Things to do in Qujing
And where to stay, the best time to visit, what a day costs, and the traps to skip.
Best time to visit Qujing
• a note or something on ✦ an occasion worth the trip
Rapeseed bloom peaks across Luoping, Jinjifeng fullest from late February to mid March, with cranes still at Nianhu until March.
Quiet shoulder season with fading flowers, running waterfalls, green Zhujiangyuan forest and the prefecture at its emptiest and cheapest.
Rainy season: Jiulong at maximum volume, Dahai grassland green and cool, wild mushroom hot pot in season, and mountain roads need weather checks.
Crisp, clear and empty, with the Sand Forest at its best in low rainfall November and no flower sea or cranes to headline a trip.
Crane season at Nianhu in full winter residence, cold Huize old town, and Luoping off season until February bloom reports.
What's on
- Luoping International Rapeseed Flower Culture Festival late February to early April
The flower season festival in Luoping, with art performances, painting exhibitions, a flower sea marathon and cycling races.
- Luoping Grand Blossom Marathon March, date announced each year
A marathon through the blooming Luoping basin in March, and the hardest weekend of the year for Luoping beds and roads.
- Yi Torch Festival 24th day of the sixth lunar month, usually July or August
The Yi fire festival of village torches, bonfires, music and dancing, a community festival in Yi areas including parts of Qujing.
Best things to do in Qujing
Jinjifeng Peak Cluster
Karst cones rise from a flat basin that turns into a yellow rapeseed sea each February and March, best at dawn in the mist.
Luosi Field
Circular terraced fields spiral down karst funnels like screw threads, free to view from the road and best in afternoon light.
Jiulong Waterfalls
Ten tiers of falls drop over 100 metres along one forested river, walked downhill with a bamboo raft section on calm water.
Luliang Colorful Sand Forest
Banded red, yellow, white and grey sand pillars fill a walkable valley, a miniature Arizona and the closest big sight to Qujing city.
Zhujiangyuan Scenic Area
A forested park on Maxiong Mountain protecting the spring that is the source of the Pearl River, a gentle and symbolic half day.
Cuanbaozi Monument
An Eastern Jin dynasty stele treasured in calligraphy history for its script in transition, and the heart of Qujing's Cuan story.
Majie Terraced Fields
High rapeseed terraces above Luoping that bloom later than the basin, stacking through cloud in late March and early April.
Huize Ancient Town
A lived in copper town of guild halls and old streets, the human half of a Huize stay for cranes or the grass mountain.
Where to stay in Qujing
Qilin District, Qujing city
transit nights, Zhanyi and Luliang days
The rail and road hub with the prefecture's best hotels, night markets and the Cuan museum, about an hour from Luliang and Zhanyi sights.
Luoping county town and Jinjifeng edge
rapeseed flower season, Jiulong and Duoyi
The only base that makes a Jinjifeng dawn practical, 12 km from the platform, with food, rentals and the station in the county town.
Huize county town
Nianhu cranes in winter, Dahai Caoshan in summer
A functional county seat with an old town, about an hour from both the crane wetland and the grass mountain, so dawn starts work.
Think twice about
- Qujing industrial and highway fringe
Coal, tobacco and logistics outskirts are bleak, noisy with trucks, poor for food on foot and no cheaper than Qilin centre.
- Isolated Jinjifeng farm stays without a car
Charming at sunset but stranded at dawn without a confirmed driver, and a long walk from any dinner.
- Kunming as a Luoping day trip base in bloom
About three hours each way in festival traffic turns the best dawn in Yunnan into a car park.
Best restaurants in Qujing
Guanfang Hotel Qujing
The city's best hotel dining room, ordered around aged Xuanwei ham steamed, stir fried and stewed, the prefecture's splurge meal.
Zhihuiyuan
Named a top city choice for Zhanyi spicy chicken, dry fried with chillies until fragrant and built to be eaten with rice.
Fuyuan Pickled Cabbage Pig's Feet Hot Pot
Pig's feet simmered in a sour pickled cabbage broth from Fuyuan, a rich group hot pot at a little over 30 yuan a head.
Jingchenyuan
An old brand named most authentic for steamed ersi, Qujing's heritage rice cake breakfast, served hot for a few yuan a bowl.
Huake Night Market
Qujing city's evening graze of roasted potatoes with many dips, grilled rice cakes, skewers and summer liangxia desserts.
Xuanwei Ham
Eat ham at its source in Xuanwei, where markets cut whole legs to order and restaurants serve it steamed, fried and in hot pots.
Zhenxing Road Pedestrian Street
Luoping's snack street for Buyi five colour rice, sour bamboo shoot fish and night market eating after a flower or waterfall day.
Totem Night Market
The Luliang evening snack stop for steamed rice noodles and Mayi Sanzi after a Sand Forest day built around cured duck.
Outdoor things to do in Qujing
Dahai Grass Mountain
A high rolling grassland of pasture, lakes and wind turbines above Huize, green and flower filled in summer and cold in any month.
Nianhu Wetlands
A Ramsar listed highland wetland where black-necked cranes winter from November to March, flighting to roost at dawn and dusk.
Nizhuhe Grand Canyon
A deep karst canyon with a river walk, a 268 metre outdoor cliff elevator, a glass corridor and a glass suspension bridge.
