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Home> China City Guide> Kunming
Providing full travelling information on the Spring City Kunming, the capital of Yunnan Province, Horticulture Expo '99, Stone Forest, Dianchi Lake and more...
Introduction
Kunming, the provincial capital of Yunnan is renowned at home and abroad as a "Spring City" with evergreen tender leaves and never withered fresh flowers all the time. Situated in the northeast of Yunnan Province on the Yunnan-Guizhou Plateau, the city is 1,894 meters above seal level, between latitude 24
3
to 26
, an annual rainfall of 1035 mm, an average sunshine time of 2249 hours and the frost-free period is 227 days. Indeed, Kunming is an ideal resort both for summer and winter.
Its genial climate offers not only a favorable condition for plants but also fine scenery to tourists. All the year round, spring hovers over the city, a variety of flowers blooms in great luxuriance, dotting the carpet-like grass into a natural brocade. In the flora of this district, camellia, magnolia, azalea and primrose stand out as the "Four Celebrated Flowers". As for the first that tops the list, there goes a popular saying: "Yunnan outshines the rest of the world in its camellia". Yet the primrose of the "Spiral Peak" is also a marvelous spectacle. During the flower season, the primrose, like a sea of red clouds, is in full blow all over the mountain casting the light upon the blue sky. It is no wonder that a poet of the Tang Dynasty eulogizes Kunming as "A Spring City with flowers here and there."
Kunming has a history of over 2,000 years. Early in 339 B.C.-8 A.D., General Zhuanjiao of the Chu Kingdom made Kunming the capital of Chu, both Sun Kewang of the late Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) and Wu Sangui of the early Qing Dynasty (1644-1911) lorded it over here. Each successive dynasty had palaces and temples built and renovated, and many of the ancient architectures and historical relics are protected in very good condition, such as the green Yuantong Hill, Black Dragon Pool, Bamboo Temple, Daguan Park, Golden Temple, Green Lake, Yuantong Temple and other peacefully running Anning hot springs known as "the first pond under the heaven". The scenery of the city is distinguished by its delicate and fascinating charm. Among them all, the Dragon Gate of the Western Hills enjoys the highest reputation as the saying goes, "Once on the Dragon Gate, your fortune is made". Step to the Dragon Gate, look down at the wide expanse of misty Lake Dianchi which used to be 250 kilometers in circumstances, you can see ants-like fishing boats with sails like butterflies floating all over the lake, as well as feel greatly relaxed and happy as if you jump into the air, dissolved by nature.
The Stone Forest lies in Lunan Yi Nationality Autonomous County in Kunming, over one hundred and twenty kilometers to the southeast of Kunming. It has long been one of the most famous scenic spots in China ever since the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644 A.D.) according to historical records.
The Stone Forest covers a vast area of 400,000 acres including the big and small stone forests, and other scenic spots such as the " Moon Lake", " Dadie Waterfall", " Subterranean Stone Forest in Zhiyun Cave".
It is only a three-hour-drive by bus from Kunming directly to the Stone Forest. Walking through the paths by the side of the guesthouses in the midst of the forest, one can see a huge rock screen on which two big words, " Stone Forest" engraved in official script (an ancient style of calligraphy used in the Han Dynasty, 206 B.C-220 A.D.). The moment the tourists enter the forest, one miraculous view after another will appear. The first that bursts upon the tourists' sight is the "Sword Peak Pond" with jadeite-colored water so clear that one can see to the bottom. Leaning against the red railing by the pond, one can enjoy the peculiar sight of the countless stone peaks assuming a thousand different shapes, all fanciful and picturesque, and the goldfish leisurely wagging the tail in the pond. Walking on, one would be greatly fascinated by the sublimity and grandeur of the Stone Forest, and can not help recalling to mind many beautifully moving legends or fairy tales. Some stone peaks and rock pillars seem to have sprung perpendicularly from the ground: some be hanging by hair with momentary threat of crashing down; some like marsh rooms, soaring to the skies. In the legend of Sani nationality, those gigantic rocks are said to be the ancient hero incarnates who battled bravely with flood demons.
According to geologist's studies and verifications, the Stone Forest was a vast expanse of sea in the carboniferous period of Paleozoic era which commenced 270 million years ago. Later the movement of the earth's crust gradually caused the sea to recede and its bottom of the limestone to rise up, hence formed the land. Owing to the constant seeping of rain through the cracks of the layer of the limestone that dissolved the stone and broadened the fissures, the area finally came into being a typical karst physiognomy, a rare wonder of the world, a group of great sculptures molded by nature.
