2. Green Lake Park
Compared with many famous lakes in China like West Lake in Hangzhou, this Kunming attraction can seem like nothing special. But it can offer a relaxing, sunny afternoon stroll or lakeside coffee break to enjoy the beautiful sunset. Paddle boats are also available.
The Green Lake has pleasant weather all year round but the best time to visit is from October to February, when red-beaked gulls from Siberia migrate south and make their home here.
Getting to the park, which is located downtown between Yunnan University and the Bird and Flower Market, is easy.
3. Bird and Flower Market
This is one of the most interesting attractions in central Kunming, serving as a shopping destination for all kinds of items such as flowers, name stamps, camping and hunting gear, live baby turtles and dried lizards.
The market offers shops and stalls built in the typical architecture of the region. Wooden houses with grass growing from their roofs line streets where small alleys devoted to flowers and caged birds are found.
Eating and drinking
As a branch of Yunnan cuisine that is also known as Dian cuisine, the attractions of Kunming dishes lie in their mixture of sour and slightly spicy tastes.
Most of the ingredients are green, fresh and natural, including vegetables, fruit, bamboo and flowers.
One traditional dish, guoqiao (across the bridge) rice noodles, are prepared at the table by adding raw ingredients into a bowl of hot broth.
The name of the dish comes from a story in ancient times, when a devoted wife preparing lunch for her husband discovered a way to keep soup boiling hot - by topping it with a thin layer of vegetable oil - so that her husband could have a hot meal after crossing a long, wooden bridge to get home.
The dish is made of broth, sliced meat, rice noodles and local seasonings.
Other typical dishes include steamed-pot chicken, earthen pot fish and Xuanwei ham.
There are several choices for nightlife in Kunming. Camel Bar and Top One are two typical expat bars in the Golden Horse and Jade Rooster Memorial Arches (Jinmabiji). Discotheque in Bao Shan Hotel also offers good entertainment and joyful shows.
China Daily
Print
Save