West China - Kunming

[Harold Bell]

it has the reputation for being the most expensive at 700rmb+ but may well be worth the cost.

So where are the 150-200 rmb BBSes?

[Atomic Sunburn]

This is the business card and a photo showing the front entrance to the sunshine sauna in Beijinj lu, Kunming, Just up the road from the railway station. Ideal if you've come in to Kunming via rail from other parts of China. It's connected to an up market hotel if you want something flash or you can use one of the many cheaper hotels in the street and go into the sauna via the separate entrance without the need to enter the hotel lobby. If you look closely at the admittedly poor quality photo you'll see an elevator at the end of the short corridor which takes you up to the sauna proper. Unfortunately in my short stay in Kunming this time I didn't get a chance to sample the ladies on offer, it has the reputation for being the most expensive at 700rmb+ but may well be worth the cost.

[South Gate]

Nice report Atomic,

I have been to this sauna and have had better experience. I did not see any photos of the girl, only the name card and the paper they gave you.

Name: Unknown
Face: 2.5/5
Body: 2/5
Estimated age of the girl: 30+
Skill: 3/5
Service: 3/5
Detailed account of the experience:
Just got back from a 3 week visit to China, most of which was spent in Kunming. I was on a pretty short leash at first and was unable to break away till halfway into my stay, to follow up on a sauna house tip that I was given by a another occasional Kunming resident. The sauna in question is located on the North/East corner of the Qianming lu and Rixin lu intersection. They are in the middle of some major roadworks there which makes it somewhat difficult to access. I dropped by during a brief free period early on a Tuesday afternoon just to get the lay of the land. The madame running the girls was quite fortuitously amongst those in the lobby area when I arrived and managed to decipher my very limited mandarin enquiries. I told her that I was off to Dali on the night train and would be back Friday, she gave me a handwritten note in Chinese characters with mobile number and price.

I got back Friday and went over to the sauna at 6:15pm, only the counter girl and a couple of busboys were in the lobby this time, but luckily I still had the note that I'd been given and the madame soon came down to the lobby.

Typical sauna set up - change room, hot baths, showers on the ground floor. Standard foot and body massage on the 1st floor. WL rooms on the 2nd floor. I was led off to the change rooms and instructed to strip off in front of 1/2 dozen or so male attendants, (I know we're all supposed to be blase about this, but never been comfortable about getting naked with strange blokes looking on). Had a shower in the ground floor facilities which was strangely deserted. Got dressed in the sauna PJ's and taken back out to the lobby, the madame then took over leading me up to the 2nd floor via the 1st floor all of which was deserted. I was feeling a bit creeped out at this point and managed to convey my misgivings, she surprisingly enough understood what I was asking and told me that I had arrived too early, the sauna doesn't open proper till 7pm.

The 2nd floor rooms are about 4x4 metres with a massage table, queen size bed and big screen T.V. About 7 or 8 girls were brought in for me to choose from, but was somewhat disappointed, that they were all 4's and 5's, also a bit hard to tell what your getting in the low level lighting. After having used the ground floor facilities and standing there in the house PJ's it's a bit hard to back out, so I made the best of it and chose the cheerful one. The following catbath, full body massage and FS was competent and in no way unenjoyable, but nothing to shout about. She let me take a quick photo (see attached) before disrobing, but was again disappointed when the clothes came off with the extra weight she was carrying, a 4 in my book. Total bill 398 rmb.

As I was sitting in the lobby putting on my shoes and socks at about 8pm. I noticed a steady influx of patrons and a few younger, more attractive women coming in and heading straight up to the upper levels. Probably just ML for the 1st floor. but could be headed for the 2nd floor.

Conclusion:
My recommendation for this place os go in after 8pm. If you like discretion then this isn't the place for you, just moving from the 1st floor showers to the upper levels requires you go back through the lobby area and the size of the bill tells the people at the desk what you've been up to, assuming they don't know already. Kunming has up till now has been something of a backwater in China and you'll definitely not find the sort of quality WL that I read about in this forum as being available in places such as Donguan, Zhuhai and Shenzhen. However if the government continues to move ahead with plans to make Kunming a hub for the SE Asia trade into China then this will change, but at the moment Kunming should not be on anyone itinerary for P4P. If you do find yourself in Kunming in need of relief then try the sauna on the 7th floor of the airport hotel or the sunshine sauna in Beijing lu.

Overall score: 6/10

I will attach a copy of the note to this report, would appreciate anyone out there who could give me the English translation.

