Before we came on our trip, Laurence and I were invited to dinner by her teacher, Zhang Laoshi (Teacher Zhang), to celebrate winter solstice. Over jiaozi, Zhang Laoshi told us that it was a bad idea to go to South China because we would get sucked into the laziness of it. She told us people didn’t get up until 11 and didn’t eat breakfast until noon. At first, I was skeptical, and I wondered aloud to Laurence if Zhang Laoshi was exaggerating or not.
However, once we arrived in Kunming, we realized she was true. Of course, she was exaggerating. Since we arrived by sleeper bus at 5 in the morning, we decided to sleep a bit before getting out to explore. We overslept a bit and didn’t leave our hostel until 10, but we quickly realized that it was no problem, because the rest of Kunming seemed to be doing the same. Morning rush hour was just starting (compared to a 8AM morning rush in Beijing!), people were crowding the bus stops, waiting to get on their buses, and breakfast places were still open and busy. I quite loved it – after many summers (and a glorious semester of classes at 11) of getting up at 10, here was a city full of my fellow late-starters.
A city full of lazy people was not without its flaws. After eating breakfast, we set out to find the Kunming City Museum, only to find it had been closed for repairs… for 2 years. The neighboring urban planning museum was completed, but just never opened. The day was not killed, though. We headed to the Yunnan Provincial Museum, which was open. That was the last stop of our planned day, and it wasn’t even lunch. So after exploring the museum (did you know that Chinese museums have no qualms about putting ancient dildos on display?), we ate lunch and decided we would let the laze of Yunnan come over us.
We spent the rest of the day wandering. I was hot (65 degrees!), so we stopped for some ice cream. A sweet old lady in front of me in line saw me and said “新年过好！”, or “Happy New Year!” We headed north to Green Lake Park, where a Sunday combined with warm weather drew huge crowds. Since many westerners skip Kunming in favor of the rice paddies and rural villages of Yunnan, we were a rare sight for Kunming citizens. Many pictures were taken of us by them, and of their city by us. On a whim, we decided to explore Yunnan University. It was obvious that this South China laze affected everyone. While Peking University kids were hunkering down for finals, students at Yunnan University were practicing their biking, taking pictures, or just resting on the grass. I was amazed by it. With two more awkward hours to kill for dinner, Laurence and I sat outdoors, enjoying the warm weather and laughing the day away.
The next day, with no commitments and facing higher temperatures than the day before, we headed out to a famous temple in the northern suburbs of Kunming. It was built on a mountain, so we wandered around the mountain, taking in the sun and warm weather. Afterward, we visited the biggest Buddhist temple in Kunming, and caught the last half-hour of a Buddhist service.
That night, we caught a sleeper bus to Anshun. After the cold and high-strung environment of Beijing, I definitely enjoyed the relaxing, warm environment of Kunming. I especially appreciated the laziness. I actually would consider living here, but the truth is, Zhang Laoshi was right when she said we would get sucked in. I know if I lived in Kunming, my 10’o clock mornings would slowly turn into 1’o clock mornings. It was an amazing and adorable city, but I’ll save it for visits.
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