Kunming: A Backpacker's Wandering Log (Yunnan Museum, Guandu Ancient Town, Cuihu Lake, Yunnan Military Academy, Dounan Flower Market...)

This was actually a work trip for training, not a real vacation, so free time was limited. Since work trips are tough, I adjusted my mindset and treated each trip as a travel opportunity, and it felt better.

DAY1: July 9, Thursday, from Nanning to Kunming, Aocheng Tower, Yunnan Museum, Guandu Ancient Town, Nanqiang Market, mushroom hotpot, Dai-style snacks, street craft beer...

DAY2: July 10, Friday, lunch at Daguan Zhuanxin Farmers' Market, afternoon at Secret Realm M60 Creative Park, dinner at Xia Dama BBQ featured in 'A Bite of Life'

DAY3: July 11, Saturday, noon bike ride around Cuihu Lake, visited various museums, dinner at Jianghu Yi Zhan Deng featured in 'A Bite of Life'

DAY4: July 12, Sunday, noon at Kunming Museum, evening at Dounan Flower Market

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Took the earliest bus to Kunming, leave early, arrive early.

Arrived at Kunming Station at 12:30, took bus 83 to Qingnian Road. The hotel arranged by the conference team was in Wuhua District, very convenient for wandering.

This shop on Qianwang Street mainly serves Dehong Dai-style snacks.

Ordered: iced pineapple (pineapple syrup), pickled vegetable paste potato strips, sour beef skewers, Dai-style pounded chicken feet, total 45 yuan.

There are two sauces that I never quite get: one is Dehong's pickled vegetable paste; the other is Minnan's satay sauce. One is slightly sour, the other slightly sweet, and both have a faint, elusive flavor! This time the pickled vegetable paste still didn't do it for me, but overall the taste seemed improved, more palatable than what I had in Ruili.

The shop's first floor is small, with second and third floors. Sat on the second floor, listening to the rain and watching the people come and go on Qianwang Street.

Near Qianwang Street, there's a Jianxinyuan Cross-Bridge Rice Noodles, a long-established brand. I ate there a few years ago, and the taste was average. Maybe I just don't like cross-bridge rice noodles; I've tried famous places in Mengzi and Jianshui, but none impressed me. If it's bone soup malatang, the side dishes are few; if it's chicken soup rice noodles, the flavor is too light.

Near the memorial hall, there's also a Fuzhao Lou Steam Pot Chicken, also said to be an old brand, with a very rich chicken broth. If the two could combine—using Fuzhao Lou's chicken broth to cook Jianxinyuan's rice noodles—it would be great.

On the way, I saw an aunt selling jasmine and ylang-ylang flowers, two yuan per string.

At the internet-famous attraction Aocheng Tower, took the elevator directly to the 6th floor, walked around, and saw bricks left by others to climb onto the cement platform. Bad weather, camera metering wasn't adjusted properly, photos came out very dark, and I couldn't find the continuous shooting function. Climbed up and down several times. Recommendation: use a wide-angle camera on a sunny day for cool photos.

The Yunnan Museum is in the distant Guandu District. The exhibition layout is user-friendly, with a one-way route that saves time. Overall, not many exhibits. The museum closes admission at 16:30, clears out at 16:45, and closes at 17:00.

The bronze artifacts from the ancient Dian Kingdom are uniquely and exquisitely shaped.

Part of the third-floor exhibition hall was closed, which was a pity. There was a temporary special exhibition on Lugu Lake on the first floor.

After leaving the museum, a ten-minute bike ride took me to Guandu Ancient Town. Similar to other ancient streets and towns, there are replica ancient buildings on both sides, with rural self-built houses behind.

I saw a long line and joined it. This shop is a government-certified heritage brand. I bought a rose bean paste bun, three yuan each. The bean paste was fine, sweet, and rich with rose fragrance. In my hometown, it would be called a leavened flatbread.

The nearest subway station to Guandu is Xingyao Road. Took Line 1 to Fude Station, Exit B, planning to go to Guanshang for mushrooms. My phone died as soon as I exited the station, so I stayed at a convenience store, playing games while charging. Only when traveling do I have such leisure.

Exit B of Fude Station leads directly to the Convention Center. Next to it, near Baohai Park, Guanxing Street is a wild mushroom ecological food street, full of mushroom restaurants.

Mushrooms in the provincial capital are much more expensive than in the county. I asked for a small mixed platter of premium mushrooms, but most seemed to be cultivated. A good way to distinguish wild from cultivated mushrooms: wild ones usually have small insects, cultivated ones generally don't. That might be why wild mushrooms are so delicious.

