Ha haa, this will probably generate lots of traffic for gokm! Everyone will want to see that hacked site! They should leave it up for a day for fun :-)

I thought it would be good if we posted up our favourite local foods for a quick snack or lunch. I figure this will be good for us language learners and new people coming to Kunming - we can try everyone elses favourites, get more local exposure and a great way to eat more yummy (and cheap!) food.

I think from the outset though we should set a few limits. This has to be local food, under 20 kuai, available for lunch/dinner and tasty. This isn't meant to be a review of a particular place, rather a guide for what to eat if you want some tasty local food but don't know what to eat or how to order. In saying that though, I think we can mention where we have bought the item so others can share.

One of my favourites is xiǎo guō mǐ xiàn 小锅米线. This usually goes for between 5-15 kuai depending on how flash the eaterie is and how big the serving. Its a spicy noodle soup, usually cooked with a little bit of meat, spring onion, noodles and lots of yummy spicy goodness. Basically any noodle shop will probably sell this, to order, say "xiǎo guō mǐxiàn". They will probably ask you "dà wǎn, xiǎo wǎn" (big bowl, small bowl), tell them what you are after. You can usually get takeaway as well (can be a bit messy though, careful!), to get takeaway ask for dǎbāo, they may charge you extra for the container. Like I said, you can get this pretty much any noodle shop, but note that some are considerably better than others.

Another little gem, particularly if you want something that isn't oily, spicy, plain simple good food (great for visitors from the west who aren't used to the spice etc!) is xiǎo guō cài 小锅菜. This is usually a small pot of soup, filled with vegetables, some meat, maybe tofu and noodles. Usually it comes with a bowl of rice. The soup is usually clear and not oily. This is what I usually go for if I want something pretty healthy, not dripping with oil, not spicy, but still super tasty. The variations on xiǎo guō cài though are numerous, I am describing what I get from a place two doors east from Orielly's pub on the same side of the pedestrian street. Theirs is particularly nice! To order is pretty straight forward, ask for "xiǎo guō cài", they may ask you what meat you want, usually I go for jī ròu, however this is up to you. The cost for this is usually between 10-20 kuai. Note a lot of places will specifically ask if you want to takeaway or not, eating in is zài zhèlǐ chī.

The last one I will share is for us westerners who love hot chips! A lot of places around serve a spicy variety of deep fried potato that is particularly unhealthy but so tasty! Basically they chop up potatoes into odd sized chunks, deep fry them, cover them in a spicy mixture and put them in a box for you to eat using a toothpick. This is a super tasty and cheap snack you can find from lots of places. Usually they are in a little shop, but you see some people who are mobile with carts around the place. To order, ask for yáng yuè. They may ask if you want a big box or a small box, da he or xiao he respectively. Cost is usually between 3 and 5 kuai.

Anyone else care to share their favourite local cheap local foods?

Hi all, I tried to do my usual run today up Changchong Shan however most routes up are either closed or in the process of being closed up by (I am assuming) forestry or council workers. I am guessing this is due to the fire on the top of the hill that destroyed all the vegetation on the east side from the top to about 100m (vertical height) down the east side of the hill.

I am guessing some idiot took fireworks up there which lit half the hill on fire...

I went around the obstructions, there were 2 on the way up on each path, so I am guessing they really don't want people up there. As I wasn't carrying any matches/lighter/fireworks/glass, I decided I was responsible enough to not light a fire and went to the top. Got some pics on my phone (pretty low quality) here:

One blockage (anyone care to interpret the sign? My Chinese isn't that good yet!)
picturepush.com/public/7536365

The top, which used to be a pretty basin filled with grass
picturepush.com/public/7536377

One path going down
picturepush.com/public/7536420

Another blockage with a more detailed sign (interpreting again anyone?)
picturepush.com/public/7536440

The firemen that controlled the fire did a great job as the whole hillside is tinder dry. I am assuming though the tracks will be reopened once they deem the fire risk to be lower?? Hopefully they aren't closed permanently! Any other mountains around in the North that are good for running?

While I completely applaud the sentiment Mike and love the videos...

Do you know how long these have been in captivity? Also... your release point... do you know if this was close to food sources for them or another population? I am asking as sometimes people that re-release animals into the wild without any research sometimes do more harm than good. Animals that have been in captivity all their lives don't know what to eat or sometimes how, are released into areas without any food or any number of other factors which could result in a pretty quick death... contacting a zoo first to ask the advice of some experts would have been a good idea... they may have even sent you GPS tags to track their progress!

Usually everyone goes back to their home town so the streets are pretty empty :-)

Of course as more people end up living, being born and growing up in Kunming, more people will start calling Kunming home. So theoretically there should be more and more people here every year...

I was here last year for CNY and hung out with some Chinese friends here. We let off fireworks and there was a big fireworks display at the Tudong stadium, not far from Wenlin Jie...