Shangri-La Kunming has launched SUMA, its first destination bar in Yunnan. SUMA, developed in collaboration with SG Group, is a destination bar that reimagines hyperlocal ingredients to tell the stories of Yunnan’s minority cultures. The bar opened on 30 April 2025 and offers a glimpse into Shangri-La Kunming’s reimagination of hospitality through local culture, craft, and connection. Located in Yunnan, one of China’s most storied regions, SUMA brings the province’s natural abundance and ethnic traditions to life through an exquisite collection of cocktails that are both expressive and unexpected.
“SUMA is a love letter to Yunnan, and our work at SUMA is a continuation of what we’ve always strived to do at SG Group, telling meaningful stories through flavour,” said Michael Chen, General Manager of SG Group. “In the process of immersing ourselves in Yunnan’s foodways and traditions, we reinterpreted these elements with respect and imagination, allowing ingredients, memories, and craftsmanship to come together to invite curiosity and connection.”
“We are excited to set a new standard for cocktail culture in Southwest China with SUMA,” said Cliff Tan, General Manager of Shangri-La Kunming. “Our collaboration with SG Group brings world-class creativity and craftsmanship to Kunming’s craft cocktail scene, establishing SUMA as a serious contender among Asia’s leading cocktail destinations. We are excited to begin a new chapter for the city’s social and cultural scene.”
Located in the heart of Kunming’s First Ring CBD, SUMA is poised to become a compelling destination for cocktail lovers. With its bold storytelling and exceptional cocktail execution, SUMA is reinvigorating the neighbourhood’s social scene and offering drinks enthusiasts a reason to travel. Easily accessible via Metro Line 3, the bar also marks the first concept to launch under Shangri-La’s pioneering dual-brand project in Kunming, offering a spirited view of what’s to come with the full opening of Shangri-La Kunming in late 2025.
Led by Bar Manager Frankie Zou, SUMA—meaning ‘azalea’ and ‘woman’ in the Yi language— invites guests to discover Yunnan through thoughtful design, layered storytelling, and expressive flavours. A sensory homage to Yunnan’s local minority cultures, the bar’s menu distills the region’s biodiversity, foodways, and minority traditions into a cocktail experience that is both layered and accessible to diverse audiences.
At SUMA, the menu unfolds as a sensory journey through Yunnan’s diverse landscapes and traditions. Inspired by daily life and culinary rituals, twenty cocktails reinterpret local flavours through a modern lens, inviting local and international guests to imbibe an entire cultural experience.
SUMA’s menu is designed in the shape of a rotating fan, with each segment corresponding to a flavour family: Spice, Fruity and Floral, Umami, and Bitter; inviting guests to explore Yunnan’s terroir guided by the flavours they crave most
“Our goal was to create cocktails that don’t feel foreign or intimidating, and we wanted each drink to feel like an invitation to discover a part of Yunnan’s story,” said Frankie Zou, Bar Manager of SUMA. “Every drink began with a question: what memory, flavour, or tradition are we trying to evoke? The resulting cocktails in our menu were different articulations of that answer. Some are comforting, others are surprising, and many are playful, but all of them share one thing in common: being rooted in a sense of place.”
Each cocktail on the menu is crafted to reveal a distinct facet of the region, anchored in local ingredients and perfected through craft. Some drinks are drawn directly from everyday flavours, such as the Nanpie Mule, which reimagines a herbaceous dipping sauce used in Dai cuisine, blending spice and citrus with fragrant sawtooth herb, layered over Linglie Vodka and the SG KOME Shochu for a crisp, savoury finish. The Cucumber Salad is a refreshing tribute to a beloved Kunming dish, interpreted in cocktail form with Wild Mist Gin, KOKUTO de LEQUIO Yambaru Spiced Rum, cucumber, verjuice, lemongrass, and pineapple. Light, herbaceous, and finely balanced, it is already emerging as a signature serve, delivering guests a refreshingly singular connection between place, culture, and libation. The Dianhong Bubble Tea, an alcohol free cocktail built on black tea, coffee, honey, and chai spices, adds Eisbock milk and real boba to give a playful nod to bubble tea through a Yunnanese lens, with an option to add Flor de Cana 12-Year Rum.
Other cocktails elevate longstanding regional traditions. The Yak Butter Fashioned is SUMA’s contemplative take on a classic, inspired by the beloved butter tea ritual of the Shangri-La (Diqing) region, melding malt whisky and SG Group’s MUGI shochu with yak butter, roasted pu’er, and raw orange blossom honey, resulting in a spirit-forward drink that is silky, smoky, and gently spiced, with a whisper of earth and grain. The Magic Manhattan pays homage to Yunnan’s status as the mushroom capital of China, combining Templeton Rye with a medley of locally foraged mushrooms—matsutake for its deep aroma and jicong for its meat-like texture—layered with orange wine vermouth and green walnut, unfolding with umami complexity.
