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 Chuxiong City is 99 miles west of Kunming about half way to Dali. Though you wouldn’t guess it at first glance, the region has a population of 2.5 million people of which 25% are of the Yi ethnic group. The city itself has a rather sparse, by Chinese standards, population of 130,000. The area is best known for the Yi Torch Festival, Lufeng fossil remains and delicious pick your own strawberries and peaches in season.
In addition to the Lufeng Dinosaur Museum and Chuxiong’s pleasant (New) “Old Town” (in the northwest part of the city) and market area other attractions include Wuding Lion Mountain, Huafo Mountain, The Ten Month Solar Calendar Park and Yuanmou Earth Forest.
The entire bus or car ride there is on a scenic National Highway. Buses from Kunming take about two hours. Dali is another 2.5 hours and Lijiang is six. There is also the No.986 express train from Kunming, which arrives in Chuxiong city daily at 12:30; cost is 20 Yuan from Kunming. Trains to and from Yuanmon and Lufeng are also available.
Chuxiong has some nice parks and the air is cleaner and crisper than in Kunming. Except for the Torch  festival and the strawberries it is not a real must see. The Torch Festival takes place on the 24th or 25th of the sixth month of the lunar calendar and lasts three days. Though it varies from year to year, July 8th and 9th are approximate equivalent dates on the solar calendar. Many ethnic groups celebrate the Torch Festival including the Yi, Naxi, Lisu, Lahu and Bai. The Torch Festival has several different underlying themes, though over time the religious aspects have been somewhat displaced by the entertainment value. For the Yi the celebration has three purposes, first it is homage to their God of Fire. Second, it relates to the agricultural harvest with the torches symbolizing the killing of harmful insects and other threats to food production. Third, it is a mating ritual of sorts where men and women pair off and form long lines. Facing each other, the men play musical instruments and the women clap their hands. If there is some mutual agreement of interest in one another the man will snatch the women’s belt and a courtship begins. The Torch Festival activities and largest gatherings are in the evening and take place at 3 or 4 venues around the city including “Old Town” and downtown. There are some costume contests, wrestling and bullfighting performances during the day but it’s at night when darkness falls that you will get the full feeling of the celebrations. A calendar of events is available through the Festival office located in Old Town facing the main road. The Torch Festival pictures you most commonly see are of the Yi, combining all their torches into huge bonfires while people dance and play their string instruments. Torch Festival activities can also be viewed at the Stone Forest.
There are many Yi restaurants around town serving their signature lamb dishes.
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