Once, during a layover in Kunming, I stayed near the Convention Center and found a street stall with great grilled skewers. Occasionally, I still recall the taste of those small meat skewers. Today, I went back to find the place, but it had changed so much—the shop was gone...

Rode a bike to Nanqiang Street. Kunming's nights are cool to the point of cold; riding an e-bike in shorts was tough.

It's very lively there, with food, drinks, and fun. The shops are uniquely and meticulously decorated.

There were also craft beer stalls on the street.

The owner recommended a light local beer, 36 yuan.

I still prefer Tempt No. 7 elderflower.

Called it a day and went back to the hotel. Early to bed, early to rise for class tomorrow.

Woke up early and strolled around the hotel. Had tofu pudding rice noodles and Heqing blown liver, total 18 yuan.

Blown liver is made by inflating pig liver, creating even pores, then air-dried and sliced for cold serving. It's like gluten, and the pores easily absorb the sauce.

Attended class attentively in the morning. At noon, went to the famous Daguan Zhuanxin Farmers' Market. I love it there—clean, tidy, a wide variety, with enticing smells everywhere, full of life. Grilled pork, tree tomatoes, grass shoots, water chestnuts, water caltrop, preserved pork ribs, ham, beef jerky... It was a joy to see. The most beautiful scenery is in the market...

Prices at the market are per kilogram. Figs were 10 yuan per kilogram, fresh, cheap, and delicious.

Bought chicken feet in three flavors, 35 yuan per jin (500g). The spicy pepper one was okay, the maqizi (Litsea) one was decent, but the lemon with large-leaf coriander and Thai basil was the best.

Next to the chicken feet was a stall selling crispy pork crackling. I saw a lot of that in Guiyang, often eaten with silk noodles. But honestly, I really can't get used to it.

Up a small stairway to the second floor, there were seasonal wild mushrooms for sale, a wide variety but very expensive. Matsutake 950 yuan/kg, ganba (Thelephora) mushroom 1500 yuan/kg.

Freshly fried lotus root balls, crispy outside and soft inside, 10 yuan per jin.

Back to the hotel for afternoon class.

After class, went directly to Secret Realm M60 Creative Park, an industrial-style mini attraction full of specialty shops, graffiti, old pipes... Similar to 798 or Eastern Suburb Memory, but smaller and less crowded.

Light rain. Found a place to take shelter while answering a consultation call.

Went to 108 Think Tank for Xia Dama BBQ. Walked along the alley to the top, then turned right.

Checked in at Xia Dama BBQ, featured in the documentary 'A Bite of Life' (Season 2, Episode 2).

Ordered four items: grilled scallion sausage, garlic beef, eggs, and pig brain, total 100 yuan.

Signature dish: grilled scallion sausage! The scallions are stuffed into pig intestines in advance, processed, cut into segments, and served. You then heat them yourself on the grill. The skin was crispy, the texture good. As a northeasterner, I have a higher tolerance for the semi-raw scallions inside. (You can watch the documentary 'A Bite of Life' Season 2, Episode 2 for details.)

Recommended the garlic beef. The serving style was novel—basically oil-marinated garlic as a broth for small-pot braised beef. When the beef is just cooked in oil, it's tender and smooth. Later, as the beef loses moisture in the oil, it becomes garlic beef jerky...

The pig brain was good. Cilantro at the bottom, heated on a wire mesh, the oil slowly caramelizes the cilantro, infusing the seasoning with a special fragrance.

This method of cooking eggs in foil is called 'egg stew' in my hometown.

After eating, strolled around Qianwang Street!

On the roadside, there were vendors carrying lotus flowers on poles, with dewdrops in the light rain!

Day over, back to the hotel to catch up on a show!

Breakfast was small-pot rice noodles with papaya water, total 12 yuan. Papaya water is called hand-shaken jelly in other places.

After class at noon, cycled along Cuihu Road. This season, you can see lotus flowers and water birds.

Near Cuihu, there's a cluster of museums.

Cycled to the west gate of Cuihu, opposite is the Yunnan Military Academy. There are two main exhibitions: one introduces the history of the Military Academy and major events; the other covers the Expeditionary Force. Audio guide rental is 20 yuan per unit, or you can pay 15 yuan through WeChat public account. I recommend renting an audio guide because the phone signal is intermittent, which affects the experience.

The circular school buildings surround a large playground, with fragrant osmanthus trees in the courtyard.

