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Yunnan China Adventures

We aren’t done yet, and we shouldn’t be. When it comes to finding some truly incomparable places of interest that you must see, visiting China and spending time in their richly blessed Yunnan province, in particular, is something that any traveler should consider doing. Apart from the point that it is indeed crawling with UNESCO Heritage sites, the fact of the matter is, Yunnan is so beautiful in its own right. And there’s no need to doubt that, because there are a lot of incomparable places to visit and experience here, especially in cities, towns, and even villages around Kunming, Jianshui, Honghe, Mengzi, and Yuanyang.

Because it’s being bordered by Myanmar, Laos, and Vietnam, you are guaranteed to have distinctive colorful cultures wrapped around in beautiful landscapes and ethnic customs. You will for sure be fascinated by its spectacular natural scenery, snow-capped mountain peaks, sapphire-like lakes, but even more so with its unbeatable places of interests. From gardens, houses, temples, and caves, you’ll be sure to have a taste of its historical and cultural ethnicities. Needless to say, your Yunnan China Adventures will not be fully complete, without adding a few tourist attractions to visit that isn’t really too touristy, but more like off the beaten too.

I had the pleasure of wandering around Yunnan, and at the same time, getting a grip of their local coffee drips. What I discovered was that this particular province in China is so gorgeous, especially if you get the chance to see their local attractions and share conversations with locals. The highlights of the experiential adventures I had were with the help of some local friends. I’d like to let you in an option - in case you are interested to sit back and let a Yunnan tour allow you to have that less touristy, tailor-fitted itinerary and adventure, you may want to consider Zomya.co to reveal that hidden local-preferred, off the beaten kind of worth it travel guide that can only be done in Yunnan. Yes, this includes all these items below, which can only be found strategically scattered across Yunnan. What do you think, yes?

Yuanshidong Cave

Location: Mengzi

The Yuanshidong Cave or Guanyindong is the “first cave of South of Yunnan, built during the Qing dynasty, and it has so many interesting artifacts combined in one venue: from different styles of Confucianism, Buddhism, and Taoism. Can you believe it, there are no tourists or photographers that you can see, if you decide to go before lunchtime. Be sure to go up the cave, after offering some prayers below. You’ll be stunned to see an unbelievable panoramic view of the town, with matching provincial fog, and that sacred atmosphere of the small cave makes the 100 plus steps all worth it. Don’t forget to notice the fascinating mix of zodiac statues scattered around the rooftop and pillars of the place.

Zhujia Family Garden

Location: Jianshui

Who wants to talk about movie-like settings? If you do, then this garden is for you! Jianshui’s Zhu Family Garden is the “Grand View Garden at Southwest Border of China” is the most legendary tourist attraction in Jianshui. Okay, so maybe it’s not too off the beaten, a bit touristy, but since it’s rather far from Kunming, it’s relatively less crowded with foreign tourists but more popular for local tourists coming from other towns and villages within China. You should not miss this place that’s an accommodation, sightseeing, and historical heritage of Jianshui. You’ll be amazed to see the cinematic-looking gardens and the abounding Chinese bonsai plants everywhere! Not to mention, the place is roomy, you can easily spend at least half a day to relax and enjoy the different sceneries and areas of this place.

Yuantong Temple

Location: Kunming

It’s an excellent idea to offer a prayer here. Unlike other Buddhist temples, which are built on a "climbing up" style (you have to climb to reach it), when you enter this oldest and the largest Buddhist temple in Kunming, the Yuantong Temple is reachable by descending along a gently sloping garden path. What you’ll like the most though is that the architectural style is spectacular, especially its palace, octagonal pavilion and at present the only one Theravada Buddhism of the China mainland — copper Buddhist hall. Although yes, since it is also in Kunming, it can be a touristy, especially during peak hours and seasons, it’ll be nice to swing by this time when there are not many tourists, preferably around weekday early evenings.

Temple of Tianjun

Location: Jianshui

Not much write-up about this online, because it isn’t as well known or as massive as the other temples around this town. Nonetheless, the Temple of Tianjun should merit a visit, especially if you want to pray to their sixty plus gods and deities. Definitely, off the beaten and not touristy by any standards, this spacious place of worship is where some of the locals go visit to pray and offer requests. On a typical weekday, it’s pretty much empty and all you can witness are local puppies playing around and some chirping birds resting inside the temple grounds. It’s very peaceful and there’s an ancient feel to it that you will enjoy for sure.

Confucius Temple

Location: Jianshui

Last but certainly not the least, you have to know that the leader among the list of temples to visit in this side of Yunnan is this key national historical highlight known as the Jianshui Confucius Temple. It happens to be the second largest in China, after the one in Confucius' birthplace! It has more than 700 years of history and culture preserved. You shouldn’t be surprised since this is a city that used to be their main trading link between Kunming and everything south. Aside from the towering statue of Confucius, it’s also a good idea to explore this place with a book in one hand to enjoy the feeling of being philosophical like the one and only Confucius!

The Grand Mosque of Shadian

Location: Mengzi

In case you didn’t know, Yunnan has the largest mosque in southeast China, known as the Grand Mosque of Shadian. This grandiose mosque can actually hold more than 10,000 people to do prayers; you shouldn’t wonder, because the design has said to be inspired by the Nabawi Mosque in Medina, Saudi Arabia. Very opulent and magnificent! You’ll see a different side of spirituality in China through the hallways, the pillars, gold-embelished walls, and fine chandeliers. Be sure to decide to visit during weekday early to late afternoons, so as to experience the whole mosque by yourselves.

