This is indeed an incredible thread, thanks to everyone. I still have a couple of questions I hope you old China hands can help me with.

1. I am arriving at PVG on the 15th in the morning. When I checked yoee.com and elong.net a couple of months ago for dummy dates 2 weeks in advance, fares to Kunming were Y760 on MU, CA and FM (with, apparently, lots of availability). Now they are 1330 or, at the very best, 1050 and the booking classes are different (FM was B and now it's K and so on). What gives? Is it seasonal? Shall I wait till closer to the trip or are fares unlikely to get any lower?

2. If I don't buy tickets in advance, can I get them somewhere while in transfer from PVG to SHA? I didn't plan on staying in Shanghai overnight so, if possible, would like to fly out to Yunnan (KMG or LJG) the same day (06/15). Various posters reported earlier that prices were better with travel agents - is there some place in Shanghai I could comparison shop while in transit between PVG and SHA?

Thanks in advance, hope someone can help. (If it matters, I've never been to China before nor speak the language)