Forums > Study > Yunnan University vs. Yunnan Nationalities University Yunnan University of Nationalities is so-so...most of the foreign students studying there are either from Thailand or Laos, in the case of the Thai students, most of them are there on a 2 year program learning Chinese to become Chinese teachers back home. There are probably no more than 5 western students in the whole university, so keep that in mind unless of course you'd prefer to make friends from these regional countries and of course with Chinese students instead.
The dorms at YUN also suck badly, although the foreigner's dorms are marginally better than the Chinese student's dorms. Still, the construction of new apartments behind the dorms often goes on at night as well, so if you do want to study there, choose the new campus, though the disadvantages would be distance from the city, as the new campus is located in Chenggong, on the outskirts of greater Kunming and entertainment, food and even transport options are quite limited, though the university does operate regular buses to the city campus for free.
Forums > Living in Kunming > Cable TV in Kunming Anyone know a good company to get cable TV service from? I am talking about a provider that offers the usual English language stations that you get in SE Asia and all over the world, including CNN, BBC, National Geographic, Discovery Channel etc. as well as presumably Chinese language ones. Any idea about costs, contractual obligations etc.?
Forums > Living in Kunming > Kunming sucks the life out of me... Forget Chinese food in Kunming...it's mostly just peas or corn on a plate, much like western food but just served in a different way, and cooked in peanut oil rather than vegetable or olive oil...that's the only difference.
Whatever happened to dim sum and kung pao chicken? You know, the good stuff? Anyway, you can find plenty of great Chinese food in Kunming (cross-the-bridge noodles and hot pot) and of course foreign food. You don't ever have to touch Chinese food if you don't want to, so I don't see the point of complaining about it given you can just eat foreign food (pizzas, burgers, pasta, sushi, Thai and Indian food etc.) everyday. Or make it yourself at home.
Forums > Living in Kunming > What's it going to be like? I agree with all these comments, though I HATE those stares. They may be curious, but it is rude and ignorant to stare for any length of time. I can understand watching a crime scene or a traffic accident for a length of time but not a person. A quick glance might be OK, but imagine if we stared at someone back home. Most likely we'd end up with a black eye.
If people are curious, they should just come up to us and talk...there's nothing more intimidating and uncomfortable than some jackass staring with his eyeballs half way outside their sockets and then going away or some other asshole saying hellooooo!! thinking that's even remotely funny (it's not...get a life and find out what real humor is all about).
I'm wondering what your experiences have been so far xuqiu19. Hopefully positive and I sincerely hope that your experiences have not been too bad...unfortunately this country still has a long way to go to achieve racial equality.
Forums > Living in Kunming > People wanting to learn Spanish... it's ok as a hobby on the side, but obviously it makes more sense to go to a country where that language is actually used, otherwise you won't make much progress.
Chinese teens murder seven before arrests
Posted byThis is crazy! Sounds like the kind of thing you hear about happening in the US, not China. Anyway, they were arrested quickly and yes, Liumingke1234, they can and most likely will be given the maximum penalty for their crimes. I believe in China 14 year olds can be tried as adults. It doesn't say how old these teenagers are, but my guess is they are certainly in their mid to high teens.
The Box says goodbye
Posted byVery sad indeed...I hope the new tenant is also a foreigner who opens up a similar bar or restaurant to you guys. Good luck with the future and hope to visit you in Lijiang or Shangri-la. In any case, stay in China! Restaurants/bars like yours really make places like Kunming feel cozier.
Chiang Mai's Chinese invasion
Posted by@Peter99, I agree that there could be many more independent Chinese tourists in Chiang Mai, or indeed in many other parts of the world in the future.
I have seen many independent Chinese tourists, many travelling by themselves in places like Thailand, Vietnam and Cambodia. They usually have enough English to at least order from a menu though. It's kinda ridiculous for people like the young Chinese tourists above to not know what they "are ordering". If you ask me, except at Wenlie Jie and a few downtown areas, it's much more difficult to know what you are ordering in China!
