programs (not inexpensive). Expand your circles of influence and opportunities.
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Fuxian Lake is a major vigorously and rigorously protected potable (drinkable) water source. It's host to a plethora of fresh water food, BBQs and the Hilton Hotel overlooks the lake. Behind the Hilton is a rather large collection of villas (HK style), many with basements, garage (not necessarily connected to your home though), and lap pools, if the lake is too far to walk (it's about 1-2km away).
The lake surroundings are a future development site for Yuxi City, so should be interesting to see how the city develops, while complying with the national protection of water resources.
Took the family here to stroll around and there's a LOT of walking. Many of the stores appear closed, but the bar street nestled inside seems quite well populated.
We chose the Japanese restaurant near the entrance (there are many entrances). The food and service was quite acceptable - from the fruit salad, tuna salad, curry pork cutlet, and the ubiquitous California Sush Rolls (you can buy the small size or the large size).
It rained a little while we were there, which helped drench the heat and humidity. When the sun came out - it was HOT.
If you're lucky, you'll occasionally see people (usually women) wearing minority clothing being photographed by professional photographers. There's also a small photographer's store where you can rent various ethnic clothing and have professional pictures taken (maybe the two are related...now that I think about it).
There's also the ubiquitous game centers (shooting galleries etc) for the kids and unaccompanied teenagers.
It seems the most popular venues were the prolific food courts - but that's probably related to it being lunchtime when we visited. The place is clean and plenty of antiqued door fronts (the wood panels) for those photo shoots.
Capping off the visit, one must of course take pictures on the bridges crossing the lily ponds and the landmark temple spire. We didn't make it to the surrounding temples. Maybe next time.
Transportation is everywhere - but make sure you have your mobile phone ride share app working, just in case you hit rush hour.
Again - for now - it seems many vendors were closed - but I'm positive that'll change again as the economy begins to rebound.
Excellent way to spend a half day as opposed to the kids faces glued to their mobile devices...fresh air, good food, plenty of people watching, and walking...walking...walking...
Took the family here a few days ago. Wonderful place to go walking with lots of snack & drink kiosks (along with chairs and tables) to rest frequently. This zoo is similar to most other large open air zoos with reasonably spacious enclosures. This place is HUGE so be prepared for a LOT of walking. Consider wearing sensible hiking or walking shoes. Your feet will be grateful.
Entrance fees when we went still cny100 for adults and kids cny70. Feeding the animals at the managed venues - cny30 per site...per child. Monkeys can be fed by tossing carrots and sliced apples into their enclosure - which is good. Monkeys famous for flash mobbing. Can be terrifying for kids (and adults). Even in the enclosures, you can clearly see they're territorial and aggressive. Bullying is displayed frequently enough for teaching moments for the kids (cuz there are monkeys in all schools everywhere in the world).
MOST people bring their own food and drink, as the kiosks are quite expensive. Example a cny5 drink outside is cny10 in the zoo, so expect most everything to be twice as expensive. I had a bbq chick drumstick (leg?) for cny25...ouch.
Bring carrots. LOTS of carrots. The zoo has several managed (paid) and unmanaged petting areas for most semi-domesticated animals, such as the Alpacas (seriously cute), deer, giraffes (ok...you can feed the giraffes on an elevated platform, but probably difficult to "pat" the animals. It's kind of spectacular to actually see giraffes face to face - these animals are simply vertigo inducing huge and tall.
The seal show was nice - typical of seal shows everywhere. Seals are kind of like the dogs of the sea. Friendly and ravenous appetites so easily trainable.
Lots of cheap touristy souvenirs to buy the for the kiddies (and relatives kids).
HIGHLY recommend taking the bus tour - they basically zoom around picking up and dropping off customers (they check your e-ticket at every pickup site) at entrances and exits to walking enclosures. They'll drop you off at roughly 15 minute walking sites. NO need to rush and you can grab ANY bus upon emerging from the walking enclosure sites.
Of course, the ultimate attraction always the lion and tiger exhibits at the top of the mountain.
Bring a fan. It gets hot. We were fortunate as the sky was mostly overcast so the temperature was generally cool, but heated up almost instantly whenever the sun peeked out of the clouds.
Bring LOTS of water. Most veteran tourists have their own liter bottles of water. Bring your own umbrella. When the sun comes out - it's HOT. Bring a wide brimmed hat if you're into comfort over vanity. SUNTAN LOTION never goes astray.
Aside from that - typical Chinese group site with everyone rushing the buses and ticket counters. Not so much rushing for the food venues, so seems the elevated prices keep that comfortably in check.
All in all - GREAT place to take the kiddies (or a date if you both know you're into each other - cuz you'll be spending an entire day together). The Outdoor Zoo seems exceptionally well designed with plenty of both managed and unmanaged (eg walking deer along the roadside and the stroll through the peacock "garden").
Easy cab or shared ride out and back. Taxis aplenty when you're ready to leave (just walk past the parking lot gate - they'll be waiting for you). You should consider dining out or delivery at the end of the day.
Took the kiddies here again.
1. It's FREE.
2. NO knives, lighters, sharp objects, etc. There's a place in front to check bags, luggage (if you're traveling), etc - but the exit is in the rear of the monolithic building, so it's a bit of a hike to walk back around to the checked storage area (it's also FREE).
THIRD FLOOR
We went straight to the third floor - History and artifacts of Yunnan (mostly). Rich history - lots of original sculptures etc removed from grottoes and displayed in the museum. Lots of English language titles and occasionally some explanatory text in English.
SECOND FLOOR
This is the evolution floor with lots of petrified artifacts - sea life mostly, lots of recreations of animals and environments from pre-man times.
