Market of birds and flowers is a part of a series of streets and markets in central Kunming where an attempt has been made to preserve some of the typical architecture of the region. Traditional wooden houses with grass growing from their roofs line the streets where a variety of products are sold, including of course a small alley devoted to flowers and cage birds.

The market is one of the more interesting attractions within the central downtown area of Kunming, and a great place to shop for a lot of different things like clothes, name chops, dice, outdoor equipment, camping and hunting gear, birds, flowers, live baby turtles, pirated movies, music, games or dried lizards on sticks. It's open roughly from 9am-6pm, but all of the individual shopkeepers keep whatever hours they like.

The market is much smaller then it used to be. The market area is very close now to the modern business centre of Kunming and as gradually all the original old buildings are being torn down and replaced with concrete and glass fronted shops, the market is slowly losing its character.

You will be thrilled to buy a few good quality bamboo flutes here though. Flowers at the market are baskets of orchids which have been stolen from the forests of Xishuangbanna, an area close to the border of Myanmar. There are hundreds of the bamboo water pipes for sale plus the special fine tobacco used in them which is called angel hair tobacco. 

China tours inclusive of visiting Market of birds and flowers, Kunming