Yunnan is China's most ethnically diverse province, home to 26 of China's 56 recognized ethnic groups. Stretching from subtropical jungles in the south to Tibetan plateau landscapes in the north, it offers an extraordinary range of landscapes, cultures, and experiences. Famous for Lijiang's ancient town, Tiger Leaping Gorge, and Xishuangbanna's tropical rainforests, Yunnan is a destination unlike anywhere else in China.
Accommodation overview
Hotels by budget
Find accommodation that fits your travel budget.
Budget-friendly (under $50/night)
Mijing Youth Hostel Lijiang
A social and lively hostel in the heart of Lijiang Old Town featuring a mix of dormitory beds and private rooms, centered around a large common area and rooftop terrace with views to Jade Dragon Snow Mountain. The friendly staff organize daily activities including hiking trips, cooking classes, and bar crawls through the Old Town.
Check rates on Booking.comKunming Cloudland International Hostel
A popular international hostel near Kunming's Green Lake in a traditional courtyard building, offering dorm beds and affordable private rooms with excellent common areas, a rooftop bar, and a knowledgeable travel desk. The hostel is a hub for backpackers planning onward journeys to Laos, Vietnam, or other Yunnan destinations.
Check rates on Booking.comDali Old Town Rainbow Hostel
A cheerful backpacker hostel inside Dali Ancient City with colorful murals, a lively courtyard, and a popular rooftop café with mountain and city views. The hostel rents bicycles for Erhai Lake cycling tours and organizes cheap group transport to surrounding villages and attractions.
Check rates on Booking.comNaxi Guesthouse Lijiang
A family-run guesthouse operated by a Naxi family in a converted traditional courtyard home near the edge of Lijiang Old Town. The owners share their culture and home cooking, and the courtyard garden is a peaceful retreat from the busy Old Town streets. Rooms are simply furnished but clean with private bathrooms.
Check rates on Booking.comNo. 3 Guesthouse Dali (Sanhao Kezhan)
A beloved long-running budget option in Dali Ancient City that has hosted generations of backpackers, offering simple clean rooms around a traditional courtyard with a hammock garden. The sociable atmosphere, cheap meals, and excellent travel information make this a perfect base for exploring the Dali area.
Check rates on Booking.comShangri-La Bazkar International Hostel
A well-run budget hostel inside Dukezong Old Town offering dorm and private rooms with traditional Tibetan décor at very affordable prices. The hostel's rooftop affords sweeping views of the old town and prayer wheel hill, and the in-house travel desk books tours to Songzanlin Monastery, Tiger Leaping Gorge, and Haba Snow Mountain.
Check rates on Booking.comKunming Camellia Hotel
A longtime favorite with independent travelers in central Kunming, the Camellia has been hosting backpackers for over 30 years and offers a mix of budget dorms, private rooms, and small apartments. The hotel's legendary noticeboard is filled with travel tips, lift shares, and tour recommendations from fellow travelers.
Check rates on Booking.comMid-range ($50-150/night)
Green Lake Hotel (Cuihu Binguan)
Kunming's most storied hotel, established in 1956 and set on the shores of scenic Green Lake, offering the perfect combination of history, location, and value. The colonial-style main building houses elegantly appointed rooms with lake-view balconies, while the newer wing offers modern amenities. The hotel's lakeside restaurant serves excellent Yunnan cuisine with views across the water.
Check rates on Booking.comLandscape Hotel Dali (Lanlinge)
A unique Bai-style courtyard hotel at the foot of Cangshan Mountain with panoramic views of Erhai Lake, featuring 319 rooms designed in traditional Bai minority architectural style with white-washed walls, curved roof decorations, and carved wooden screens. The hotel offers convenient access to both Dali Ancient City and the lakeside cycling paths.
Check rates on Booking.comGrand Lijiang Hotel
A well-appointed hotel combining traditional Naxi architectural elements with modern comfort, conveniently located near the entrance to Lijiang Old Town. The hotel features spacious rooms with mountain views, a rooftop terrace with panoramic Jade Dragon Snow Mountain vistas, and an excellent breakfast spread of Yunnan and Western options.
Check rates on Booking.comKunming Hotel
A well-established government-owned hotel in the heart of Kunming that underwent a full renovation, offering comfortable rooms with city views in a central location steps from Jinma Biji Archway and the main shopping district. The hotel provides excellent value with multiple restaurants, a café, and attentive service.
