Trip Overview
When: December (warm winter escape from Chengdu)
Duration: 5 days
Travelers: Family with kids
Budget: ~3,000 RMB (~$420 USD)
Why: Chengdu winters are brutal—no sun for months, terrible air quality. When sunshine finally appears, the whole city celebrates. That's why Chengdu locals flock to Kunming, the "Spring City" with year-round pleasant weather.
Why Kunming?
My hometown Chengdu has one problem: winters are misery. Gray skies, polluted air, and when the sun occasionally pops out, it makes national news. So when winter hits, Chengdu residents escape to warmer climates—and Kunming (昆明), known as the "Spring City" for its mild climate, is the top destination.
This time, we're heading to the Ancient Yunnan Kingdom (古滇名城), a fantastic resort area we visited last summer. Winter is perfect for a dedicated trip with the kids—this place has hotels, hot springs, Colorful Yunnan Happy World, a pet paradise, and wetlands. Basically, you could stay here for days without repeating activities.
Day 1: Gujian Resort Hotel - Dola Pet Paradise - Crowne Plaza
Gujian Resort Hotel (古滇度假酒店)
For value seekers, Gujian Resort Hotel is an excellent choice. It's more like a wellness community with comprehensive amenities—gym, restaurant, cafe, supermarket, hospital... everything you need.
The bathrooms come equipped with child-sized toilets, and toiletries include baby-specific products—very thoughtful.
The family rooms are divided into sections for boys and girls, complete with toys and a small tent—the kids absolutely love it.
Location: The hotel is conveniently located near Happy World and the wetlands, with various restaurants nearby. Overall, it's the best value option in the area.
Gym
Cafe
Dola Pet Paradise (古滇朵拉萌宠乐园)
Dola Pet Paradise was our first stop with the kids—it's very close to Gujian Resort Hotel, just across the street.
The park covers 117 mu (about 19 acres), with Phase 1 opening December 21, 2019, covering 66 mu. The park features 17 play areas including Squirrel Village, Black Nose Sheep Alliance, Kangaroo Settlement, Capybara Hot Springs, Goat Show Arena, Hobbit Street, Alpaca Ranch, and Hunting Zone—35 species of nearly 300 cute animals.
Squirrel Village
Cute snowground squirrels live here, and these animals share one trait: they're extremely friendly, especially to kids. We bought a bag of feed from the caretaker, and these squirrels actively came running for treats—not shy at all. At specific times, there are educational talks about these animals—perfect for kids to have fun while learning.
Black Nose Sheep
Black nose sheep are one of the internet-famous animals here—carrots are their favorite. You can buy carrots to feed them (many animals here love carrots: alpacas, piglets... so don't worry if you don't finish a bag, there are plenty more critters waiting).
In the corner, there's a cute little black nose sheep—reportedly one of the first born in China. It looked like it had just learned to stand.
Baby Kangaroos
The kangaroos here are small—much more gentle than Australian kangaroos. Kids won't be scared. Last time we went to Australia, the kangaroos were bigger than the kids!!! These kangaroos have a special skill: they love kebabs.
Piglets
The piglets here are also very cute and extremely greedy eaters. Their eating manner isn't ugly—it's actually adorable.
How can you resist not feeding such adorable piggies!
Animal Shows
At fixed times, the park also has wonderful animal performances. Smart parrots and flexible dogs... sometimes you marvel at how intelligent animals can be.
Alpaca Area
Feeding alpacas is also a great experience. However, note that there are quite a lot of alpacas here, and some have bad tempers—if they notice you didn't feed them, they'll spit at you.
This alpaca is the most handsome one—very special!
Hobbit Street
There's also a street here modeled after Hobbiton—suddenly you feel like you're in New Zealand.
Peacocks
A group of peacocks here compete to display their feathers.
Raccoons
The raccoons here can also be fed. Although they look a little fierce, they're actually very tame. However, for safety, we used a long spoon to feed them.
At this pet paradise, children don't just visit—they visit the animals' homes, where animals are the hosts and humans are the guests. The park has built an entire playground for kids, including slides with black nose sheep, trampolines with alpacas, and a series of eco-play projects like herding sheep on the hillside.
