The weather is similar to parts of San Diego in Dali at about 4700 feet (though they do have an occasional cold night in the winter), more
like San Francisco in Kunming at about 6000 feet, with pleasantly cool weather in Dali and briskly cool weather in Kunming after a rain.
The locals say "Kunming is a city of eternal spring, but winter comes with the rain". Fortunately, there isn't too much rain in either place. Li Jiang is at about 7000 to 9000
feet and has a climate much like Colorado Springs. Nearby Jade Dragon Snow Mountain has snow in the creases of the mountain all
year, above the roughly 14,000 feet level, with good snow at the Tahoe-like base camp in the winter (for about six months).
It is literally true that you can find
almost any climate you want within
Yunnan, with many visiting Jinghong in the tropical South during the winter, and Li Jiang in the North during the summer. Most
people find Dali ideal all year, even
though it is a little cooler than Kunming (and this in spite of the fact that it is at about the same latitude and more than a thousand feet
lower!). Kunming, except for the occasional winter rain or the rare hot, dusty summer day, is very popular year round, cool in summer, warm
in winter, a good place to avoid the
heat and cold and enjoy the flowers.
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