Vejret i Kunming (Yunnan) i januar

Forum posters offer genuinely mixed views on September in Kunming and Yunnan more broadly: some describe it as the tail end of the rainy season, which peaks in August, with heavy rain still a real possibility and skies often cloudy or foggy enough to obscure nearby snow mountains, while others specifically prefer September for escaping the more intense summer heat found in cities like Beijing or Xi'an. Posters consistently describe September as shoulder season - quieter than the July-August school holiday crush, but not as sparse as December. Posters generally recommend packing summer clothing for daytime, with a light coat or sweater for cooler mornings and evenings, and genuinely warmer layers for any side trip into higher-elevation mountain areas. Posters generally rate September as a reasonable, if occasionally rainy and hazy, time to visit Kunming.

Kunming is called the Spring City because its climate is spring-like year-round, and March is when that is most literally true: cherry and plum blossom still out in early March, near 23°C by day, rain on only four days. Nights are cooler than the label suggests, around 11°C. The forum's March recommendations are seasonal rather than architectural — Green Lake Park for the blossom and the tai chi, Yuantong Hill for the temple and the zoo, the Dounan flower market for the rest. One thing the record carries that the forum does not mention: March is the windiest month of the year here.