Check rates on Booking.comDali Inn (Dali Shanzhuang)
A charming boutique guesthouse in Dali Ancient City featuring traditional Bai-style courtyard architecture with a contemporary touch, offering 30 rooms decorated with local textiles, carved wood furniture, and original artwork by Yunnan artists. The inn's rooftop café offers excellent views of Cangshan Mountain.
Check rates on Booking.comTigerleaping Inn (Hutiaoxia Kezhan)
A trekker's favorite guesthouse positioned on the Tiger Leaping Gorge high trail, offering simple but comfortable rooms and hearty home-cooked meals after a day's hiking. The inn's terrace provides unrivaled views directly into the gorge and across to Haba Snow Mountain, and the owner provides invaluable local hiking advice.
Check rates on Booking.comShangri-La Khampa Caravan Hotel
An atmospheric boutique hotel inside Dukezong Old Town, designed to evoke the caravanserais of the ancient Tea Horse Road with Tibetan courtyard design, yak-wool textiles, and thangka paintings. The hotel offers guided cultural tours of Shangri-La and Tibet routes, with an excellent in-house restaurant serving Tibetan and local Yunnan specialties.
Check rates on Booking.comLuxury ($150+/night)
Banyan Tree Lijiang
An iconic luxury resort nestled at the foot of Jade Dragon Snow Mountain, featuring 123 private villas and suites inspired by traditional Naxi architecture with pitched roofs, carved wood details, and courtyard gardens. The resort is renowned for its award-winning Banyan Tree Spa offering signature treatments using local Naxi ingredients, along with three distinct restaurants serving Yunnan cuisine, Chinese, and international dishes.
Check rates on Booking.comSofitel Kunming
A flagship international luxury hotel in central Kunming combining French elegance with contemporary design, featuring 355 rooms and suites with floor-to-ceiling windows and city or mountain views. The hotel boasts a rooftop pool, an extensive spa with hydrotherapy facilities, and multiple award-winning dining venues including a French restaurant and authentic Chinese banquet hall.
Check rates on Booking.comAnantara Xishuangbanna Resort
A stunning tropical luxury resort set on the banks of the Luosuo River, overlooking the Xishuangbanna Tropical Botanical Garden. The resort integrates Dai ethnic architectural elements with contemporary luxury, offering riverside villas with private terraces, a lavish spa incorporating traditional Dai herbal treatments, and multiple dining venues serving Dai and international cuisine.
Check rates on Booking.comSongtsam Linka Shangri-La
An intimate boutique luxury lodge near Songzanlin Monastery offering just 20 Tibetan-style rooms with panoramic views of alpine meadows and the surrounding plateau. The lodge features the renowned Songtsam Spa combining Tibetan healing traditions and Chinese medicine with signature treatments including Tibetan medicine nectar baths and Himalayan salt scrubs.
Check rates on Booking.comThe Linden Centre
A heritage boutique hotel set inside a beautifully restored 19th-century Bai merchant's compound in the village of Xizhou, 15km from Dali. The property features three traditional courtyard gardens, hand-crafted Bai furnishings, and curated cultural programs including cooking classes, tea ceremonies, and guided village walks. Each of the 16 rooms is individually decorated with museum-quality antiques.
Check rates on Booking.comInterContinental Lijiang Ancient Town Resort
A beautifully designed luxury resort in southern Lijiang Old Town featuring Naxi-inspired architecture across low-rise blocks set among tranquil garden courtyards. The 284 rooms blend traditional dark-wood Naxi aesthetics with contemporary luxury amenities, and the resort offers one of the few heated indoor pools in the area along with a full-service spa and multiple dining options.
Check rates on Booking.comAngsana Xishuangbanna
An award-winning resort set amid tropical gardens in Xishuangbanna, sister property to the Anantara, featuring the Angsana Spa acclaimed for its integration of Dai ethnic healing traditions with modern spa techniques. The resort's rooms and villas overlook tropical greenery and the Luosuo River, with direct access to hot spring facilities and unique open-air bath pavilions.
Check rates on Booking.comBest neighborhoods to stay
Choose your base based on your interests and travel style.
Lijiang Old Town (Dayan)
UNESCO World Heritage Naxi ancient town with cobblestone alleys, water channels, and traditional architecture. Very touristy but undeniably beautiful.
