Practical Information for visiting Yunnan

Coverage for mobile networks is good in the cities and the main tourist areas and reaches remarkably far into the countryside, though the deep gorges and high passes have gaps.

The internet is filtered, as across China: most non-Chinese search, social media, messaging and mapping services are blocked. Install a VPN before arriving, since the sites to obtain one are themselves blocked, and expect intermittent performance.

Payment by phone is the practical necessity. Alipay and WeChat Pay are used for everything including village guesthouses and market stalls, both accept foreign cards now, and setting one up in advance saves real difficulty.

Wi-Fi is widespread and often requires a Chinese phone number to register.

Download offline maps before the north-west, where signal and data both thin.

Yunnan is safe and among the more relaxed Chinese provinces for visitors. The hazards are natural and administrative.

• Mushroom poisoning is a genuine and specific Yunnan risk. Hundreds of cases occur each summer, some fatal, including from species that require precise cooking. Eat them in restaurants and never forage.
• Altitude: Shangri-La at 3,200 metres and the passes beyond. Flying in from Kunming at 1,890 is a significant jump.
• Landslides and road closures during the summer monsoon, particularly in the north-west.
• Border areas with Myanmar have periodic instability and restricted zones; do not approach the frontier casually, and note that scam-compound recruitment across that border has been widely reported.
• Trekking Tiger Leaping Gorge: the high trail is exposed in places and there have been fatal falls.
• Traffic on mountain roads.

Kunming has good hospitals and an international clinic; Dali and Lijiang are adequate; the villages and the north-west have very little. Insurance covering evacuation is sensible.

Vaccinations: routine cover plus hepatitis A and typhoid; Japanese encephalitis and rabies for rural stays. Malaria risk exists in the tropical south along the Myanmar and Laos borders, and dengue occurs in Xishuangbanna.

Altitude sickness in the north-west, which is reached quickly by air or by the new railway.

Mushrooms: the single most Yunnan-specific health hazard, and it is real.

Sun at altitude is strong, and the cool air disguises it.

Water: drink bottled or boiled; hot water is provided everywhere and is what locals drink.

Politics: Tibet, Xinjiang and Taiwan are subjects to leave alone, and in the Tibetan north-west a conversation can create difficulties for the local person.

Photography: ask before photographing people, especially in minority dress and especially older women. Do not photograph police, military or border installations.

Monasteries: walk clockwise, remove hats, do not photograph inside without permission, and do not point your feet at an altar.

In Dai villages in the south, do not touch anyone’s head and remove shoes entering a temple or a house.

Tea: when the Bai three-course tea is served, the sequence and the commentary are the point; drink all three.

Tipping is not customary.

Bargaining is expected in markets and not in shops.

Emergency numbers: 110 for police, 120 for ambulance, 119 for fire. English is unlikely; carry your accommodation’s address in Chinese characters.

Medical. Kunming has the province’s best hospitals and an international clinic. From the north-west or the terraces, evacuation means a long mountain drive or a flight.

Mushroom poisoning: if symptoms appear after eating wild mushrooms, go to hospital immediately and take a sample of what you ate. Some species have a delayed onset and the delay is the dangerous part.

Altitude: descend if symptoms worsen; Shangri-La has oxygen widely available.

Have a VPN and a payment app working before arrival. Being unable to pay, call a car or use a map is the most common practical problem foreign visitors face in China.

Several countries maintain consulates in Kunming.