Kunming Weather

[chinabro]

Hi,
I'm looking to move to southern China at the end of this year, possibly to study at Yunnan University.
I've lived in Hangzhou for a year before and the winters were pretty harsh and the pollution pretty bad.

I'm from Australia so I'm used to clean air and very mild weather. Hangzhou was not very comfortable for me.
I've heard many times southern china is a lot warmer, and that Yunnan in particular has very clean air.

I looked through this forum and can't find much recent information on weather, but there were a number of posts suggesting that the winters were getting colder every year.

 

In terms of pollution I am looking for an average high of 100ppm. This is not ideal but since it's China I doubt I am going to find a place with normal 30's. Hangzhou would commonly be around 150-200 occassionaly up to 300-400 and you can really feel it. Especially sucks on a winters day, when the sun comes out allowing you to get some excersice and Vitamin D but forcing you to breathe in toxic air.

I'm not as worried about Hot weather, at least it doesn't cause Seasonal Affective Disorder (SADS) which I suffered in Hangzhou. But any and all information is very welcome!
(maybe throw in some personal ways you have managed to deal with the poor weather/pollution)

 

~~~~

TL:DR
Can anyone vouch for the pollution levels and weather in Yunnan, specifically Kunming? (Specific numbers would be helpful as well)


Thanks all.

[maomao2014]

AQI for Kunming today is 38. 

[anonymoose]

I haven't spent any long periods of time in Kunming, so I can't give any overall view of the weather. All I can say, though, is that although Kunming has a reputation for all seasons being like spring, it felt every bit as much like winter when I went there in February 2007 as did Shanghai, and presumably also Hangzhou.

 

The only place I know in China that is truly warm the whole year round is Xishuangbanna, but there's not much to do there long term (ie. language courses, jobs, and so on), but it's great for a holiday.

[Angelina]

Yunnan, Hainan, maybe Xiamen in Fujian Province, Shenzhen. Try these parts of China if suffering from SADS. 

[Sydney Matt]

I've lived in Kunming for about three years now, although I skipped Winter the first year. I'm also from Australia, and the winters in Kunming are definitely colder than those in Sydney. The temperatures can sometimes hover around zero degrees Celsius, at least at night. Having said that, I'd say that many winter days here have a maximum temperature of around 14-17 degrees, so it's far from "freezing". Occasionally, there will be a few seriously cold days, and last year there were even a few days of snow in the city itself, but just rain so far this year. On the one hand, there is basically no heating here, you need to rely on small, free-standing electric heaters or similar. On the other hand, the winter is quite short - "real" winter only lasts about two months at the most. 

 

Although it's not perfect, air quality is much better than Beijing, Shanghai etc. Pollution exists, but other than around construction sites and so forth, I don't find it particularly noticeable. You can check the AQI here: http://aqicn.org/city/kunming/cn/. Outside of Kunming, there are other parts of Yunnan (smaller cities and towns) that I'd consider to have better air quality, and perhaps climate depending on what you like, but as anonymoose mentioned, the trade-off is less opportunities in terms of study, work and so on.

 

As a generalisation, Kunming has relatively cold but short winters, beautiful spring and autumn with sunny days and blue skies, and mild but quite rainy summers.

[abcdefg]

Am sitting in my living room bundled up with several layers of clothes wishing I was in Xishuangbanna or Thailand. No hot water the last few days because the system is solar.

 

All I can say, though, is that although Kunming has a reputation for all seasons being like spring, it felt every bit as much like winter when I went there in February 2007 as did Shanghai, and presumably also Hangzhou.

 

Yesterday (cold and rainy) I was joking with a taxi driver about how ugly the weater was here in the "City of Eternal Spring." He was a Kunming native and said that the slogan was true about 20 years ago when it was minted.

 

We both laughed and then he started griping about the terrible traffic.

[chinabro]

Thanks for your replies all.

Thanks Matt for your Sydney comparison. It's something I can really relate to. Too bad Sydney is PERFECT weather 365 days a year so I can't really complain if it's worse elsewhere in the world.

@abcdefg
Since you have experience in Kunming, I'd like to ask if you could confirm three of Matt's most important points.

1. On the other hand, the winter is quite short - "real" winter only lasts about two months at the most. (also could you add which 2 months these are - perhaps I'll be on uni holidays and can escape during this time)

 

2. Pollution exists, but other than around construction sites and so forth, I don't find it particularly noticeable.

3. As a generalisation, Kunming has relatively cold but short winters, beautiful spring and autumn with sunny days and blue skies, and mild but quite rainy summers.

These would really give me a good idea of what things are like.

 

Also to get an idea of how it is where you come from (texas?) do you think it's generally a lot colder in Kunming than where you are from?

I recently lived with some Norweigans who would wear t-shirts in 10 degree weather, and seemed to get SADS during summer, so it's good to know who you are talking to when finding out things like this.

Thanks again

[abcdefg]

