Things to do in Yuxi
And where to stay, the best time to visit, what a day costs, and the traps to skip.
Best time to visit Yuxi
• a note or something on ✦ an occasion worth the trip
Dry, bright spring and the best all round window, with flower fields around Fuhai Bay in March and April.
Warmest water and full lake season, but monsoon rain peaks in July and domestic crowds peak in late summer.
Rain retreats and the lake turns glassy, with oranges ripening and the best month band in late September to October.
Quietest and clearest water, winter cloud sea at Nanuo, cold swimming and Spring Festival travel pressure.
Avoid the National Day week at the lake unless booked far ahead, as resorts fill and beaches crowd hard.
What's on
- Huajie Festival Spring Festival period, lunar new year
Huayao Dai costume and courting festival in Xinping, described as an eastern Valentine's Day.
- Torch Festival 24th day of the 6th lunar month, typically July or August
Yi festival of bonfires, wrestling, singing and dancing, strongest in Eshan and Yi areas of Yuxi.
Best things to do in Yuxi
Fuxian Lake
One of China's deepest and clearest plateau lakes, startlingly blue water that drops away steeply from its shores.
Chengjiang Fossil Land Natural Museum
A major modern museum on the UNESCO Cambrian fossil site, with soft bodied fossils, reconstructions and a dig zone.
Luchong Scenic Area
The classic west shore fishing village beach, with swimming, boats, a small viewpoint hill and fish restaurants.
Gushan Island
Fuxian Lake's only island, reached by boat, with a tower viewpoint and water on every side at the top.
Yueliangwan Wetland Park
A groomed white sand wetland park beach on the north shore, with shallow entry that suits children well.
Former Residence of Nie Er
The childhood home of Nie Er, composer of China's national anthem, a small free museum in a Qing dynasty house.
Hongta Mountain
The hill park above Yuxi city topped by the red painted pagoda that gives Hongta District its name.
Xiushan Historical Cultural Park
A layered temple mountain above Tonghai old town and Qilu Lake, with ancient trees and almost no commercialisation.
Where to stay in Yuxi
Fuxian Lake north and northeast shore, Chengjiang
resort stays, families and Kunming transfers
The international resort strip closest to Kunming, with lake frontage, pools and full service hotels.
Luchong and the west shore
village life, swimming and value
A fishing village base with the beach, boats and copper pot fish restaurants on the doorstep.
Hongta District, Yuxi city
rail arrivals, Nie Er and city restaurants
The practical city base by Yuxi station, good for a first or last night but far from the lake.
Think twice about
- Chengjiang county town as a holiday base
Practical for buses and the fossil museum but with no lake frontage and nothing to walk to at night. Sleep on the shore instead.
- Yuxi city as a lake base
Hongta is more than 40 km from Fuxian Lake, so a lake trip based here means an hour of road each way. Use it for a city night only.
Best restaurants in Yuxi
Luchong Copper Pot Fish Restaurants
Lake fish cooked at the table in a copper pot, with crisp bottomed potato rice as the compulsory side.
Jiang Chuan Sheng Tai Dan Guo Yu
A city stone pot fish specialist, one of Yuxi's top local restaurants.
Asiana
The Hilton's Chinese regional restaurant, part of the lake's only real splurge dinner with a view.
Cool Rice Noodles of Hongta
Yuxi city's signature snack, cool rice noodles in a sweet sour leek dressing from morning street shops.
Dayingjie Roast Duck
Yuxi's famous roast duck suburb, best paired with the Yingyuetan hot spring in one local afternoon.
Hong Yuan Fan Dian
A grand vintage banquet house where locals entertain guests, the city's proper Yunnan dinner pick.
Banna Boluoxiang Daiwei Fandian
A Dai restaurant in Yuxi city whose signature is sour spicy grilled fish in the Dai style.
Huayao Dai Basket Meals
Huayao Dai basket meals built around rice shoots and river flavours, arranged locally on the Xinping leg.
Outdoor things to do in Yuxi
Fuxian Lake Cycling Route
Ride the lakeshore road clockwise from Chengjiang, a section in a day or the full circuit over two days.
