LinYuQiao:

Carnival shopping mall - amazing indoor play centre for kids plus outdoor activities such as a carousel, diggers, mini trampolines etc. Exit A ( I think) is the closest corner/side of Lin Yu rd, but its a 5 minute walk from any exit.

Sijiaying:

A great farmers market every Wednesday - 5 minute walk from station.

Looking for updated info on a foreign hairdresser. I need a cut and colour badly but have thick, curly hair. In north but willing to travel.... had a great cut 6 months ago but I think the hairdtesser may have left Kunming now.... :(

Any leads?

We have a 2 (turning 3) year old here, though our situation is slightly different to yours... Here are my top tips

1. Join the "Kunming with kids" FB group. It has many parents with kids of all ages and various experiences with schools. Some have one Chinese parent and may be going the traditional schooling route, but I'm sure they will still offer great advice.

2. There are a few kindergartens developing or opening soon that will be bi-lingual. I know one Montessori school that should be open by the time you come. Educators will be foreign and Chinese and do a half-day in each language approach. However, like your other school - I expect it will be pricey.

3. We live in the north and I can confirm, as Laotou said that you will mainly find missionary families here. Be aware that offers to do group home schooling may involve a lot of bible studies and christian related learning! In saying that, the North of Kunming is fantastic for kids with heaps to do, wonderful parks, playgrounds etc. I'm happy to tell you more about where we live if you want to message me. :)

4. We enrolled our then 2 year old in a fun, play based Chinese class twice a week and she loved it. Her capacity to absorb the language is really amazing - so as others suggested, I would get both your children learning Chinese asap! We only planned to stay for a year, so my daughters main learning came from us at home and her Chinese teacher/friends and nanny.

4. If you dont particularly want /dont have time to teach your own kids, I would probably look for a foreigner that can be a regular tutor for your kids. Other local parents may be keen for their kids to join in and share costs too. That would give you the option to tailor make the curriculum or use any curriculum you want. That may feel more like "real school". You can even use the Australian National curriculum guidelines,if you want to keep you kids on track for when they return home. If I was staying here, I would probably go this route.

So that's my advice! Good luck! PM me if you want any more info :)

Has anyone has their teeth whitened here? I'm looking for any reccommendations of dentists or clinics (English speaking if possible) and an idea on price. Thanks!

Fantastic info Xiefei...thanks so much!