As the 2026 Spring Festival holiday concludes, Kunming has delivered a dazzling set of cultural and tourism achievements: the city recorded 17.7967 million domestic visits, a year-on-year increase of 16.06%, with domestic tourism revenue reaching 17.13 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 28.96%. With growth in both visitor numbers and spending, the Spring City, boasting its pleasant climate, abundant activities, and heartwarming services, has become a popular national destination for Chinese New Year travel.
Winter Gulls, Blooming Flowers, and Yunnan Cuisine: Chinese New Year Ambiance at Full Throttle
"Visiting Kunming to celebrate the New Year, watch black-headed gulls, admire flowers, and savor Yunnan dishes" has become a popular way to celebrate the holiday. Dianchi Dam was thronged with people, with black-headed gulls accompanying tourists, painting a romantic winter scene. Inside Green Lake Park, tulips bloomed in profusion, their vibrant blossoms drawing citizens and tourists to stop and take photos. Kunming Old Street and Nanping shopping district were packed with visitors. Tourists from all over the country wove through Guanghua Street, Jingxing Street, and Wenming Street, browsing flower-and-bird themed cultural and creative markets, tasting characteristic Yunnan snacks, and visiting popular landmarks, immersing themselves in the historical culture and lively local atmosphere.
Events like the Jingxing Flower and Bird Art Festival and the Yunrui Coffee and Flower Market added novel attractions to the historic streets. Delicious foods such as Jianshui baked tofu, Dai-style grilled chicken, and grilled pineapples filled the air with enticing aromas, offering a true taste of Yunnan. The Year of the Horse auspicious display on Nanping Street and the New Year decorations at Zhongai Fang exuded festive spirit, becoming must-visit photo spots for tourists. The dual engines of "cultural experience + holiday vibrancy" have ignited Kunming's Spring Festival consumption boom, showcasing the "Spring City charm, where once you come, you don't want to leave" to the world.
Activities Every Day, Festivity Everywhere
To ensure tourists fully enjoyed the New Year festivities, Kunming launched nearly 200 cultural and tourism activities and preferential measures centered around "watching black-headed gulls, admiring flowers, and savoring Yunnan dishes." The Haigeng Dam New Year Concert, the Dounan Flower Market Trendy Play Party, the Guandu Ancient Town Singing Contest, and traditional folk activities at Golden Temple were staged in rotation, creating a scenario of "activities every day and festivity everywhere." Concurrently, three gull-watching themed routes and three flower-viewing holiday routes were introduced, along with a Spring Festival travel guide, to lead tourists in a deep exploration of the Spring City.
Beneficial Policies + Heartwarming Service: Safeguarding a Pleasant Travel Experience
Multiple consumer incentive policies were launched concurrently, with general consumption vouchers, shopping vouchers, and accommodation vouchers all going live, continuously activating the potential for cultural and tourism consumption and significantly boosting tourist spending willingness in Kunming. During the holiday, 15,000 on-street parking spaces in the main urban areas were free, subway operating hours were flexibly extended, and the Dounan Flower Market's heartwarming service station provided one-stop convenient services, ensuring a comfortable and secure travel experience for tourists in all aspects.
Lakeside Spring City, Scenic Floral Metropolis: Where Poetry and Local Life Coexist
Embracing the beauty of the lakeside, enjoying the constant temperature of the Spring City, embracing the poetic charm of its mountains and waters, and savoring the fragrance of the flower capital. Kunming adheres to its ecological foundation, with the 108-kilometer lakeside greenway connecting to the clear waters of Dianchi Lake. Surrounded by three mountains and with a river winding through the city, nature and the city coexist in harmony. Flowers bloom year-round, and the fragrance of Dounan flowers travels far and wide, with fresh flowers integrated into daily life, bringing to life the romance of "flowers blooming everywhere in the Spring City."
This Spring Festival, with flowers as a medium, gulls as companions, and flavors to linger, 17.7967 million visits bore witness to the beauty of the Spring City. Though the holiday has drawn to a close, the wonderful experiences continue. You are welcome to visit during the off-peak season and make your own journey to this lakeside Spring City, this scenic floral metropolis—to encounter its picturesque landscapes, feel its warm and vibrant ambiance, savor its seasonal fragrances, and fully immerse yourself in the experience of "Yunnan: A Many-Splendored Life."