Tree Tomato Tree, SUMA’s playful tribute to one of Shingo Gokan’s signature cocktails, reimagines the iconic Tomato Tree with a distinctly Yunnanese twist. Anchored by Jiao-Yu Gin and layered with tamarillo, yellow tomato, and mastiha, this cocktail evokes the fruit, leaf, and sap of a single tree, capturing the essence of Yunnan’s signature produce in a glass.
The Lemonless Lemon Sour playfully challenges expectations, recreating the flavour and mouthfeel of citrus without a single drop of lemon juice. Built from the non-alcoholic aperitif Everleaf Forest, and a house-made citrus stock distilled from peels and lemon-scented herbs, the drink is a quietly complex non-alcoholic sour that embraces sustainability with a clever twist. SUMA’s romantic riff on the Lychee Martini, Por Amor, infuses floral elegance with layered nuance. Herbaceous Linglie Vodka and Don Julio Blanco Tequila blend with local lychees, osmanthus rice wine, and clarified pomelo juice. Served with a rose-shaped ice block — infused with Yunnan’s heirloom rose varietals which slowly tint the drink pink as it melts, releasing delicate floral notes over time — the drink is a reflection of its Mandarin name, which alludes to the tender closeness of two lovers who share an intimacy that is expressed not through intensity, but through quiet unfolding.
“With SUMA, we wanted our first step towards the grand opening of the hotel to be meaningful and encapsulate what guests can expect here,” said Cliff Tan, General Manager of Shangri-La Kunming. “SUMA is a reflection of how we imagine our role as a hotel, as a cultural portal for guests from all over the world to experience a side to Yunnan and China as never seen before. From the ingredients to the storytelling, every aspect of SUMA is deeply rooted in local culture, and we hope that every detail would reflect the spirit of Yunnan in a way that resonates with today’s traveller.”
Designed by internationally acclaimed studio AvroKO, SUMA is a multi-sensory environment in which different layers of a story unfold with each room. Drawing inspiration from Austrian American botanist Joseph Rock’s groundbreaking expeditions through Western China in the early 20th Century, SUMA invites guests to embark on a journey through the region’s diverse landscapes and cultures, echoing a spirit of discovery that shaped the iconic vision of Shangri-La in Western literature as an imaginary paradise on earth.
The experience begins in a corridor inspired by the rich heritage of Yunnan’s aboriginal tribes, where guests are surrounded by handwoven textile panels, engraved stonework, and carved wooden detailing that draw from the visual languages of the Yi, Bai, Naxi, Lisu, Jingpo, and Hani cultures. Together, these layered textures create a vibrant and textured threshold, extending guests an immersive welcome into a world where craft and culture are intricately woven into every step of the journey.
The indoor bar lounge reveals a warm and immersive haven, with a tented ceiling of patterned fabric, hand-painted floral panels, and woven textures that evoke the landscape traditions and artisanal spirit of Yunnan. A sculptural centerpiece, reminiscent of traditional Yunnanese lanterns, anchors the room with a soft, glowing heartbeat. SUMA is Yunnan’s first destination bar, where heritage cocktails, indigenous ingredients, and modern mixology converge in a soulful expression of place.
Across the corridor, the Spirit Lounge offers a more contemplative retreat, inspired by the mountainous highlands and artisanal weaving traditions of the region. Velvet banquettes and antique rug patterns infuse the space with an air of quiet grandeur, making it perfect for thoughtful conversations and lingering moments.
Outside, the terrace transitions seamlessly into the Outdoor Lounge, featuring an open-air garden that is lush with flowering vines, edible herbs, and a central fountain under Kunming’s famously temperate sky. Pavilion-style dining nooks invite guests to partake in leisurely moments under a canopy of blooms and light, while the BBQ & Beverage Bar evokes the spirit of communal celebration, embodying the character of Yunnan’s festivals and tea-harvesting celebrations.
SUMA marks a new chapter for Shangri-La Kunming and for the cocktail community in Southwest China. With its thoughtful reinterpretation of Yunnan’s terroir, story-led design, and world-class bar programme powered by SG Group, SUMA stands as a destination in its own right, a bar rooted in place and made for the global stage.
At once rooted in Yunnan and expressed through a universal language, SUMA invites guests to linger, discover, and return. For more information, please follow @sumakunming on Instagram or SUMA 姝玛酒吧 on WeChat.