Contrary to what is stated in this article, I don't think the Chinese can take away Thai jobs or properties because unlike in Laos, the Thais are fiercely protective of their rights and know what they are. Also, foreigners can't own land even if they become married to Thai citizens. With the exception of jobs requiring Chinese language skills, Chinese citizens wouldn't be able to find work in Thailand either and they can certainly forget about working in protected sectors like farming etc. so I think the fears raised above are unfounded unless Thailand opens up more but their restrictive property and work laws are probably in place to avoid such a scenario.
However, for now, the Chinese train project from Kunming through Laos connecting all the way to Singapore is not going to happen, but the Thais seem to be confident about a possible Japanese investment for some domestic HSR (high speed rail) lines in the near future. Personally, I would still put my money on the Chinese coming through eventually, but it might take 10+ years to happen so the original opening date of 2015 is now nothing more than a pipe dream given that the Chinese have now scaled back on HSR projects given safety issues, the resignation of the railway minister etc.
The road through Myanmar (Burma) from Mae Sai/Tachileik to China has too many restrictions on travel and since the Mae Sai crossing only allows travel to/from Mae Sai it can't be used by anyone planning on travelling overland between Thailand and China via Myanmar territory; thus Chinese and Thai/third party tourists/businesspeople etc. travelling overland between Thailand and China must go through Laos (or alternatively, Laos and Vietnam). I hope that with the recent positive developments in Myanmar that an overland route connecting Thailand and China and an upgrading of the Chinese/Burmese border post to an international one will happen, but until it does it won't become an option for anyone.
I wouldn't put my money on low-cost flight options to Kunming happening anytime soon, though eventually they should come through put this will depend entirely on demand for such services.
@invisible, the railway link from Kunming to the Vietnamese border has existed for like 100 years but only now does it look like it will reopen again after being closed for roughly 10 years now. As such, this will mean you can once again travel by rail from Kunming to Hanoi and beyond to Ho Chi Minh City. When it opens is unclear, but I'd say give it a year or so.
Kunming to Laos by bike: Part II
Posted by@pickley - hitchhiking is possible, but not really recommended due to the low cost of public transport and possible risk of things going wrong, though having said that hitchhiking is far safer in most parts of East Asia than in the USA for example. But you can still try anyway and it is surely a very interesting way of travelling.
I think Chinese truck drivers (starting in northern Laos, not far from the border) or Lao truck drivers (who wouldn't go much beyond Mengla) would help you cross the border, and then you could try flagging another vehicle to go further north. Alternatively, Chinese tourists driving themselves in southern Xishuangbanna or possibly in Laos itself might be willing to help you. It would be a good idea to offer some food, drinks or something for the ride and truck drivers often expect some payment anyway, but if you are nice and give them some food, cigarettes (if they smoke) or something else then that should make them happy enough without the need for monetary compensation. Every experience is different so you'll need to just try it out and see what happens.
Kunming to Laos by bike: Part II
Posted by@russell, it's Ji. There's a much faster way of translating English to Chinese these days and requires no travel outside of your own home: it's called google translate.
Anyway, from this itinerary it looks like the writer is about to enter Vietnam before he enters Laos, unless he backtracks first. Normally to travel from Kunming to Laos one would pass through Yuxi, Yuanjiang, Simao (Pu'er), Jinghong (Xieng Hung or Chiang Rung), Mengla (Muang La) and finally Mohan before reaching Laos. Of course while you can't cycle on the expressway, I have seen western cyclists on the highway between Jinghong and the border (there is currently no expressway there).
Therefore taking the backroads between Kunming and Jinghong would be the fastest way, but this cyclist's itinerary sounds more interesting and passes a more beautiful region of Yunnan - I too was very impressed by Yuanyang (hence my GoKM username right hehe), not to mention Lvchun and the Vietnamese borderlands before reaching Hekou.