Set on the northeast edge of beautiful Fuxian Lake, Hilton Yuxi Fuxian Lake is surrounded by lush, landscaped gardens, and is just moments from a private white sandy beach. Set in the heart of Yuxi - a city that is rapidly expanding into a popular tourist hotspot and dynamic business destination - Hilton Yuxi Fuxian Lake is the first Hilton property in Yunnan province. The hotel is just over an hour’s drive from Kunming Changshui International Airport, and one hour from lively downtown Kunming. Considering its proximity to Kunming, Fuxian Lake is somewhat difficult to get to, especially without a private car. You canto throw money at the problem and hire a minivan and driver. The trip should cost around 300 yuan each way including tolls and take one and a half to two hours.

Where to stay

Sunshine Coast Hotel

The only hotel in the area – at least in the traditional sense - is the Sunshine Coast Hotel, which is a standard Chinese three-star, if you overlook its private beach. The hotel also has the requisite KTV, plus a bowling alley, indoor archery and table tennis.

When to visit

The best time to travel in Fuxian Lake and Xingyun lake is from May to October every year. It is the hottest season in Yuxi. The purpose of traveling in Fuxian Lake and Xingyun Lake is to appreciate the beauty of plateau lakes.

What to eat

Food: Chengjiang lotus root, more than 20 kinds of fishes in Fuxian Lake and stewed yam rice are all local special foods. Kanglang Fish is especially worth to mention. The fishermen like to put fresh Kanglang Fish in a copper pot with spring water. The fish is done when the temperature of the water rises. After ten to twenty minutes, it exhales a pleasant perfume. Then put various special seasonings to it. This dish tastes delicious and refreshing.

What to visit

Lake Yuxi is the second deepest fresh water lake in China, and the resort is ideally located for outdoor activities, watersports, sight-seeing and family-friendly activities. Visit the Yuxi Museum to admire the fascinating displays of fossils retrieved from the lake. Explore the Luchong Scenic Area or escape to the tranquility of Maotian Mountain Geo National Park – famous for its trove of prehistoric Chengjiang fossils.

Luchong Village(禄充)

Transportation: Take bus from Kunming East Bus Station.

The Luchong Village is on the west coast of Fuxian Lake, 19 kilometers away from Chengjiang County seat. There is a big cave named Luchong Cave in the south of the village. The water temperature of the underground spring is around 24 ℃ all the year round. It constantly empties into Fuxian Lake.

The Bijia Mountains （笔架山）

The Bijia Mountains locates in the north of the village. Three mountains stand like the three legs of the penholder. As a result, it is named as Bijia Mountains (literally means Penholder Mountains). The lake to the north of the Bijia Mountain is so calm that it is called Boxi Bay (literally means Calm Wave Bay). It is a good choice to come here to swim and carry out aquatic sports.

Tips: The swimming pool in the Bijia Mountain Villa is free for the guests inthis hotel.

Useful Numbers

City Phone Code: 0877

Post Code: 653100
Tourist Complaints Call: 0877-96927
Yuxi Municipal Tourism Bureau: 2067406

Jieyu Stone (The Fish Boundary Stone)（界鱼石）

Transportation: Take bus from Kunming East Bus Station to Jiangchuan. The ticket costs 17.5 yuan. Get down at Jiangcheng. The distance is about 92 km and it takes 2.5 hours. Then bus from Jiangcheng to Mingxing or Chengjiang. Get down at Jie Yu Shi. The distance is about 19 km and the ticket costs 2 yuan.

The Jieyu Stone locates in Haimen of Jiangchuan County, which is the water outlet of Xingyun Lake. There is a two kilometers long water channel where Xingyun Lake and Fuxian Lake connect named Ge River (literally means Separation River). Jieyu Stone is a jagged cliff stretch into the water. It is said that it is the boundary for the bullhead fish in the Xingyun Lake and Kanglang Fish in the Fuxian Lake. The fish which swim to the stone will return to their own territory.

Mingxing Scenic Area（明星风景区）

Transportation: Take bus from Kunming East Bus Station to Jiangchuan. The ticket costs 17.5 yuan and it takes 2.5 hours. Get down at Jiangcheng. Then transfer the bus to Chengjiang. Get down at Mingxing. The ticket costs 3 yuan.

The Mingxing Scenic Area locates in the west coast of Fuxian Lake, where is a boundary for Jiangchuan County and Chengjiang County. It is 12 km away from Luchong. Biyun Mountain is about 100 meters in distance on the west side of the highway between Chengjiang and Jiangchun. Most of the buildings in the Biyun Temple, which is on the mountain, are in the Taoist ancient style. Every year, on the third day of the third month in the lunar calendar, Biyun Temple holds its temple fair.

Tips: There is a Mingxing Fish Cave 1.5 km north to the foot of Biyun Mountain. During March to September every year, when it is a main season for catching Kanglang Fish, you can taste the flavor dish, Stewed Fresh Fish in Copper Pot.

Mount Gushan Island (The Isolated Mountain Island)（孤山）

Situated in the south of Fuxian Lake of Jiangchuan County, Mount Gushan Island is the only island in Fuxian Lake and covers an area of 60,000 square kilometers. It is close to Haimen Park in the south and faces Lianhua Peak (Lotus Peak) of Biyun Temple in the north. Every year, on the sixth day of the sixth month in the lunar calendar, people will go to Mount Gushan for the temple fair.

Tips: Tourists was able to go to Mount Gushan Island by motor boat from Jiangchuan Wharf. However, in order to keep the water quality in Fuxian Lake, all motor boats were forbidden to drive since August, 2004. So it has become difficult for tourists to go to Mount Gushan Island. It is said that a kind of water bicycle is popular in Fuxian Lake now (20 yuan per hour). It is cheap and environmental friendly. But the disadvantage is you can not travel far by it.

How to get there?

Since Kunming closed most downtown bus stations and built new ones on the edge of the city all bus routes that go to Fuxian Lake now run out of the new South Bus Station, which can be reached from the Green Lake area by taking bus 85 from Wenlin Jie to the end of the line at Juhua Cun (菊花村), switching to line 12 and riding it to Zhaoxi Cun (照西村).

From the south station there are frequent departures to Chengjiang for 16 yuan. We have also heard it is possible to go from the south station to Jiangchuan (江川) and then switch to another public bus that goes directly to Sunshine Coast.

After reaching Fuxian Lake, it is relatively easy to hire a van to take you wherever you want to go.

A slowly withering beauty

Fuxian is famous for the local fish, kanglang (抗浪鱼). Stewed in a copper pot with ginger and spring onions, the fish has a tender, fresh taste. However, the kanglang had become threatened due to overfishing and the introduction of non-native species to the lake; as a result, the population has declined substantially. Yams are another local specialty, often served baked with rice. Restaurants line the waterfront on the Sunshine Coast, and there is a large diner inside the unmissable Sunshine Coast Hotel.

Over 150 metres deep, Fuxian Lake is the second-deepest lake in China. However, drought has severely affected the water level, and exposed shoreline reminds visitors of Yunnan's ongoing water shortages.