Admission: 48 RMB/person (same price for adults and children)
Family Ticket: 128 RMB (2 adults + 1 child)
Yixin Garden Restaurant (怡心园)
If you're in Kunming, don't miss Yixin Garden Restaurant in Ancient Yunnan Kingdom. It's right next to Gujian Resort Hotel, very easy to find. It's already a famous dining brand in Kunming.
This restaurant specializes in authentic Yunnan cuisine, but after the chef's innovations, these dishes maintain traditional Yunnan flavors while presenting high aesthetics. Most dishes are somewhat spicy, which suits Sichuan palate quite well.
Crowne Plaza Gujian (古滇名城皇冠假日酒店)
For those with higher accommodation standards, Crowne Plaza is recommended. It's right next to Colorful Yunnan Happy World—you can even see the rides from your room. The hotel specifically designed two types of family rooms—one for boys, one for girls. The attention to detail is exceptional.
We stayed in the girls' room with our little one. Opening the door reveals a pink princess-style room. The room is very warmly decorated with a large bed and bunk beds, accommodating 2 adults and 2 children. There are also many toys, a tent, and stuffed animals for kids to play with on the floor.
The bathroom is specially designed with a child-sized toilet step—very practical for younger children. They also have children's toiletries—very thoughtful.
Outside the balcony is Colorful Yunnan Happy World, and further in the distance is Dianchi Lake—the view is wonderful.
Crowne Plaza 1887 Buffet Restaurant
The hotel's buffet dinner is also very丰富—we went around Christmas, so the Christmas atmosphere was strong. The desserts in the dessert area all have high aesthetics and taste great. The dining area also has Buddha Jumps Over the Wall (佛跳墙) and lobster—truly sincere offerings.
Desserts are all very exquisite
Beijing Roast Duck
Seafood Area
Buddha Jumps Over the Wall (佛跳墙)
Day 2: Colorful Yunnan Happy World (七彩云南欢乐世界)
Colorful Yunnan Happy World is Yunnan's largest theme park. Unlike other theme parks elsewhere, it features unique Yunnan ethnic characteristics, using Ancient Yunnan culture as the background, incorporating minority cultures, Ancient Yunnan battlefields, and jungle secrets. It creates a theme park with 7 zones (Dream Childhood, Four Seasons Flower Sea,滇幻奇域, 万象部落, 滇军营地, 霜月寒洲, 洪荒秘境) and 81 attractions, each zone with its guardian deity: "Flying Tiger," "Elephant God," "Tiger God," "Eagle God," "Flower Spirit," "Stone Spirit," and "Bird Spirit."
How to Play the Park?
Today I'm sharing our route—parents with kids can use this as a reference. The park is open 10:00-19:30 (winter). I recommend arriving before 10 AM to enter first thing and avoid queues.
Several show times are basically fixed—refer to this schedule to plan your day:
14:00 "Colorful Yunnan" - Location: 万象部落
15:30 "Ancient Yunnan Parade" - Location: Red dotted line on map (Saturdays and holidays only)
17:30 "Ancient Yunnan Legends" - Location: 滇军营地
19:00 "Peacock Princess" - Location: Four Seasons Flower Sea, Kunming Lake (fountain at main entrance)
19:30 Colorful Dianchi Fireworks Show - Location: Park main entrance
Daily show times may vary—check the broadcast after entering for specific times.
Or follow the Colorful Yunnan Ancient Yunnan Kingdom Resort WeChat public account to see the latest show schedule daily.
After entering the park at 10 AM, the park is nearly empty in the morning. If you're with kids, start from the left at Dream Childhood—children will absolutely love it.
Dream Childhood
Houses made of cake, pools sprinkled with糖果—this is a magical world for babies. This area includes 11 attractions—you could play here for half a day easily.
Frog Jump
Rating: ★★★☆☆
Little frogs do up, down, and continuous jumping motions—like sitting on a frog's back hopping. Kids really love this!
Baby Paradise
Rating: ★★★★★
A play area for young children with many toys and multimedia drawings—an interactive entertainment experience center. Many parent-child projects like multimedia interactive walls, driving school, and rotating slides are very popular. If it's too hot outside in the afternoon, this is perfect.