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I'm in a non-tourist city about 40km south of Kunming, Yunnan, China.

For the first time in China I have a hotel with good Wi-Fi but I also like to be able to sit in a pleasant public place surrounded by local sights and sounds while I pursue my online activities.

There are "Internet Bars" which are just huge rooms filled with desktop computers, all inside and with no atmosphere. I'm not looking for these.

In cities further south I found a chain called "Tea Story", some of which had free Wi-Fi and electric outlets.

I'd prefer a place away from the big dusty main roads, but the other main roads are fine. Inside a mall is fine. Hidden in a maze-like shopping area is fine. Perhaps near a school or university? I personally need a place where I can plug in my power supply since my battery no longer holds more than a ten minute charge. But that might not be an issue for other travellers who come here.

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    Just share your 3g internet from your Mobile with Wifi Tethering and use it anywhere you want..
    – Ali Asad
    Nov 1 '13 at 7:01
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    I don't have 3g internet or a mobile. I don't intend to purchase one either.
    – hippietrail
    Nov 1 '13 at 7:11
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    Well wifi is available in almost all KFCs & Mcdonalds and also in some good chinese resturants but i am not sure they give access to content outside china. As I am student in china they don't provide us Wifi internet we have to buy it ourself. And you don't have a phone while travelling that's strange well if you have then I ll suggest you to buy a 3G sim card for 40-50 yuans. It has good internet speed
    – Ali Asad
    Nov 1 '13 at 7:20
  • I haven't seen a KFC, McDonalds, or any other western chain so far, they may be in Kunming though, which is much larger. As I mentioned I don't have any intention to buy a smartphone. I like travelling the old way without being too connected. Plus I find it too expensive and confusing to sort through all the providers' offers for something suitable every time I cross a border to a new country. Having the netbook is enough.
    – hippietrail
    Nov 1 '13 at 8:24
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    Looking for "free" items is still price shopping IMHO.
    – uncovery
    Nov 2 '13 at 6:02
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I don't think you are in Yunnan Province anymore. The only Jincheng I can find (晋城) is in Shanxi Province (山西).

In a similar question, I linked the Chinese version of the popular Western website Yelp, called Dianping. For reference, the Dianping site for Jincheng is: http://www.dianping.com/jincheng

Unfortunately, no one is really using Dianping in Jincheng, besides the shop owners who have listed themselves. I've searched through for coffee shops, tea shops, party/game houses, KTVs and restaurants.

This place, found via Baidu.com (Chinese Google), seems like your best bet: 湖滨1950咖啡厅 (http://jincheng.55tuan.com/goods-6de9181aebf2012f.html?from=daohang-renrenzhe-tgny)

They probably have wifi, as they promote themselves as an upscale, Western-style coffee and tea house. On Dianping (under a different name) it was reviewed as being "expensive" and "exotic."

Sadly, nothing actually says they have wifi, so you'll be going on a bit of a lark. But that's what I'd do if I were you.

  • Location: 湖滨1950咖啡厅 (Húbīn 1950 kāfēi tīng) -- 晋城市城区泽州路1855号（市邮政局对面湖滨花园酒店1楼咖啡厅）(Shānxī shěng jìnchéng shì chéngqū zé zhōu lù 1855 hào (shì yóuzhèngjú duìmiàn húbīn huāyuán jiǔdiàn 1 lóu kāfēi tīng)

  • Translation: 1855 Zezhou Lu, across from the post office on the 1st floor

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  • No this Jincheng seems to be technically part of Greater Kunming or something like that. Here is where it is on OpenStreetMap. Oh and I managed to get a link for Google Maps too after all: ditu.google.com/…
    – hippietrail
    Jan 6 '14 at 11:56
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    @hippietrail Can't open that OpenStreetMap, but on the Google map, I think there's a territory line there that we can't see, because 晋宁县 (Jin Ning County) is in Kunming Province, but 晋城 (Jin Cheng City) is definitely in Shanxi Province. I think we're talking about the same place, still.
    – brendanc
    Jan 7 '14 at 2:38
  • Ah yes the OSM link is weird. After you click on it you then have to click on the long/lat link in the box on the left. I don't know why. Then when you zoom out you can see some lines. But these heavily restricted hotel computers running old versions of IE and lots of Chinese-only mysteryware don't make browsing in the normal way easy!
    – hippietrail
    Jan 7 '14 at 2:43

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