[Atomic Sunburn]

Name: Unknown
Face: 2.5/5
Body: 2/5
Estimated age of the girl: 30+
Skill: 3/5
Service: 3/5
Detailed account of the experience:
Just got back from a 3 week visit to China, most of which was spent in Kunming. I was on a pretty short leash at first and was unable to break away till halfway into my stay, to follow up on a sauna house tip that I was given by a another occasional Kunming resident. The sauna in question is located on the North/East corner of the Qianming lu and Rixin lu intersection. They are in the middle of some major roadworks there which makes it somewhat difficult to access. I dropped by during a brief free period early on a Tuesday afternoon just to get the lay of the land. The madame running the girls was quite fortuitously amongst those in the lobby area when I arrived and managed to decipher my very limited mandarin enquiries. I told her that I was off to Dali on the night train and would be back Friday, she gave me a handwritten note in Chinese characters with mobile number and price.

I got back Friday and went over to the sauna at 6:15pm, only the counter girl and a couple of busboys were in the lobby this time, but luckily I still had the note that I'd been given and the madame soon came down to the lobby.

Typical sauna set up - change room, hot baths, showers on the ground floor. Standard foot and body massage on the 1st floor. WL rooms on the 2nd floor. I was led off to the change rooms and instructed to strip off in front of 1/2 dozen or so male attendants, (I know we're all supposed to be blase about this, but never been comfortable about getting naked with strange blokes looking on). Had a shower in the ground floor facilities which was strangely deserted. Got dressed in the sauna PJ's and taken back out to the lobby, the madame then took over leading me up to the 2nd floor via the 1st floor all of which was deserted. I was feeling a bit creeped out at this point and managed to convey my misgivings, she surprisingly enough understood what I was asking and told me that I had arrived too early, the sauna doesn't open proper till 7pm.

The 2nd floor rooms are about 4x4 metres with a massage table, queen size bed and big screen T.V. About 7 or 8 girls were brought in for me to choose from, but was somewhat disappointed, that they were all 4's and 5's, also a bit hard to tell what your getting in the low level lighting. After having used the ground floor facilities and standing there in the house PJ's it's a bit hard to back out, so I made the best of it and chose the cheerful one. The following catbath, full body massage and FS was competent and in no way unenjoyable, but nothing to shout about. She let me take a quick photo before disrobing, but was again disappointed when the clothes came off with the extra weight she was carrying, a 4 in my book. Total bill 398 rmb.

As I was sitting in the lobby putting on my shoes and socks at about 8pm. I noticed a steady influx of patrons and a few younger, more attractive women coming in and heading straight up to the upper levels. Probably just ML for the 1st floor. but could be headed for the 2nd floor.

Conclusion:
My recommendation for this place os go in after 8pm. If you like discretion then this isn't the place for you, just moving from the 1st floor showers to the upper levels requires you go back through the lobby area and the size of the bill tells the people at the desk what you've been up to, assuming they don't know already. Kunming has up till now has been something of a backwater in China and you'll definitely not find the sort of quality WL that I read about in this forum as being available in places such as Donguan, Zhuhai and Shenzhen. However if the government continues to move ahead with plans to make Kunming a hub for the SE Asia trade into China then this will change, but at the moment Kunming should not be on anyone itinerary for P4P. If you do find yourself in Kunming in need of relief then try the sauna on the 7th floor of the airport hotel or the sunshine sauna in Beijing lu.

Overall score: 6/10

I will attach a copy of the note to this report, would appreciate anyone out there who could give me the English translation.

[Jmelbourne]

So where are all girls at?

We've learned where they are not, so where are they?

[Harold Bell]

Is the scene in Yuxi still active? I had a good time there a few years back, but things can change quickly. I'd like to revisit but it's a little out of my way. Anyone been there recently?

Thanks in advance.

Unfortunately, the bus station to Yuxi has moved to Cheng Gong. Getting to the Cheng Gong bus station is quite a journey in itself!

[Harold Bell]

Outside the first ring road.

More details, please? Near the North Train Station, for example?

[Mianbao]

If BBSes have left Kunming inside the first ring road, where have they gone to? Their former customers are not going to want to go to more expensive saunas.

Outside the first ring road.

[Dumamay]

Rqrose,

I can't believe that you went to the police for 160 RMB. This shit happens all the time all over China. Mianbao has made some good points:

1) You should have negotiated the service in advance. Obviously, you thought that the 200 RMB was going to get you extra service. Why didn't you ask directly? Chinese is not necessary. You could have used basic hand signs and body language to get your point across.

