Forums > Living in Kunming > staying in Kunming for the first time

Really thanks for all the useful information! This helps me a lot!

@AlexKMG, can you specify 'soon' more? Is it possible that

the west subway line would be operational in september?

@Debaser, really thanks for telling me about the tap water! Otherwise I definitely would have cooked with it! Are there any other things I should be careful of? Are the vegetables and fruit from the local markets safe? Or is it better to buy from supermarkets?
And regarding to my thesis, thanks for letting me know! Do you know where I can find more information on this topic?

And also thanks for the vegan propositions! I will keep them in mind :)

Forums > Living in Kunming > staying in Kunming for the first time

Thanks for all the replies!! It's a big help!

-I have already read about the dirty toilets, so unfortunately this is true! So I should look for green toilets with white strips, hotels and may be the Mc Donalds, all the rest will be a torture?
The squatting should not be a big problem since I do weighted squats here at home.
@AlexKMG, It's the combination of both! Vegans do have to go more often to the toilet (because of all the fiber! :p ) but I also have to drink a lot, so I also have to pee more :)

-As for the transportation, I will have to see almost entire Kunming, so may be that I will use a combination of the subway and my feet. By the way, why are the bikes more dangerous? Is it because of traffic danger?

- It's a pity to hear that veganism is difficult to adopt in Kunming! I will not make a drama for a eating a bit of milk or egg, but I surely don't want any dead animals on my plate! I will stay at places where I have a fully equiped kitchen, so I think I will go for the homecooking! I will try to be as selfsufficient as possible, so I will not have to be afraid of having some unpleasant experiences!

And now a summary of my thesis: During the last 10 years Kunming has been characterised by a fast urbanisation. Expectations are that due to economic growth the population will double by 2020. This fast growth has a strong influence on the environment but also affects the social and cultural aspects of the society. In this master thesis, the link between urbanisation and land use changes over the past 10 years, will be investigated. Land use change detection will focus on thermal zones, i.e. Local Climate Zones (LCZs). LCZs are a well-known classification scheme in urban climate modelling to assess the thermal impact of the urban environment. This scheme is thus very useful to evaluate the combined effect of land use change and fast urban growth. The combination of these processes has strong implications on the living conditions for the local population which are mostly expressed to rising urban temperatures and increasing air pollution. In this thesis, Kunming will be mapped for its past and current state based on remote sensing data, and land use changes will be assessed quantitatively.

I will still need information about the socio-economic situation of Kunming during the past 10 years. I already have found some about China, but the articles about Kunming are mostly in Chinese, which makes it a bit difficult. If there are people who know more about this topic, that would definitely be a great help! :) But may be I should make a seperate topic about that.

Forums > Living in Kunming > staying in Kunming for the first time

Hi all,

I'm a student from Belgium and for my thesis I will go to Kunming for one month (26aug-26sept), where I will explore the whole city. Since I am vegan and I frequently have to go to the toilet, I have a couple of questions :)

- how are the toilets in Kunming and is it possible to go to the toilet? Are there specific things I have to be aware of?

-Is it possible to pay in supermarkets with a banccard?

- Are there vegan options like tempeh, vegan yoghurt, tofu etc? and are there also things I have to know as a vegan?

- Is there a good transportation in Kunming (bus, bike, metro,taxi,...) and which option is the best to take?

-How should I communicate? Can many people speak English or should I install a translator so I can show it in Chinese?

Thanks in advance for the answers! I have to admit that I'm a bit scared since I'm going alone and I also never have been to China!