Wender·Vista
Kunming
shown on ceramic, 12-inch tilePeople's Republic of China
on a plateau in Yunnan, southwest China

Kunming

— — a city that lives in spring.

— Where it lives

Not only on a wall.

A small tile on the nightstand catching the morning. A larger one above the fire. Yours, wherever you spend the slow hours.
— On the nightstand, a 6-inch on a walnut stand
— Among the books, a 6-inch leaning into the spines
— Beside the kettle, a 12-inch propped
— Down a quiet hall, an 18-inch floating off the wall
— Above the fire, the 24-inch in a walnut surround
— a note from the studio

“The capital of Yunnan, set on the northern shore of Dianchi Lake about 1,890 metres above sea level. The plateau air keeps the temperature close to spring most of the year, and the city has long been called the Spring City for that reason. Old neighbourhoods of small lanes and tea-houses sit beside new towers along Cuihu Park. To the south, the karst columns of the Stone Forest. To the west, the long ridge of the Western Hills holding the lake. from the studio

from the studio
Kunming
— bring it home

Kunming, on ceramic.

Each tile is finished by hand in our Knoxville studio. Artwork is slowly infused into the ceramic surface under high heat and pressure, and rests beneath a thin glossy finish. The colour lives in the surface, not on top of it.

What kind of piece?
One tile — square or rectangle.
How big?
the popular one — counter, shelf, nightstand
6 × 6 in · 15 cm · 1.6 lb
Surface finish
A clear glossy finish — the artwork reads as if under resin. Ideal for show-pieces and framed wall art.
How it sits
A hidden cleat — sits ¼″ proud of the wall.
$58
Hand-finished and shipped from our studio at the foot of the Smokies. On your wall in about ten days.
— size
6 × 6 in
15 cm
— weighs
1.6 lb
solid in the hand
— surface
ceramic, hand-finished
art rests beneath a thin glossy finish
— from
Knoxville, TN
our family studio, at the foot of the Smokies
— start a Coaster Set

Pick any four 4-inch tiles — National Parks you've been to, a Smokies set, the four seasons of one place. $ for a set of , cork-backed, ready to live on the table.

— about Kunming

The place, in three passes.

A little of what's known, in case you fall down the rabbit hole — or want to go see it yourself.
— the place

Kunming is the capital and largest city of Yunnan Province in the southwest of the People's Republic of China. It sits on the Yunnan-Guizhou Plateau at about 1,890 metres above sea level, on the northern shore of Dianchi Lake. The municipality holds a population of roughly 8.6 million as of the most recent census. Kunming has been a regional centre for over two thousand years, originally as the seat of the Dian kingdom; it is now a major rail hub linking inland China to Vietnam, Laos, and Myanmar via the Pan-Asia railway corridor opened in stages from 2021.

— informed by Wikipedia
— the air

The plateau elevation and low latitude give Kunming an unusually mild year-round climate, with monthly average temperatures ranging from about 8°C in January to 20°C in July. The Chinese epithet for the city is Chuncheng, the Spring City, recorded in poetry from the Tang dynasty onward. Camellias bloom in the parks through winter and into early spring, and Cuihu Lake in the city centre fills with overwintering black-headed gulls that have flown down from Siberia each year since 1985. The light at this altitude is dry and clear.

— the visit

Kunming Changshui International Airport, opened in 2012, sits about 25 kilometres northeast of the city and connects to most major Chinese cities and a number of Southeast Asian capitals. The city is the rail gateway to Yunnan: high-speed lines run east to Guangzhou and Shanghai, and the China-Laos railway has run south to Vientiane since 2021. The Stone Forest, a Unesco-listed karst landscape, lies about 90 kilometres southeast and is reached by direct train in roughly an hour and a quarter. The Western Hills above Dianchi Lake are reached by city bus and a short cable car.

— informed by Stone Forest UNESCO
— where
People's Republic of China · Kunming, Yunnan
— elevation
1,892 m · 6,207 ft
— position
25.0389° N · 102.7183° E
— the neighborhood

What's nearby.

A handful of named places within an hour's walk or short drive. Some we've already painted; some we will.
6 km S
Dianchi Lake
freshwater lake
1 km N
Cuihu Park
city park
15 km W
Western Hills
mountain ridge
90 km SE
Stone Forest
karst landscape
N
Kunming
Dianchi Lake
Cuihu Park
Western Hills
Stone Forest
— common questions

What people ask.

A few questions we get about Kunming — and about bringing the piece home.
— about the place

Kunming is the capital of Yunnan Province in southwest China, on the Yunnan-Guizhou Plateau at about 1,890 metres above sea level. It sits on the northern shore of Dianchi Lake.

The plateau elevation and low latitude give Kunming mild temperatures year-round, with monthly averages between roughly 8°C and 20°C. Chinese writers have called it Chuncheng, the Spring City, since the Tang dynasty.

The Kunming municipality holds a population of about 8.6 million people as of recent census figures. It is the largest city in Yunnan and a major centre for trade with Southeast Asia.

A landscape of tall, narrow karst limestone columns about 90 kilometres southeast of Kunming. It was inscribed as part of the South China Karst UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2007 and is reached by direct high-speed train.

Dianchi is a large freshwater lake on the southern edge of Kunming, the sixth-largest in China by area. The Western Hills rise along its western shore and have been a Buddhist retreat for centuries.

Kunming Changshui International Airport, about 25 kilometres northeast of the city, is the main gateway. The city is also a major rail hub with high-speed connections to Shanghai, Guangzhou, and Vientiane in Laos.

— about the piece in your home

Yes. Kunming is a deeply loved home city for many in Yunnan, and the lake-and-hill view is a familiar daily horizon. A Medium with a handwritten note from the studio carries that connection well.

The plateau greens and cool blues sit well in Japandi, quiet Modernist, and Asia-modern interiors. It also works as a graphic anchor against warm white walls or pale oak.

Yes. The current direction in Asia-modern interiors leans toward grounded Chinese landscape imagery over decorative motif, which is where this piece sits comfortably.

A single Large reads as a focused anchor above a console. Above a standard three-seat sofa, a four-tile Mural holds the wall; a nine-tile Mural suits a long sectional or a wide entry.

Yes. Order it in the Dura Satin or Matte finish for any humid or splash-prone wall. The colour lives in the ceramic surface and is not affected by steam or water.

A soft microfibre cloth with water is all it needs. No sprays, no abrasives. The thin glossy or satin finish wipes clean and the colour beneath does not lift.

Yes. Every piece in the WenderVista atlas is made in-house at Wender Studios in Knoxville, Tennessee, under Reid Wender's curation. Nothing is licensed in.

— if this one stayed with you

A few you might also love.

Hand-picked by the eye that found Sorapis. Same air, same kind of quiet.