Haifeng Wetland
Karst peaks rise from shallow wetland near Qujing city, a little Guilin for walking, camping and winter stork watching.
Duoyi River Scenic Area
A clear green Buyi river of bamboo rafts, small falls and bamboo groves, the gentle half day counterpart to Jiulong Waterfalls.
Luoping Rapeseed Flower Scenic Area
Rent a bike or e-bike and ride the flat field roads through the flower sea at bloom height, stopping wherever the light dictates.
Luoping Grand Blossom Marathon
A spring marathon run through tens of thousands of hectares of rapeseed bloom, a pick for runners only and worth planning around.
Best hotels in Qujing
Guanfang Hotel Qujing
Qujing's flagship business hotel by the South City Gate, with spa, pool, gym and the city's most praised breakfast in its class.
Shilin International Hotel
A full service mid range city hotel in travellers' Qujing top tier, a step below Guanfang on price and polish.
Super 8 by Wyndham Qujing Qilin Garden
An honest budget chain bed on Qilin West Road, built for a late arrival and an early start rather than a day in the hotel.
Rongting Holiday Inn Luoping
Luoping's highest volume well rated hotel, with large rooms and a breakfast guests single out, made for flower season dawns.
Zhong Yuan Hotel
A large, slightly older Luoping four star with big rooms and easy parking, on the flower fields side of town.
Xinmengyuan Hotel
A small 13 room hotel near Jinjifeng whose scenic rooms look straight over the peak cluster, built for photographers at dawn.
Ramada Huize
The closest thing Huize has to an international standard bed, the pragmatic top pick for cold crane season dawns.
Is Qujing expensive? What a day costs
| Budget | CN¥180 a person |
|---|---|
| Classic | CN¥380 a person |
| Splurge | CN¥800 a person |
A day of food, drink, sights and getting around, before the room
What to book ahead
- Jinjifeng Peak Cluster: weeks ahead
- Nizhuhe Grand Canyon: a few days ahead
- Luoping Grand Blossom Marathon: weeks ahead
- Rongting Holiday Inn Luoping: weeks ahead
- Zhong Yuan Hotel: weeks ahead
- Xinmengyuan Hotel: weeks ahead
- Book Luoping rooms at least 15 days ahead for festival weekends and before the train, as the small hotel stock sells out in bloom.
- Marathon weekend in peak bloom is the hardest bed and road weekend of Qujing's year.
- Buy combined scenic tickets ahead on Trip.com on peak weekends, especially Nizhuhe gate plus elevator plus cableway.
- Book Kunming trains early in flower season and on holidays through 12306 or Trip.com.
- Book Huize winter weekends once dates are set, because the better town hotels are a small pool.
Is Qujing safe?
- Huize plateau sites are high and windy, so carry a jacket and sun protection even in summer.
- Jiulong boardwalks are wet with mist, so wear footwear with grip and take the cheap raincoat.
- At Nizhuhe the glass corridor, bridge and cliff elevator are exposed and high, so vertigo is a real disqualifier.
- Eat wild mushrooms only fully cooked, in season, at busy specialist restaurants, and respect the cooking timer.
- Carry hotel and destination names in Chinese characters and download offline maps before leaving Kunming.
- Ask before close up portraits in Buyi and Yi villages, and keep a respectful distance from wintering cranes at Nianhu.
Qujing travel tips: tourist traps to skip
- Qujing city sold as a sightseeing destination: it is a pleasant transit day and a hub, and the prefecture around it is the destination.
- Jinjifeng outside flower season is a green karst viewpoint, not worth a dedicated cross province trip on its own.
- Skip the man made sandcastles inside Luliang Sand Forest and photograph the geology instead.
- Jiulong in the driest weeks runs thin at full ticket price, so Duoyi River is the better Luoping water day then.
- Never step into planted flower fields for photographs, use the designated paths, and agree photo and beekeeper charges before.
- Buy Xuanwei ham in Xuanwei from a leg you can see, not from station and scenic area souvenir shops.
Getting around Qujing: public transport and more
- Fly to Kunming Changshui, then take a high speed train to Qujing North, with the fastest runs about 39 minutes.
- Luoping is roughly 2 to 3 hours by road from Qujing city and about 3 hours from Kunming, so base in Luoping in flower season.
- Charter a car with driver per cluster: Luoping charters run about 200 to 500 yuan a day and e-bikes 80 to 120 yuan a day.
- For Zhujiangyuan, ride a Qujing bus to Zhanyi station, then the scenic area line from Zhanyi No. 1 Middle School.
- For Nizhuhe, take the train to Xuanwei Station, then the scenic bus or a car for the two hour mountain leg.
- Base in Huize and hire locally the night before for pre dawn starts at Nianhu and Dahai.
Who Qujing suits
| Solo travellers | Good |
|---|---|
| Groups of friends | Good |
| Couples | Good |
| Bachelor parties | Not ideal |
| Families | Good |
| Bachelorette parties | Not ideal |
Make Qujing your trip
Swearby drafts the days from places people swear by. Swap any stop, then invite the crew by text, even friends without the app. Vote on dates, track costs as you go, and everyone gets one number at the end.
Get Swearby on the App Store