2) You paid first.

3) If you were not happy, you should have just left when they asked you for the 200 RMB.

IMHO, you would have received a HE for the 200 RMB had you waited until the end. Normally, the places that give you half ass massages are really only HE places. 200 RMB is too much for the HE, but then you are a laowai and they thought they could get away with it.

When these sort of things happen to me, I just pay up and chalk it up to bad luck. One does not want to create trouble and risk reprucussions down the road in China. The fact that you will leave Kunming over one incident like this is totally ridiculous.

Just my POV.

OAH

Rqrose did it right since he was in the good hand. The wrong belonged to the shop with all that insults. That is why the police took it to action.

If Rqrose got ripped off over action, he naturally gets lost even he lost 3000rmb. That thing no one can call police on. Unless you got hit then yeah that is the case

[Harold Bell]

If BBSes have left Kunming inside the first ring road, where have they gone to? Their former customers are not going to want to go to more expensive saunas.

[Rod The Mod]

Is the scene in Yuxi still active? I had a good time there a few years back, but things can change quickly. I'd like to revisit but it's a little out of my way. Anyone been there recently?

Thanks in advance.

[Harold Bell]

Gentlemen, I recently spent several days at the Jun Xu Bin Guan, an Army hotel at the corner of Jianshe Lou and Yi-Er-Yi Jie. It's the heart of the university district, in sight of the Normal University. Every night, around ten pm, there's a hooker call, asking if you want massage ("an mo"). Accept, and it's 300 kuai for vaginal sex in your room. The BJ is getting rare and nobody went along when I suggested anal. Not extra-special, but not a bad deal either. Even though it's nominally an Army hotel, anyone can stay there, it seems.

Harold Bell

[Jmelbourne]

You are completely right, I just wrote this as a warning, but of course it was my fault for paying first.

Actually as I was getting up to leave the girl said, "Okay Okay XieJioa! " or something like it? But at that point I just wanted to leave.

Really I don't know why I let things get so out of hand. I admit it was my fault for paying up front, something you NEVER do, EVER. I've gone over and over it in my mind and it was definitely a combination of mis-communication and Lets-overcharge whitey, but if I hadn't agreed to pay up-front I wouldn't have gotten so uncomfortable about the bad massage.

Your chances of getting ripped off anywhere in China increase if:

1. You are near a train station
2. You don't speak Mandarin (at least learn the phrases for different types of service - there is a thread in this forum exactly for this).
3. It is just before or during the Chinese New Year period.

I am discovering from experience that despite being a tourism oriented city there are a lot of people in Kunming with very narrow minded attitudes and absolutely zero long term thinking (not a strength in China generally anyway). However if you follow some standard rules there is a lot of fun to be had:

1. Find out prices in advance by reading the forum, if specific information is hard to find in a specific thread then look in other threads as a guide (e.g. Kunming should be no more expensive than Chengdu or Chongqing for example). Then don't accept any nonsense.
2. Agree prices in advance
3. Pay when the service is finished, never hand over cash in advance or during service. If you get nonsense like you had with the older women barging in asking for RMB200, start to get up and leave. Having not paid anything yet they will soon realise that you are no fool and get on with the service.

I had an experience in a sauna recently where I knew the price, however the silly girl (who was from Sichuan, not a local) kept insisting on absurd prices, e.g. RMB1,000 for FS. My response was to say fine, I am leaving now and only paying the sauna the entrance fee. Had I left early she would have been fined, it shut her up pretty quickly and she got on with things (for the standard price, although the service was average anyway). I made it clear to the manager on the way out that the girl's foolishness cost the sauna the sale of a membership card, not that that will make any difference.

[Seaforte]

SE Asia Joe,

Well shucks - guess you'll be leaving then (leaving more PT for we local punters). Wish you the best finding other needy hill people with economical local PT service (PT=poon tang).

[SE Asia Joe]

Long story short, Kunming has some rip-off shops. I had high hopes of making a life here, volunteering to help the poor Hill Tribe people's. Now I'm just going to leave. One bad experience can ruin the reputation of a city, and this one has ruined Kunming for me.

One experience in a massage place and a dispute when you don't speak a common language ..... over sex!!

Versus "volunteering to help the poor Hill Tribe people."

RMB 160 huh?

LOL!

SEAJ