"I would bet you'll be the only one on the flight"
Absolutely not true. People have been cancelling some travel recently due to the new cases in Beijing and elsewhere, but every domestic flight I've been on in the past few months has been at least half full, with many completely full.
The test is now available at most large hospitals in Kunming. I got my last one at Boya a few months ago, and it was a very painless experience. Make sure you get a red stamp from the hospital on your negative test results, because... China.
I have not heard about any requirement for UK citizens to have a test for travel in China, but the specific rules will vary from one city to the next.
Since all this started, I have made a point of calling any hotel where I have a booking to confirm that they still accept foreigners, and whether they require any further documentation beyond the green health code.
Pretty much any print shop in town will do it for you. Look for signs for 打印 (printing) and 复印 (copying), found in just about any neighborhood with small mom-and-pop shops.
The ones who do it most are found along Yieryi Street around the universities.
You are correct that no new tourist visas are being issued at this time.
Your only option right now is to give up the M visa, and get as many extensions to the S2 visa as they are willing to give you. The only way to hold onto your M visa right now would be to return to your home country and wait things out (and it could be a while).
Once things cool down and China resumes normal travel, you can go back to your home country and apply for a new tourist visa, or try for the M visa again.
That area and many others in the city that used to be military remain shuttered. Actually, I passed Kundu the other day, and the central area where all the nightclubs were has now been demolished.
When everything first got shut down, word was they were drawing up a plan to put all the properties back on the market through an auction or other process. My guess is they haven't figured it out yet.
My pickpocket strategy: if the bus looks crowded, I cram my wallet, cellphone and any other valuable stuff into one pocket and keep my hand in it at all times. It's worked fine so far.
An exciting new gallery space built from an old factory warehouse in the Paoluda Creative Industry Park. Looking forward to seeing what they'll do with it.
Yunnan news roundup
Posted byMy pickpocket strategy: if the bus looks crowded, I cram my wallet, cellphone and any other valuable stuff into one pocket and keep my hand in it at all times. It's worked fine so far.
GoKunming Weekend Preview
Posted byActually, Uprock is closed all weekend for the Fuxian beach party
On the road: Motorcycling across Yunnan and Sichuan, part 2
Posted byDid the police ever stop you for license checks?
Yunfest 2009: What to watch out for
Posted byThe online schedule has been edited. If you download it again, you will see the subtitled films marked with an (E)
Yunfest 2009: What to watch out for
Posted byUpdate: Wu Haohao (listed above in "filmmakers to watch out for"), turned up with English subtitle versions of his films.