For most of the twentieth century, travelling in Yunnan meant roads: long, slow, switchback routes through the mountains, with journeys between Kunming and the border country measured in days. That has changed. Since the late 1990s a rail network has been built out from the provincial capital, first west towards Dali and Lijiang, then south through the tropical country towards the Lao border, and the province now travels by train.
The western line
The line west from Kunming to Dali was the first to open up the province, and it was later doubled and upgraded so that the journey now takes a couple of hours rather than most of a day. From Dali, a branch continues north to Lijiang, and work has been pushing further towards Shangri-La, which is a harder proposition because of the terrain and altitude. The route passes through a landscape of terraced hills, small station towns and the long descent into the Dali basin, and the trains run frequently through the day with reserved seats sold online.
The southern line
The other great route runs south from Kunming through Yuxi towards Xishuangbanna and then across the border into Laos, a project finished at the beginning of the 2020s. It cut the journey to the tropical south from a long overnight drive to a few hours, crossing viaducts and tunnels through country that has no road of comparable standard, and it has already changed the tourist economy of Xishuangbanna substantially. Beyond the border it continues as an international service into northern Laos, which makes this one of the few places where a Chinese railway line is also a foreign-policy project.
Practical notes
Tickets are sold online through the national booking system and require passport details for foreigners; the booking window opens about two weeks ahead and seats on the popular services do sell out in high season. Stations outside the main cities are new and often some distance from the town, so allow time for a taxi at both ends. Bring your passport to the station, since ID is checked at the gate. Trains are fast, clean and punctual, and for the long western and southern routes the rail option is now clearly better than driving.