Fuxian Lake Sailing Base
Captained sailboats on a lake with no motor traffic, the prestige way to get out on Fuxian's clear water.
Mingxing Fish Hole
A cliff foot west shore spot with layered clear water, kayaks and transparent boats charged by the hour.
Qianle International Diving Club
PADI licensed diving in Fuxian's cold, deep, dark freshwater, for certified divers and trainees only.
Bijia Mountain
A ten minute climb inside Luchong for the panorama over the beach, village and blue lake below.
Ailao Mountain Nature Reserve
Forested reserve mountains in Xinping, the committed outdoors day at Yuxi's southwestern edge.
Nan'en Waterfall
A well rated waterfall in the Ailao foothills near Xinping, paired with Yi and Huayao Dai country.
Nanuo Terraces
Quiet Hani terraces in Yuanjiang with a sea of clouds viewable much of the year and best in winter.
Best hotels in Yuxi
Hilton Yuxi Fuxian Lake
The lake's flagship resort, 346 rooms with panoramic frontage, pools, spa and several restaurants.
Angsana Fuxian Lake
A resort on the north shore with a white sand lake park and wetland park, best booked for rooms and setting.
Ramada Plaza by Wyndham Fuxian Lake
The mid tier international option by Chengjiang town, with an indoor pool and easy museum and lake access.
Fuxian Lake Jinxiu Hotel
A simple affordable hotel inside Luchong Scenic Area, with the beach and fish restaurants as its front yard.
Pullman Yuxi
Yuxi city's international brand hotel, a hillside base for the station, Nie Er sights and city restaurants.
Is Yuxi expensive? What a day costs
| Budget | CN¥250 a person |
|---|---|
| Classic | CN¥550 a person |
| Splurge | CN¥1,400 a person |
A day of food, drink, sights and getting around, before the room
What to book ahead
- Chengjiang Fossil Land Natural Museum: a few days ahead
- Fuxian Lake Sailing Base: a few days ahead
- Qianle International Diving Club: a few days ahead
- Hilton Yuxi Fuxian Lake: weeks ahead
- Angsana Fuxian Lake: weeks ahead
- Asiana: a few days ahead
- Huayao Dai Basket Meals: a few days ahead
- The Chengjiang fossil museum requires a reservation and last admission is 16:00, so book before the day and carry ID.
- Nie Er Former Residence closes on Mondays and over its midday break in listed hours.
- Lake resorts fill and price up on Chinese public holidays and summer weekends.
- Confirm sailing and diving a day ahead through your hotel, as both depend on weather and operators.
Is Yuxi safe?
- Fuxian Lake shelves steeply within a few steps of shore, so swim only in designated supervised beach areas.
- The lake sits at about 1722 m with fierce UV, so use serious sun protection and respect altitude diving rules.
- Drink bottled or boiled water despite the lake's famous purity, which describes the lake and not the tap.
- Police emergency number in China is 110.
Yuxi travel tips: tourist traps to skip
- The underwater ancient city cannot be visited, so any tour or dive priced on seeing it is selling imagination.
- Pink Beach and Sakura Valley carry the weakest ratings on the lake and are photo stops at best.
- At lakeside fish restaurants, agree the species, price per jin and weight before the fish leaves the tank.
- Verify which resort activities are actually operating before paying for an activity package.
Getting around Yuxi: public transport and more
- Kunming to the Fuxian north shore is about 50 to 70 km, roughly an hour by car, with frequent buses to Chengjiang.
- Yuxi station has high speed trains to Kunming in under an hour, but Chengjiang and the lake are road only destinations.
- The around lake bus runs at roughly two hour intervals, so hire a car and driver through your hotel for west shore, Tonghai or Ailao days.
- Keep your hotel name and destinations written in Chinese for drivers, as English thins out beyond the resort hotels.
Who Yuxi suits
| Solo travellers | Good |
|---|---|
| Groups of friends | Good |
| Couples | Great |
| Bachelor parties | Not ideal |
| Families | Great |
| Bachelorette parties | OK |
Make Yuxi your trip
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