Luoping

For a few weeks from late February, tens of thousands of hectares of rapeseed flower across the Luoping basin, and because the basin is scattered with small karst cones the yellow runs around and between grey hills, which is what makes it photographed rather than simply agricultural. Jinjifeng, the golden rooster hills, is the classic overlook, and Niujie holds a spiral pattern of terraced fields called the snail farms. Beekeepers move hives in to work the bloom and honey is sold along the roads. Outside the flowering weeks, Luoping is ordinary farmland with the Jiulong waterfalls nearby.

What you actually see

• The rapeseed bloom - yellow fields between karst cones for a few weeks.
• Jinjifeng viewpoint - the standard overlook across the basin.
• The snail terraces - spiral field patterns at Niujie.
• The beekeepers - hives moved in to work the flowering.

When to go

February to March, and the window is short; the bloom peaks over roughly two to three weeks and varies by year and altitude. Outside it there is little to see. Accommodation fills during the peak.

Honest expectations

The season is brief and easily missed by a week. Photographers crowd the viewpoints at dawn. Some overlooks charge entry, and haze is frequent.

Nearby

Jiulong waterfalls lie nearby; Kunming is west.