I trust what Sydney Matt said and agree with his main points. He expressed them well.

 

But I'll try to independently answer your questions so as to give you a "second opinion" from someone who has lived here a little longer. I mean no disrespect to Sydney Matt by doing so.

 

His tip to look at the actual air quality index numbers is an excellent suggestion. If you enter Kunming in the search box, you will be presented a choice of several parts of town. This is important because the air in Kunming is not uniform, and different parts of the city vary from one another quite a lot.

 

This is because of proximity to construction sites and manufacturing plants as well as being due to the direction of the usual prevailing winds, Regulation of automobile emissions is lax, so if you live near a busy highway interchange, you breathe more noxious fumes day in and day out.

 

So the AQI chart can show the air quality in 东华小区, where I live, to be higher than in Xishan or Chenggong (university city.) I have mild to moderate asthma, so my lungs make me aware when the air is bad. Some days I can feel it and other days my medication keeps it at bay.

 

The coldest part of Winter is January. Part of December and part of February finish making the two months Mr. Sydney referred to. But it's not like cold weather is just suddenly switched off on such and such a day by imperial decree. Several weeks on either side of the main official winter can be nippy as well.

 

I have nothing to add to Sydney Matt's fine summation in point number 3.

[abcdefg]

Missed this: >>"Also to get an idea of how it is where you come from (texas?) do you think it's generally a lot colder in Kunming than where you are from?"

 

When in Texas, I live between Dallas and Texarkana, not far from the Oklahoma border -- in other words, far NE Texas. Gets real cold with several heavy freezes every year. Snow and ice are not rare.

 

Kunming feels colder because of the way housing is built. Walls have no insulation, windows are one single layer of glass and they usually are poorly fitted, letting in drafts. Floors seldom have carpeting. My apartment, in an an older six-story walk-up building, has solar hot water, so you can't bathe when the sun is not out. No central heating.

 

So I suffer more in Kunming during the winter than I would in the States. But it is tolerable. If my mother were still alive, she would probably add that such conditions also build character.

[chinabro]

Yes, I also mean no disrespect to Syd Matt. I just know people have different experiences because of what they are used to. I have a lot of friends who insist that winter is their favourite season, but that's just plain madness to me.

 

One more question I'd like to add since we are on the topic of Kunming - What is the level of Mandarin in the city and areas around? I've heard that a lot of people stick to their dialect, so it's not the best for learning Mandarin. (I guess this would be different within the university grounds)

@abcdefg
Thanks for adding your independant answers to those questions. All very helpful.
When you say Chenggong is university city does that mean ALL (or majority) of universities are located there? I was thinking of going to Yunnan University, am finding it hard to see where it is located in the city.
My main concern is being able to find a place to run outdoors, in a non polluted area, without having to travel too far from my uni.

Unfortunately 西山森林公园 is a little too far from everything else, but sounds like an awesome place to go for outdoor activities.

Haha, "such conditions also build character." I'm sure there is a lot of truth to this.
 

[abcdefg]

My US home base is NE Texas. Not as frigid as Harbin; not as balmy as Thailand.

 

One more question I'd like to add since we are on the topic of Kunming - What is the level of Mandarin in the city and areas around? I've heard that a lot of people stick to their dialect, so it's not the best for learning Mandarin.

 

 

There is lots of dialect spoken here. Many families use it in the home, regardless of their educational level. Most can also speak fairly standard Mandarin, but it often comes with an accent. So it's not the perfect language environment. Not even the chamber of commerce could claim that. Personally, I have not found it to be a major obstacle.

 

When you say Chenggong is university city does that mean ALL (or majority) of universities are located there? I was thinking of going to Yunnan University, am finding it hard to see where it is located in the city.

 

To the best of my knowledge foreign students have class at the main campus in the center of the city, not far from Green Lake 翠湖。Sidney Matt probably has a more accurate answer, since I'm not part of the university crowd. (I live a fairly native-type life in an older, less affluent part of the city.)

 

My main concern is being able to find a place to run outdoors, in a non polluted area, without having to travel too far from my uni.

 

Should not be hard if you aren't too picky.

[Sydney Matt]

 

 

When you say Chenggong is university city does that mean ALL (or majority) of universities are located there? I was thinking of going to Yunnan University, am finding it hard to see where it is located in the city

 

Yes, can confirm what abcdefg has said about this. If you are studying a non-degree Chinese language program, you should be at the old (original) campus, across the road from Green Lake (essentially in the city centre). 

 

If you are studying an undergraduate degree program, however, it's quite possible that you will be at Chenggong, where the universities have their big new flashy campuses.