Best for: Couples, photographers, cultural tourists
Kunming Green Lake Area (Cuihu)
Upscale residential neighborhood around Green Lake Park with excellent cafés, restaurants, and Yunnan specialty shops. The most pleasant area for a stroll in Kunming.
Best for: Independent travelers, coffee lovers, culture seekers
Dali Ancient City
A walled Ming Dynasty city with a bohemian atmosphere, popular with both Chinese and foreign travelers. The Renmin Road and Huguo Road axis is lined with cafes, hostels, and Yunnan craft shops.
Best for: Backpackers, slow travelers, young travelers
Shangri-La Dukezong Old Town
The largest surviving ancient Tibetan town in China, with stone-paved alleys, prayer wheels, and Tibetan architecture. Best experienced at dawn.
Best for: Spiritual travelers, photographers, culture enthusiasts
Xishuangbanna (Jinghong)
A tropical border town with Southeast Asian influences, Dai ethnic culture, and access to rainforest reserves and river cruises.
Best for: Nature lovers, wildlife enthusiasts, those wanting a different side of China
Our top picks
Handpicked recommendations for every type of traveler.
Banyan Tree Lijiang
An iconic luxury resort nestled at the foot of Jade Dragon Snow Mountain, featuring 123 private villas and suites inspired by traditional Naxi architecture with pitched roofs, carved wood details, and courtyard gardens. The resort is renowned for its award-winning Banyan Tree Spa offering signature treatments using local Naxi ingredients, along with three distinct restaurants serving Yunnan cuisine, Chinese, and international dishes.
Check rates on Booking.comSofitel Kunming
A flagship international luxury hotel in central Kunming combining French elegance with contemporary design, featuring 355 rooms and suites with floor-to-ceiling windows and city or mountain views. The hotel boasts a rooftop pool, an extensive spa with hydrotherapy facilities, and multiple award-winning dining venues including a French restaurant and authentic Chinese banquet hall.
Check rates on Booking.comAnantara Xishuangbanna Resort
A stunning tropical luxury resort set on the banks of the Luosuo River, overlooking the Xishuangbanna Tropical Botanical Garden. The resort integrates Dai ethnic architectural elements with contemporary luxury, offering riverside villas with private terraces, a lavish spa incorporating traditional Dai herbal treatments, and multiple dining venues serving Dai and international cuisine.
Check rates on Booking.comSongtsam Linka Shangri-La
An intimate boutique luxury lodge near Songzanlin Monastery offering just 20 Tibetan-style rooms with panoramic views of alpine meadows and the surrounding plateau. The lodge features the renowned Songtsam Spa combining Tibetan healing traditions and Chinese medicine with signature treatments including Tibetan medicine nectar baths and Himalayan salt scrubs.
Check rates on Booking.comThe Linden Centre
A heritage boutique hotel set inside a beautifully restored 19th-century Bai merchant's compound in the village of Xizhou, 15km from Dali. The property features three traditional courtyard gardens, hand-crafted Bai furnishings, and curated cultural programs including cooking classes, tea ceremonies, and guided village walks. Each of the 16 rooms is individually decorated with museum-quality antiques.
Check rates on Booking.comInterContinental Lijiang Ancient Town Resort
A beautifully designed luxury resort in southern Lijiang Old Town featuring Naxi-inspired architecture across low-rise blocks set among tranquil garden courtyards. The 284 rooms blend traditional dark-wood Naxi aesthetics with contemporary luxury amenities, and the resort offers one of the few heated indoor pools in the area along with a full-service spa and multiple dining options.
Check rates on Booking.comBooking tips
Get the best deals and avoid common mistakes.
Book Lijiang Old Town accommodation 2-3 months ahead for May Day, Golden Week (October 1-7), and Chinese New Year holidays
Check hotel websites directly for the best rates; Ctrip and Trip.com often have exclusive China rates
Boutique hotels in Dali and Lijiang often have minimum stay requirements during peak festivals
Shangri-La hotels book out rapidly in August; secure accommodation well in advance
Budget guesthouses in Tiger Leaping Gorge don't need advance booking except during Golden Week
Alternative accommodations
Beyond traditional hotels, consider these options.
Guesthouses
Family-run guesthouses offer authentic local experiences and often include home-cooked meals. Great for cultural immersion.
Serviced apartments
Ideal for longer stays or families. Kitchen facilities help save money and provide flexibility.
Hostels
Budget-friendly option for solo travelers. Dorms and private rooms available with social common areas.