Mile (弥勒), a 30-minute train ride from Kunming, is a surprisingly nice town. Discover what to see and whether it is worth a day trip.
Mile (弥勒), which literally means Maitreya, or Future Buddha, is a small town (about 500.000 people) located in the Honghe Hani and Yi Autonomous Prefecture in Yunnan Province (China), the same prefecture where the famous Yuanyang rice terraces are located.
There is very little info about what you can do and see there, and most of them are basically (poor) translations from Chinese to English and don’t have much information. So, in this article, I’ll try to give you some helpful info if you are planning a trip to the city of the Buddha.
How to get to Mile (弥勒)
The best and fastest way to get to Mile is by train. You can book the ticket from the website Trip.com. If you take the train from Kunming (here is my travel guide for the city), you have to go to the Kunming South Train Station (Kunming Nan), and in about 30 minutes, you’ll be there.
The Mile train station is located about 20 minutes from the city. Once you arrive, you can take a Didi (the Uber of China) or a bus to the city center.
When is the best time to go to Mile?
Thanks to its location on the Yunnan-Guizhou plateau, the weather is quite pleasant all year round. The elevation is slightly lower than Kunming (about 1500m), so it’s warmer than Kunming but never too hot.
I’d avoid the rainy season, which usually starts in May and lasts until October, but to be fair, there are plenty of sunny days even during that season. If you are looking for some other ideas for your Yunnan itinerary, check out this page.
What to see and do
Here’s a list of the most famous places to visit in the area:
Echo Lake – Shēngtài hú (生态湖)
Echo Lake was Mile’s first nice surprise. Right in the city’s center is a small lake surrounded by a beautiful park and a pedestrian road. There is also quite a big sandy beach, but unfortunately, swimming in the lake is not allowed. There is a swimming pool nearby, though, as you can see from the picture.
On the lake, a famous fancy resort (Huquan Hotel) boasts over 500 rooms and a Spa. The location is quite good.
Mile Old Town
Next to the lake, you can find the new “old town”. In China, almost every major city has an “old town”, and most are not old at all, just brand new but built using classic Chinese architecture.
There is also an artificial canal all around the area (another common thing in these old towns). It is nothing spectacular, especially if you have visited Lijiang, Dali, or Shaxi, but it’s worth a visit during the evening.
Dongfengyun (东风韵)
Dongfengyun is the most famous place in Mile, especially among Chinese people. The total area covers a surface of about 3.69 square kilometers, and the strange-looking buildings are permanent artistic installations.
The mind behind most installations is Luo Xu (罗旭), a famous sculptor and artist from Yunnan. If you want to learn more about him and his project, check out this article.
The site features a collection of surreal, red-brick buildings with fluid, organic forms that resemble a dreamlike landscape more than a man-made structure. The design draws inspiration from local clay architecture and the surrounding red earth, creating a seamless blend with the natural environment. Each curve and arch reflects Luo Xu’s philosophy of harmony between humans, art, and the land, making Dongfengyun a deeply symbolic work of art.
The area includes an art museum, vineyards, boutique hotels, and scenic walking paths that invite visitors to slow down and immerse themselves in the atmosphere. Its leading winery, Dongfengyun Winery, produces high-quality wines that reflect the region’s growing reputation in China’s wine industry.
Dongfengyun is located in what was once a state-owned farm focused on grape cultivation. The wine was introduced by the French when they built the Kunming-Vietnam railway. Here you’ll find a fascinating article that talks about the Italian contribution to the construction of part of that railway.
To get to Dongfengyun, you can take a bus or, probably better if you don’t want to wait too long, a taxi. To access the park, you have to pay a ticket (about 40 RMB) and an additional 20 RMB if you don’t want to walk to the end of the park (about 2.2 km) but take an electric car instead.
Jinping Shan park (锦屏山风景区)
The other landmark of Mile is Jinping Shan Park, which boasts the “tallest smiling Buddha in the world” (弥勒大佛) with its 19,99 meters (it was built in 1999). Located just a short ride from the city center, it’s a peaceful spot to spend a few hours walking among trees, temples, and quiet paths.
What makes Jinping Shan interesting is the mix of religion and daily life. The main temple complex includes both Buddhist and Taoist elements, with statues, incense burners, and a few old halls that have been restored over the years.
There are also some artificial rice terraces that were built as part of a landscaping project to make the area more photogenic. While they’re not used for farming, they look surprisingly natural, especially when the water reflects the sky at sunset.
Don’t forget to check my travel guide to Samaba, another hidden gem located in the same prefecture.
Keyi Village (可邑旅游小镇)
About 30 minutes north of Mile, you can visit Keyi, which means “good luck, happiness, and auspicious” in the local language. It’s a small, overdeveloped minority village belonging to the Axi people, a branch of the Yi people.
Long story short, Keyi is a tourist trap. You have to pay a ticket to enter the area with nothing to offer. There are some cool paintings here and there, and people are friendly, but you can see the same stuff pretty much in all of the minority villages around Yunnan, and for free.
There is also a suspended bridge on the way to the village and a giant statue of a leaping tiger at the top of a mountain, but they were built to justify the ticket price.
Besides the things I listed in this article, there are other things to see in Mile, but I didn’t have time to. There is, for example, a huge water park in Mile and Taiping Park (太平森林公园) outside the city. If you can get there, let me know if they are nice.
Luxi Ancient Town (泸西)
Luxi is a newly renovated ancient town located about 45 minutes by car from Mile. The village is surprisingly beautiful and quiet. If you are looking for a place without tourists, this is the place for you. There are no buses to get there, so you can only reach it by private car. Send me a DM on Instagram if you need the contact of a driver.
Final Thoughts
Is it worth visiting Mile? To be honest, it depends. I certainly wouldn’t include Mile on the itinerary if the time is limited, unless you are specifically interested in some of the things Mile offers, such as Dongfengyun Park.
On the other hand, if you have plenty of time and are looking for new places to discover, I’d say that Mile is a lovely little gem. It doesn’t have the usual vibe of other Chinese cities, the weather is pleasant all year round, the place is not overcrowded, and you can relax in one of the many Spas in the area.
As always, don’t forget to get a VPN before coming to China, and also, don’t forget to check out my travel guide to China. If you need an eSIM, I recommend this one. As for travel insurance, this one is good.
Here is an article about Fuxian Lake near Kunming, and here is my Jingmaishan guide, another hidden gem
