"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.
I wonder how much, if any discussion there is in the Yunnan govt about the composition of forests and how that affects forest fires.
Around Kunming and central Yunnan at least, many of the forests are full of non-native eucalyptus trees, which have evolved to encourage fires to squeeze out other species.
I can see why they planted so many of these trees. They grow fast, are highly drought-resistant, and the goats don't seem to eat them, so they were useful for holding the soil in place and mitigating some of the horrible deforestation the province has seen. But it's definitely time to start reintroducing some of Yunnan's native species, which have also adapted to long dry spells, but would hopefully be less of a fire hazard (and also promote the recovery of native plant and animal species).
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.
Preview: 2015 Chengjiang Lakeside Music Festival
Posted by@scally: Right on. I'd delete the first comment if I knew how.
Preview: 2015 Chengjiang Lakeside Music Festival
Posted byNice. Here are a couple of nitpicking points:
- This is actually the third installment of the music festival, though it's got some new management this time.
- Fuxian is east, not west of Kunming
Province nervously monitoring forest fire season
Posted byThe hotline for fire is 119, but I'm sure they'll patch you through or send word along if you call general emergency (110) or information (114).
Make sure to note the highway, direction and closest km marker.
Province nervously monitoring forest fire season
Posted byI wonder how much, if any discussion there is in the Yunnan govt about the composition of forests and how that affects forest fires.
Around Kunming and central Yunnan at least, many of the forests are full of non-native eucalyptus trees, which have evolved to encourage fires to squeeze out other species.
I can see why they planted so many of these trees. They grow fast, are highly drought-resistant, and the goats don't seem to eat them, so they were useful for holding the soil in place and mitigating some of the horrible deforestation the province has seen. But it's definitely time to start reintroducing some of Yunnan's native species, which have also adapted to long dry spells, but would hopefully be less of a fire hazard (and also promote the recovery of native plant and animal species).
Just a thought...
Infrastructure money continues to pour into Kunming
Posted by@AlexKMG: I was thinking the exact same thing. What use could Dianchi possibly have for a wharf?