The splendor of the place is enhanced by another feature, i.e., the local custom of the native people Sani, which is a branch of the Yi nationality. Sani people are industrious, unconstrained and hospitable. Each Sani girl is a good hand at spinning, weaving and embroidering. They like to wear rainbow-colored headgear and bright dresses. The Sani people are very good at singing and dancing, especially the young people. Everyday at sunset, under the moonlight, boys and girls would gather at the village platform. While the boys play the three-stringed plucked instruments, the girls clap their hands and dance enthusiastically with the drumbeats the strong-rhythmed traditional dance" A-xi Dance in the Moon". If a tourist happens to pass by, they will warmly invite him to join the dancing and always ready to be his guide. Because of their sincerity , tourists are often reluctant to part.
Every lunar year on June 24th, the Sani people celebrate their national festival, the Torch Festival. On that day the entire Stone Forest is permeated with a festival atmosphere. Traditional performances like wrestling, bull-fighting are shown in the forest. When the land is enveloped in a curtain of night, young men, holding torches in their hands run after girls to propose marriage in the light of colored lanterns. All these have a very strong appeal to thousands and thousands of curious tourists and give them an unforgettable happy impression.
The shoreline of Lake Dian, to the south of Kunming, is dotted with settlements, farms and fishing enterprises; the western side is hilly, while the eastern side is flat country. The southern end of the lake, particularly the southeast, is industrial, but other than that there are lots of possibilities for extended touring.
The lake is an elongated one-about 150km in circumference, about 40km from north to south, and covering 300 squarekilometers,.1,885 meters above seal level, and the lake is known as a "pearl on the Yunnan-Guizhou Plateau". Plying the waters are fanchuan,pirate-sized junks with abmboo-battened canvas sails. It's mainly an area for scenic touring and hiking, and there are some fabulous aerial views from the ridges up at Dragon Gate in the Western Hills.
The lake, capable of tossing up violent storms, is especially beautiful when winds subside and it reflects the ethereal light of dawn or sunset. The Chinese describe the lake's moods as ' virility seasoned with tenderness'.
This large, lake-filled park lies 3 kilometers ( 1.8 miles) southwest of Kunming at the end of the Number 4 bus line. Built in 1690 under Emperor Kangxi, its rambling, willowed causeways and hump-backed bridges all centre on Daguan Pavilion. Daguan means ' grand view'. True to its name, the three-story pavilion provides a spectacular view across sparkling Lake Dianchi to the distant Western Hill.
On the pavilion's lakeside facade, two long inscriptions flank a false entranceway, forming a single poem. Written by Sun Ranweng, a famous Qing Dynasty scholar, this great couplet of 180 characters is one of Yunnan Province's most valued cultural treasures. The first half, on the left, praises the beautiful scenery around Kunming, characterizing local mountains and extolling nature in a sunny, optimistic mood. The second half, on the left, traces 2000 years of Yunnan's history, commemorating its ruler and warriors, battles and victories. It ends, however, on a melancholy, philosophical note.
Where are they now?…neither the setting sun nor the rising fog casts a glance at the crumbling monuments and dilapidated tombstones. What alone remains through eternity are the twinkling lights of the fishermen's boats, the lines of wild geese in the calm autumnal sky, the ringing bell of a distant monastery and the frost that stealthily sets upon the lake's shore.
This park and the adjacent botanical garden lie in the Wulao Hills, 17 kilometers ( 10 miles) northwest of Kunming.
The wooden park with its Black Dragon Pool is the site of a restored Ming Dynasty temple, once the largest Daoist ( Taoist) centre in southwest China. According to legend, the pool contained ten violently destructive dragons. Around the year 750 a reclusive scholar named Lu Dongbin mastered the secrets of Daoism and thereupon set out across China to slay dragons and demons. Reaching this pool, he killed nine of the dragons with his sword but allowed the tenth, a small black one, to remain in the pool on condition that it work for the benefit of mankind. Lu Dongbin is honored as one of the Daoist Eight Immortals, easily recognized in pictures by his sword and fly-whisk. He is the patron saint of Chinese barbers.
The Daoist temple, perched on a hillside overlooking the pool, is built on three levels. The first contains famous, ancient trees in its courtyards-a Tang Dynasty plum tree, a Song Dynasty cypress, a Ming Dynasty camellia and a Qing Dynasty magnolia. In front of the temple building is a gigantic bronze ding, a tripodal incense burner decorated with the eight trigrams. The second level building now serves as an art gallery for scroll brush paintings. The top level is a restored temple building.