There are coffee shops and dining areas on the first floor and drink vending machines on the second and third floors. The place is HUGE so a great place to take the kiddies and walk around until they're tired. They'll probably enjoy the dinosaur exhibit on the second floor the most. Wait a few minutes and the dinosaurs will roar and move their heads and maybe pretend to chew (open and close their maws).
PLENTY of parking and unfortunately NOT close to any subway station, so you'll have to grab a cab or rideshare but seems taxis and transportation are aplenty in the city and surrounding environs.
And...it's FREE for now. Museum closes at 5pm so make sure you leave by 430-445 so you can hike back to the storage area if you checked anything in as they also close at 5pm.
Enjoy!
This is a great place to walk around and generally kill time while shopping for nothing in particular. Nearby is the Paulaner Brewhouse for super fantastic food, coffee and drinks, outdoor patio dining or just hanging and people watching.
Interview: Brian Eyler on Baihetan, China's second largest dam
发布者First - excellent and informative article. Although I absolutely must concur with some of the views of the expert - the facts are always not so obvious, when one chooses to micro-focus on subsystems as opposed to expanding one's view to a larger system. This is a popular management trend called decision-based data as opposed to data-driven decisions. So agreement, disagreement, or no opinion - depends on one's perspective.
Most westerners, especially those with hidden or obvious political agendas, look at China as they look at the west - a free market based economy.
China is a planned economy and certain infrastructures are built looking forwards decades.
China's energy consumption trajectory is not considered by the author, so let's take a look at that subjectively or qualitatively, since I'm too lazy to do the research numbers.
ENERGY CONSUMPTION IN KUNMING
Our hot water heaters used to be gas powered - but we had to replace the "damned" thing every two years because of the buildup of ash (aka toxins - seriously...green flecks in the ash - what is that? Chromium?) from the dirty gas. We switched to a combination of solar and electric (which do NOT work in tandem).
The prolific construction of new high-rises do not permit the effective use of solar in high density residential communities (e.g. most real estate development mega projects in Kunming are around the 2k residence level. So on demand electric systems make more sense.
COOKING
We haven't switched to electric because the power grid where we live simply won't handle the load (much less our ancient wiring). New high rise developments come with the option of gas or electric - with most choosing electric. It's fast, clean, and doesn't expose the stove components to cooking spillage. We've replaced our gas stove twice in the last 8 years - but to be fair - the last replacement was required because we switched to a new "cleaner" gas.
E-BIKES
Prolific.
MASS TRANSIT
The subway - electric powered. Buses moving towards electric power. And automobiles - e-powered vehicles are an emerging phenomenon with incredibly central government support and subsidies. Occasionally, you'll spot that rare BYD electric powered taxi (the SUV). China is migrating as much as its domestic infrastructure off fossil fuel dependence as possible.
So just from our own personal experiences and observations - consumer-based consumption of electric services is increasing at a steady pace.
ENVIRONMENTAL
There is no argument about the destruction of surrounding habitats and the migration of valley dwellers. This is a management issue for the government as they strive for poverty elimination. A large part of China's poverty elimination program is focused on attracting rural workers to cities, with jobs, education, and the ever upwardly mobile opportunities that education can provide - hence that insane construction pace. Kunming is planned to grow to a size of 10 million (but don't know the date on that plan).
Last time I checked - the city is at about 6.6 million, so we have another 3.4 million to go - so those 2000 unit mega developments (assume a family size of 4) housing up to 4 people, not including grandparents, in-laws, and others - 8k per development. That means ROUGHLY we'll need another 425 real estate development projects to house those 3.4 million additional residents.
That's another 850k families (3.4 mil/4,assuming a family unit of 4) consuming energy, services, infrastructure, e-bikes, cooking, water, toilet flushing, etc etc etc.
And that's JUST Kunming - there are 15 other prefectural level cities with supposed urban sprawl magnet program requirements as part of the nation's poverty elimination strategies.
So the author points out the displacement of a few thousand to a few hundred thousand people. Cast that against 3.4 million and things perhaps aren't quite as obvious - and again, that is ONLY based on Kunming plans. As we all noticed with the formerly famous and internationally maligned Chenggong ghost city (not so ghostly anymore), planned economies can be sustainably successful. And we didn't even discuss all the government (schools, 2 fly toilets, etc) and commercial infrastructures (restaurants, businesses, etc ad infinitum) that spawn from those residential communities. And we haven't even begun to address the energy sucking behavior of the internet and all its derivative industries - data centers, cloud computing centers, distributed corporate IT migration strategies.
Easy to criticize a microscopic spot than to manage the mega complicated system that is China.
However - that said - the author's points ARE valid and we do need alternate perspectives, so we understand the cost/benefit trade-off more responsibly.
And...I'll just get off that soapbox now...
Film Review: Paths of the Soul
发布者I'm thinking that's a pretty aerobic pilgrimage...
Editorial: Hydro expansion will fail without energy market reform
发布者um...yes - I actually meant central Asia - neighboring countries closer than say Shanghai, that would appreciate energy and be willing (maybe) to pay competitive rates for it (as opposed to just dumping the power potential).
Editorial: Hydro expansion will fail without energy market reform
发布者China is ramping up the use of e-vehhicles - which should take some of the capacity. I'm also wondering about whether we're exporting power to SE asia, which would seem to be an excellent market, and to the middle east where they DEFINITELY need power along the OBOR (one belt, one road).
1920s China through the lens of Joseph Rock: Simao
发布者I'm thinking his romanizations can be forgiven, given that putonghua was not standard and he's probably hearing a variety of dialectic Kunming hua and the incredibly diverse minority languages and dialects, when the locals or guides provide descriptions of various names and places, not to mention the various linguistic eccentricities of the various european missionaries.