CHINA - YUXI
If you are leaving for this destination, this guide will be very, very, very useful.
Yuxi is a chinese city in the Yunnan province.
Only few tourist came here because Yuxi is a city outside the tourism routes.
I stayed here one month and I met only three tourists, two had happened by chance and as they came they have gone, the other remained a few days for a job.
You will probably be the only Westerners, children will look at you fearfully, and only with very few people you will be able to talk as almost no one speaks English. Despite everything, it is not so bad.
Yuxi is famous for porcelain vases, from all over China they come here to buy them.
Useful Information
Currency: the chinese currency is the renminbi. 1 EUR = 7,79 CNY
Time Zone: UTC+7 respect to Italy.
Documents: you need a passport with a residual validity of at least 6 months. For entry, you must also have a visa that can be requested from the Chinese diplomatic-consular representations in Italy. Visas are not issued at border posts, so people who arrive in China without visa can not enter.
Telephony: I advise you to buy a local SIM. The Internet has a very narrow band and both with the wifi and the SIM you will navigate very slowly. You can not use social networks (facebook, whatsapp, ….) and many emails are not working (yahoo is one of those that work). I advise you to get a VPN before you leave, there are both free and paid, the paid VPNExpress, costing 10 euros per month, works perfectly, browsing the VPN you can use social networks and access all sites.
Language: nobody speaks English. I recommend downloading an APP for translation. It’s the only way to communicate with the chinese people.
Climate: Yuxi is considered the endless spring, never too cold in winter, never too hot in summer. Sudden thunderstorms that last about an hour are frequent.
Credit Cards: they are not accepted in any place or in any bank. The only one who accepts the credit card is the Hongta hotel. You can not withdraw cash, remember to provide cash before reaching this location. You can exchange both euros and dollars in banks that are also open on Saturdays.
Curiosity: the city has developed thanks to the tobacco industry. Here there is one of China’s largest tobacco manufacturing companies.
This area is considered the Chinese area with the most sociable people of China, the cleanest and least smog area.
As in many other places in China, There are a lot of public toilettes, clean and well-maintained.
Where to stay
I have stayed at the Hongtà Hotel. This is a western hotel, perhaps the most expensive in the city, but by western standards it is cheap. It is clean, the rooms are big (mine was 50 square meters), the breakfast is very good and varied, western, oriental, …… There is also a gym, not very equipped, and a “leisure” area “with ping pong and billiards. In front of the hotel there is a big park, under renovation during my stay, where you can play sports, stroll, ……
Where and what to eat
Needless to say that the predominant cuisine is Chinese. At any time of day you will find someone who will prepare something, the cost of a dinner is very low: 3 euros is when you will spend a lot. In some local more expensive, you can find pizza, because it is impossible to understand the plate, every menu’ has the pictures of the dishes, pay attention to what you will look like a pizza with salame, in reality it is a pizza with strawberries, yes, you understood well ….. strawberries. It’s one of the most disgusting things I’ve ever eaten.
A very popular local dish is the duck that cook in these pots for eight hours.
Very good also the ravioli and nuddles in broth or spicy.
I suggest you “Cafè Fin du Monde“, sit outside to eat meat, pizza and drink a good European beer or a very good Chinese tea of various tastes. They prepare sweets similar to our westerners, crepes with ice cream, waffles, ….
If you do not find anything that suits you, you can go to Mc Donald with sandwiches similar to ours.
Where to shop
There is only one large supermarket (Carrefour) where you can find anything.
There is the market where you can find fresh fruit, vegetables, mushrooms, …
There are shops where they sell healing herbs
How to move
You can move on foot or by taxi.
For taxis, consider that they do not speak English, you will have to provide all the information in their language. The cost is low.
There are also buses, from very low cost (1 cny), operating all day until late evening.
Where to go for an after dinner
There aren’t bar for an after dinner.
Along th street there are markets open until late.
What to do in the week-end
You can visit the main square, a little outside the village center, dedicated to Nie Er, the musician of the people who are the author of the national anthem of the People’s Republic of China. He has dedicated this beautiful square in the shape of a violin. It is also possible to visit his house.
Nearby is Kuming, about two hours by train. It is a modern city.
You can organize a trip on the Fujian ling, in an hour you can reach it. It is a holiday resort for wealthy Chinese. There is a lake with white beaches where you can swim, sunbathe.
You can go for a trip to the nearby mountains to walk and collect mushrooms.
Where to play sports
There are many gyms, while outdoors there is a large sports facility where to go running, there are tennis courts, soccer fields, areas with tools. Everything is completely free.
