Welcome back to Kunming, a bit cold right now. But that's a relative statement depending where you're coming from.
I believe I saw a Walmart at the corner of Xinying Rd. and Bailong Road while sitting in the back of Bus 69 watching the world go by. ;)
You'd be surprised how much that area have changed since 5 years ago.
Around 200 meters further west of Bailong Lu toward Baiyun Lu, two massive shopping centers opposite one another just opened. A future Line 5 Metro station under construction is situated there.
FYI, Line 5 will take you to Green Lake and Shuncheng Plaza for Line 3 (pink) interchange , but not before hitting your familiar Line 2 (blue) that takes you North and South-bound. Line 5 still in the works.
In regards to rent, I'm not sure about older buildings in the area. Since a lot of new empty apartments are sprawling over there, 1700 imo is still totally doable. 1500 with some luck.
The new Aegean Mall is one of the shopping malls there. Their smaller lofts were selling for only 17K/sqm a month and a half ago. Yeah, still pretty cheap since your departure, considering a metro station below.
Many real estate speculators who bought it are renting them out cheap. Perhaps check out the rent prices there at Aegean Mall for sheer convenience.
A new Decathlon will be opening at the massive B1 level of Joy City (大悦城) Shopping Center on Huancheng Nan Lu. The Decathlon renovation wall is still up.
Same floor level as the new Hema (盒马) supermarket. To follow-up on Geezer's point, the Boston lobsters are alive in their tanks. Though can't guarantee live lobsters prior to cooking for Hema online deliveries (free within zone). 10 methods of prepation now. Prices per lobster have increased to 129, but 50cny discounts for first time customers using the Hema app to order on-site or online.
Xishuangbanna Tropical Botanical Garden's (XTBG) annual birding festival may have taken place just a few days ago.
Btw, you can buy park entrance tickets online via Qunar (yes, again) for around 70-75rmb. Pricier day packages include various combination of attractions/venues within XTBG that require additional entrance fees.
Also, get a rough idea of xtbg by scrolling down to see wildlife and plant photos shared by numerous Qunar reviewers (highlighted comments and those who've recently visited):
There are other parks in the area less man-groomed, though I forget the names. Sina Travel Blog would be the #1 go-to hub for information on such, with embedded, user-generated short vids similar to Douyin/Tiktok. Sina blogs, followed by weibo, are the most popular online travel info destination for Chinese. Tap into that wealth of resources.
Interview: Professor John Israel
Posted byDid John finally reach a fair settlement regarding his levelled house or is dispute still ongoing?
Allez! The Tour de France comes to Yunnan
Posted byI'm excited for Yuxi to hold such a recognized event. Chengjiang County is part of Yuxi, is it not?
Will our Holland to Kunming bike riding Vera be participating in the much shorter 115km action, whether sideline or on the course?
Has century old Tour de France evolved to accommodate female riders?
I can't help but think of disgraced Armstrong when this race is mentioned. Was he repentant or still denying culpability?
So many questions.