The entrance to the Expeditionary Force exhibition is on the first floor, through the main gate, across the playground, slightly to the right. My initial knowledge of the Expeditionary Force came from the TV drama 'My Chief and My Regiment'. In Tengchong, I visited the memorial hall and the National Cemetery to pay respects. The display here mainly consists of photographs, said to be taken by the US 164th Signal Photo Company, with very clear quality.

At the exit, there's a stone plaque with four characters evaluating the historical significance of the Chinese Expeditionary Force.

The Yunnan Liberation Memorial Hall and the Yunnan Uprising Memorial Hall near Cuihu are both old multi-story villas with limited space. You need an admission pass to enter, with a limit of 20 people per batch. Queues are common when there are many visitors.

At the Liberation Memorial Hall, I saw a cleaning aunt feeding squirrels with sunflower seeds. There used to be two, now only one remains.

The Uprising Memorial Hall was once the official residence of Lu Han (Lu Han's Mansion).

From the window of the mansion, across the road, is Cuihu. The location and view are top-notch.

The museums at Yunnan Normal University (Southwest Associated University) and Yunnan University are on campus, closed to the public during the pandemic.

I was so into my wandering that I was late for afternoon class...

After class, I first went to the Jinma Archway and Biji Archway, collectively known as 'Golden Brilliance and Emerald Splendor'. These two archways were rebuilt on the original site in 1999. There really are just two archways there.

Dinner was at Jianghu Yi Zhan Deng, featured in the documentary 'A Bite of Life'. I found a coupon online for 68 yuan off a 100-yuan bill.

Signature dish: grilled chicken feet!

The chicken feet are first marinated and then grilled. Honestly, as braised chicken feet, they were acceptable. But for BBQ, the key should be the charred aroma from open-flame grilling. These braised chicken feet only caught a whiff of charcoal—can that really be called BBQ? (You can watch the documentary 'A Bite of Life' for details.)

Grilled beef skewers shouldn't be too large (except for raw beef), as they won't absorb flavor well. Underdone if too light, dry and tough if too heavy. And the strong Dai-style seasoning couldn't cover the muddy taste of tilapia. I gave up. Recommended: pork belly, which was quite flavorful. It's okay to try if you pass by, but not worth a special trip!!

Forget it, I'll find a place for Zhaotong small skewers!

On the way, I also packed a Kunming snack: diaogao lotus root starch. Upon inspection, it seemed to be almond tea lotus root starch base, topped with steamed Xi'an mirror cake that wasn't fully cooked, then stirred together. Though the north and south are far apart, these two similar foods connect the geographical space, making them seem close.

Last day of class, hang in there...

The Kunming Museum is in the city center, built to protect the Dali Kingdom's 'Dizang Temple Dali Kingdom Sutra Pillar' from the Song Dynasty. The main exhibition halls include the Flying Tigers Memorial Hall, Dinosaur Hall, Fan Hall, Bronze Hall... If you're short on time, I suggest allocating your visit wisely.

The one-story-high Dizang Temple Dali Kingdom Sutra Pillar is in the main hall, well-preserved and highly artistic.

In the evening, I planned to stay in Dounan, partly for convenience to catch the train the next day, and partly to be near the flower market.

Contrary to my expectations, the busiest time at Dounan Flower Market is around 8-9 PM every night.

Around 7 PM, vendors outside the market start displaying cut flowers, selling them like vegetables. Many novel types of cut flowers are sold outside.

At about 8:30 PM, the market officially opens, bustling with people!! Evening trade is mainly wholesale, leaving daytime for retail. Purchased cut flowers are immediately sent to the airport and shipped nationwide, arriving at flower lovers' hands the next day!

The items traded inside the market are mostly common cut flowers. Rose-type flowers: about 15 yuan per bunch; lilies: large bunches 45 yuan; bellflowers: 7 yuan; eucalyptus leaves: 5 yuan; sunflowers: 5 yuan per bunch or 10 yuan for three; chrysanthemums: price range 10-50 yuan.

Who doesn't love flowers?

Travelogue Index:

1. DAY1: July 9, Thursday, Nanning to Kunming, Aocheng Tower, Yunnan Museum, Guandu Ancient Town, Nanqiang Market, mushroom hotpot, Dai snacks, street craft beer...

2. DAY2: July 10, Friday, class in the morning, lunch at Daguan Zhuanxin Farmers' Market, afternoon at Secret Realm M60 Creative Park, dinner at Xia Dama BBQ featured in 'A Bite of Life', evening stroll on Qianwang Street...

3. DAY3: July 11, Saturday, noon bike ride around Cuihu, visits to various museums...

4. DAY4: July 12, Sunday, noon at Kunming Museum, evening at Dounan Flower Market

5. Kunming Station ending...

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