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'''Yunnan''' is a province in the South West southwest of [[China]]. It's the most pluralistic state province of China and is a relatively an undeveloped area. Hitchhiking is quite doable, though a lot easier on the main routes to and from the capital of [[Kunming then ]] than on other roads. Even when going from Kunming it's better to choose a "bigger" road then than a shorter route, as roads in Yunnan tend to go through maountains mountains and leave you breathless by from the beauty and lack of transport. - the The ''thumb'' sign is sometimes understood. Hardly anyone speaks any English.

*Coming from [[Laos]], [[Mengla]] will probably be the first city you enter. It's likely that ATMs don't work for you, so make sure you have some cash, there are guesthouses for 40 Yuan. Buying a map of '''Yunnan''' (10 Yuan, in Chinese only) and a dictionary (18 Yuan) will prove to be very useful later on. [[Kunming]] is still 866 kilometers away.Heading to Dali, Lijinag and norhter to Sichuan, Hitching directly towards Dali on the more westren route is not easy and not recommended for first-timers. as in all "side roads" in China (and this include 90% of the non-toll-way roads) there are a lot less cars, a lot more people who ask for payment (sometimes at the end of the drive) and a lot less people who stop for a hand gesture. the view is amazing though.That's why coming from Laos it is more common to hitchhike on the main road to Kunming and from there travel the extra 300 KM towards the west. unless you are in to an advanture (like walking for hours with no cars and sleeping in a kids pottery school), stick to the insturction above.

*When you're going to [[Laos]] you can get a 30 day [[Laos]] Visa visa on arrival in [[Boten]]. You will need a blank page in your passport.

* There is a new highway between Laos and Mengla-Jinghong which will cut down travel time by half, or even more - take this into accout account when reading up on travel stories from the 00s ;)early 2000s.