ZOMYA.CO: Experiential Adventures in China

Providing one of a kind travel experiences, through the off the beaten path adventures in China’s Yunnan and Eastern Tibet. Building bridges between local people and authentic cultures, like traditional villages, ethnic markets, and local cuisines. Tailor-made itineraries to give you a different perspective on traveling in China.

Website: http://www.zomya.co/
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Coffee Experiences in Yunnan Province, China

Of course, when you visit China, especially if it is the Yunnan Province, having your own itinerary for a list of coffee and tea places is a definite must do. Did you know that Yunnan happens to be one of the three regions in China that predominately grows coffee? Yes, so needless to say – it’s one of the birthplaces of awesome local homegrown coffee! As a matter of fact, Yunnan dominates the whole of China when it comes to producing Arabica plants (95%!), and since it’s bordering with neighboring coffee-cultured countries like Vietnam, Laos, and Myanmar – you are guaranteed to get that Asian diverse coffee flavors. They are even exporting 70% of their coffee products coming from Yunnan Province, and I would not wonder that someday soon, they will be known globally as a coffee heaven, much like in Australia and Italy!

As the story goes, while instant coffee is still one of the largest coffee segments in China, it does not hurt to know that there are actually a lot of coffee choices, from third wave cafes, commercial coffee shops, and even local village coffee picks that are truly special. What’s really cool though is that even Starbucks debuted its FIRST SINGLE-ORIGIN Yunnan Coffee across all Starbucks retail locations in the whole of Mainland China. Superb, yes. This goes to show how much Chinese locals are becoming serious coffee drinkers, and how considerate they are becoming, when it comes to creating new partnerships and fusions of their coffee culture.

Let’s do a bit of quick history lesson over here: since Yunnan has a bit of a high altitude, mild climate, and very fertile soil, it is one of the best environments for producing coffee. Although the main coffee plantations within Yunnan are in Pu'er, Baoshan, and Dehong, you can find coffee plantations here and there, though smaller in scale.

Best Cafes within Kunming City

Roaming around from one city, several towns and villages to another, I’ve noticed that there are coffee places that are cut above the rest. In the Spring City alone, there are streets full of quaint cafes that are not only picture perfect, but full of quality coffee finds. One particular coffee shop in Kunming that is considered the civilization-level of awesome coffee, good for foreigners, locals, and students alike is Salvador's Coffee House (萨尔瓦多咖啡馆). If you are in Kunming City Center, and you have some idle time to just do some rest and relaxation with a good cup of Joe and an excellent comfy cafe environment, then Salvador’s Coffee House, which opened in 2004, is the best choice.

Another good find in Kunming City is the Elephant Books, and the Ba Liang Hai cafe, which are very much local-preferred coffee shops, but you can occasionally find a few foreigners too. Aside from the fact that they serve mostly Yunnan coffee beans, there are also some signature drinks that you can choose to try. No need to worry about WIFI or credit card payment problems, because these cafes in Kunming are very much tech savvy and reliable.

Of course, if you are pressed for time, and there are not many coffee shops to choose from, you can never go wrong with a stereotypical Starbucks order; or perhaps, some instant coffee from a nearby convenience store? Yes, why not!

Best Cafes outside Kunming City

You shouldn’t be surprised to know that in places like Jianshui, Honghe, Yuanyang, or even Mengzi, you will still be able to find good local coffee shops to either dine in or order a takeaway cup of Joe. Naturally, it requires a bit of luck or a lot of local information, and it’s best to know someone from within that town, village, or county you are visiting. If you don’t know anyone though, need not walk around without any caffeine on your blood – quick solution would be to reach out to Zomya.Co! As I have shared with you a couple of blog posts ago, in case you are interested to sit back and let a Yunnan tour allow you to have that less touristy, tailor-fitted itinerary and adventure, one that you can act and feel like a local, even in the coffee places where you can hang out, then I believe you may want to consider Zomya.co. The team can reveal that hidden local-preferred, off the beaten kind of worth it coffee or tea travel guide that can only be done in Yunnan, whether within Kunming or outside. So yes, let’s brew that in your bucket list?

You can visit newly open cafes that feels as if a coffee shop has been built just for you, or perhaps even try the local version of Gong Cha known as IGONG CHA (possibly, the cousin?). Whether it might be an imitation or an inspiration, I recommend trying it out, because the quality of drinks here at IGONG Cha is really tasty.

One of the best stand out coffee shop moments that I have ever tried in my life would definitely be in a small quaint traditional village in the suburbs of Yunnan province. It is known as the Fireplace Coffee Shop somewhere in Yuanyang, and the experience is heavenly. Literally. Why so?

To give you a picture, during that particular morning we visited this village, the footprints of an endless morning fog started to conceal the cafe’s window view with heavenly white. It’s a surprise. I couldn’t be happier. As we waited for our local – yet western friendly coffee drinks to be prepared, I cannot help but notice the otherworldly overall cafe ambiance of the Fireplace coffee shop. Even if it was in the middle of a remote village, is, well, perfection. With WIFI, yes!

Rustic, traditional, and hipster in the atmosphere, the place has its very own fireplace on its second floor. The coffee beans sold here are locally produced, and the crews are from the Hani ethnic group. How authentic can this get? Perfect place for long casual coffee conversations about light stuff like travel and China, or perhaps even about deep highlights like science and history. Be it students, lovers, friends, family, brothers, or even as a solo person, you should want to experience this matchless coffee shop experience right in the heart of a local village in Yuanyang. So yes to coffee, yes to China too!