How to Get Around Yunnan

Getting in: Kunming is a major hub with international flights across Asia, and high-speed rail from Shanghai, Guangzhou and Chengdu.

High-speed rail now links Kunming to Dali and Lijiang in a few hours, which has transformed travel in the province — what was an overnight bus is now a morning.

The China-Laos railway runs from Kunming through Xishuangbanna to Vientiane, which makes an overland trip into Southeast Asia straightforward.

Flying to Shangri-La, Lijiang, Jinghong and Mangshi saves long mountain drives.

Buses and hired cars reach the terraces and the villages. Mountain roads are winding and subject to landslides in the wet season; allow more time than the distance suggests.

Note: a Chinese payment app is close to essential, and border areas may require permits.