This unique Daoist temple lies 11 kilometer ( 7 miles) northeast of Kunming. By car, it is 10 kilometers (6 miles) from Black Dragon Pool, heading southeast on Longtou Jie. Situated in a pine forest atop Phoenix Song Mountain, the temple requires a climb up a very long flight of stone steps, punctuated by three Heavenly Gates. A fourth gate brings visitors to the entrance of the temple grounds.
Gardens and galleries flank a central path leading to a miniature, medieval city wall complete with a typical gate tower, bell tower and drum tower. Inside, on a terrace of finest Dali marble with elegantly carved railings, stands the little copper temple itself. In Chinese it is still known as the Golden Temple because, when first built, the burnished copper gleamed like gold.
In 1604, the governor of Yunnan and some powerful nobles wished to honor the Daoist hero-god Zishi, who was supposed to live at the northern extremity of the universe. They built the Copper Temple to represent his city-palace there. Three decades later, the temple was transported intact to Jizu Shan ( Chicken Foot Mountain), s holy mountain in western Yunnan. In 1670, a duplicate temple was cast in deliberate defiance of China's new Manchu emperor, to whom the copper was owed as tribute. This second temple was destroyed in the mid-19th century during Yunnan's great Muslim rebellion. A new temple was built from parts of the duplicate in 1890. The walls, columns, rafters, roof-tiles, altar, altar-hangings, even the banner near the gate tower, are all make of copper. The whole structure weights more than 300 tons and stands 6.5 meters ( 21 feet) high.
Outlying buildings, containing art galleries and a teahouse, are not of great interest. At the summit of the mountain behind the temple, a bizarre, ugly tower, built in 1984, holds a giant bronze bell, so massive that its rim is a full hand span in thickness. Its decorations identify it as a Buddhist relic, not originally a part of this Daoist temple. The high camellia tree near the temple is 600 years old; in the month of February it produces hundreds of magnificent red blossoms- a sight that should not be missed by late-winter visitors to Kunming.
The Western Hill spread out across a long wedge of parkland on the western side of Lake Dian; they're also known as the ' Sleeping Beauty Hills', a reference to their undulating contours, which are thought to resemble a reclining woman with tresses of hair flowing into the sea. The range, stretching as long as 10 kilometers, is 2,500 meters above sea level.Amidst ancient trees and winding paths, there are Huating Temple, Taihua Temple and Sanqing Pavilion built respectively in the Yuan, Ming and Qing Dynasties.
Huating Temple
It is a country temple of the Nanzhao kingdom believed to have been constructed in the 11th century, rebuilt in the 14th century, and excellent gardens.Taihua Temple
Taihua Temple houses a fine collection of flowering trees in the courtyards, including manholes and camellias.Dragon Gate
a group of grottoes, sculptures, corridors and pavilions hacked from the cliff between 1781 and 1835 by a Taoist monk and co-workers, who must have been hanging up there by their fingertips. At least that's what the locals do then they visit, seeking out the most precarious perches for views of Lake Dian. The tunneling at along the outer cliffs edge is so narrow that only one or two people can squeeze by at a time, so avoid public holidays and weekends!
Qiongzhu Temple (Bamboo Temple)
Bamboo Temple lies on the northwestern outskirts of Kunming. It was first built in the Yuan Dynasty (1206-1368).Burned down and rebuilt in the 15th century, it was restored from 1883 to 1890 when the abbot employed master Sichuan sculptor Li Guangxiu and his apprentices to fashion 500 luohan ( 500 life-size Buddha statues which are reputed as "a pearl in the treasure house of oriental sculpture". ) These life-size clay figures are stunning- either very realistic or very surrealistic- a sculptural tour de force.
Down one huge wall come the incredible surfing buddhas, some 70-odd, riding the waves on a variety of mounts- blue dogs, giant crabs, shrimp, turtles, unicorns. One gentleman has metre-long eyebrows, and another has an arm that shoots clear across the hall to the ceiling.
In the main section are housed row upon row of standing figures. The statues have been done with the precision of a split-second photograph- a monk about to ckomp into a large peach( the face contorted almost into a scream), a figure caught turning around to emphasise a discussion point, another about to clap two cymbals together, yet another cursing a pet monster. The old, the sick, the emaciated- nothing is spared; the expressions of joy, anger, grief or boredom are extremely vivid.
So lifelike are the sculptures that they were considered in bad taste by Li Guangxiu's contemporaries ( some of whom no doubt appeared in caricature), and upon the projict's completion he disappeared into thin air. As for the bamboo of the temple's name, there was actually none on the grounds until very recently, when bamboo was transplanted in 1958 and again, extensicely, in 1981.
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