Golden Week, 1–7 October: trains, hotels and Jade Dragon tickets sell out. If you can, start your trip after 8 October. Updated 25 Sep

Dawn tai chi and a morning in the park

Dawn tai chi and a morning in the park

Kunming (Green Lake Park 翠湖公园), Dali, Lijiang and most cities

Photo: Gauthier DELECROIX - 郭天 from Qingdao, China, CC BY 2.0

Everyday life 2–3 hours from about 7 a.m. Kunming (Green Lake Park 翠湖公园), Dali, Lijiang and most cities

Chinese city parks are busiest before 9 a.

Good for:
Early risers, jet-lagged travelers, photographers

m. At Green Lake in Kunming, you join a tai chi teacher for an hour of slow forms, then wander past sword practice, amateur choirs, erhu players and retirees doing laps of the lake. Finish the way locals do, with a bowl of small-pot rice noodles in one of the lanes nearby.

Etiquette and what to know

Wear loose clothes and flat shoes; tai chi is gentle and suits any age. From about November to March, black-headed gulls winter on Green Lake and feeding them is part of the morning.

WhatsApp us