Kunming: how to get there and around
Airports, stations, ports, where the hotels are and what the numbers say, from public data rather than a brochure.
Kunming is a city of 6 million people in China (Yunnan), 1,895 m (6,217 ft) above sea level. The nearest large airport is Kunming Changshui International Airport (KMG), 23 km (14 mi) from the centre. It has a dozen or more railway stations on record, including Yiliang Railway Station. Our booking partner lists 254 places to stay.
Key facts
Daylight in Kunming runs from about 10 h 37 min a day in late December to 13 h 44 min in late June (computed for 25.04° latitude), which matters more than the forecast when a day is built around one flight or one crossing.
Getting there
Kunming is served by one airport with scheduled flights. The closest large one is Kunming Changshui International Airport (KMG), 23 km (14 mi) from the centre, whose 14,764-ft runway is long enough for long-haul wide-body aircraft.
Flights to Kunming: every airport, routes and times
By rail: stations on record include Yiliang Railway Station, Shuitang Railway Station, Xiaoxicun Railway Station, Xiaoxinjie Railway Station, Shizui Railway Station, Sanjiacun Railway Station. Trains to Kunming
Buses to Kunming · Driving and car hire
Where to stay
Our booking partner lists 254 places to stay in Kunming. Of the 236 with a star rating, the largest group is 3-star (101), and 27 are five-star. Across 21 properties with at least 50 reviews, the average guest score is 9 out of 10. Guests have left 4,619 reviews in total.
Hotels in Kunming: the full picture, and book
Nearby cities, and how to get between them
- Qujing, 118 km — trains · buses · car rental · tours
- Liupanshui, 273 km — flights · trains · tours
- Bijie, 359 km — flights
- Baoshan, 358 km — flights · trains · buses
- Zhaotong, 272 km — flights · trains · tours
- Panzhihua, 199 km — flights · trains · buses · car rental · tours
- Anshun, 349 km — flights
- Mengzi, 198 km — trains · buses · car rental · tours
- Chuxiong, 118 km — trains · buses · car rental · tours
- Jianshui, 173 km — buses · car rental · tours
Twin towns and sister cities: Nairobi, Zurich, Chiang Mai, Denver, Jyväskylä, Antalya, Mandalay, Burnaby, Nancy, Fujisawa, Wagga Wagga, Vientiane, Yangon, Polonnaruwa.
Common questions
Which airport serves Kunming?
Kunming Changshui International Airport (KMG), 23 km (14 mi) from the centre.
How big is Kunming?
About 6 million people live in Kunming, across 21,013 km² (GeoNames and Wikidata).
What time zone is Kunming in?
Asia/Shanghai, currently UTC+8.
What currency is used in Kunming?
The Yuan Renminbi (CNY). Traffic drives on the right.
How many hotels are there in Kunming?
Our booking partner lists 254 places to stay in Kunming, bookable on this site.
Which cities are near Kunming?
Qujing (118 km), Liupanshui (273 km), Bijie (359 km), Baoshan (358 km), Zhaotong (272 km).
Where these facts come from
- GeoNames (CC BY 4.0): population, elevation, time zone, postal codes
- Wikidata (CC0): area, sister cities, visitor numbers, heritage listings, stations and ports
- OurAirports (public domain): airports, runways
- Natural Earth (public domain): map outlines
Data compiled 13 September 2026. Hotel figures are from our booking partner’s catalogue on that date. Journey times on this page are estimates from distance, not timetables; check the operator before you rely on one.