As every Chinese knows， Kunming (昆明) of Yunnan Province enjoys a pleasant climate all year round and lives up to its nickname of “the City of Spring”. There is neither severe winter nor extremely hot summer.Since long ago， Kunming has been the political， economical and cultural center of Yunnan Province and has become one of the most popular tourist destinations in Southwest China. But few people know that this is also a city of romance.A Renowned Historic CityKunming is a city with a long history. It was listed among the 24 China’s Historic and Cultural Cities in 1982 by the State Council. Kunming is a word from the ancient language of Yi. Kun means lake， Ming means tribe or people， so Kunming means a tribe who live beside a lake.There used to be a Kunmi or Kunming tribe living in Er Hai Lake (洱海) Area of Dali from the West Han to Tang Dynasties. Story goes that Zhang Qian (張騫)， an envoy dispatched to West Area， reported that Sichuan products were seen in Ancient India and Afghanistan， and there must be a passage from southwest to these two places. So Hanwu Emperor organized a “explore the special passage” program. However， the program was doomed by Kunming navies in Er Hai Area. A Kunming Lake was made in Xi’an then for training navies of West Han. Nanzhao Kingdom was successfully established in Dali area by Pi Luoge， and Yunnan was wholly under its control; in the 760s A.D， one Nanzhao Prince named Feng Jiayi was dispatched on an inspection patrol to Kunming， and he found the natural conditions there were just superb， thus suggested the establishment of Tuodong City. Tuodong means to develop the east area of Naozhao Kingdom， because Kunming is geographically located in the east of Dali.When it came the Dali Kingdom in the Song Dynasty， Tuodong or Kunzhou City had prospered into a big commercial center with thousands of businessmen and booming industries. If we say Beijing is China’s capital， Shanghai is a China’s biggest city， we also can say that， in the Song Dynasty， Dali was Yunnan’s Beijing， and Kunming was then Yunnan’s Shanghai. Just after Kublai Khan conquered Dali Kingdom and Yunnan Province was officially set up in the Yuan Dynasty， the capital city was shifted to Kunming from Dali， and Kunming has been employed as the provincial capital till today.In the later Ming and early Qing Dynasties， Kunming was once the capital of the South Ming established by Emperor Wanli but later on was in the hands of Wu Sangui who tried to become the “emperor of Yunnan” but finally was vanquished by Kangxi Emperor in the 1670s; the South Ming’s Wanli Emperor escaped to Myanmar but was turned back and hanged by Wu Sangui; near the Green Lake of Kunming， there is a stele(Bisipo) in the honor of Wanli Emperor. During the Ming and Qing Dynasties， the copper output of Kunming topped other parts of China， and China’s biggest Golden Palace(Golden Temple) was built. Since the beginning of modern times， Kunming has been a glorious city undergoing revolutions.Yunnan Province is home to 25 ethnic minorities， each with its own culture and conventions， and consequently， there is a plethora of folk festivals throughout the year. Different festivals are spent and celebrated by minorities beside the popular Chinese ones. Some are very special and fantastic. For example， on the Torch Festival of Yi and Bai， when night falls， the Yis and Bais in groups will walk to neighboring villages， carrying torches with rosin powder and exchanging good wishes. The Water splashing is part of Dai ethnic people’s celebration of the New Year in the Dai calendar， lasting from April 13 to 15. It is a time to ask for blessing， as well as rainfalls that are important to the hot and humid region. And every February on the lunar calendar， when “Offering Sacrifices to Dragon” is in progress， the Hanis will hold a grand street banquet. Every family will take their best foods to the village center， and the tables will be arranged in a snake-like style around which all the villagers will sit， drinking， eating and blessing each other. All of these add the distinct flavor to this city.Dian Chi LakeKunming is famous for its multitudinous scenic spots and places of interests from ancient times， while the Dian Chi Lake is the outstanding place among them.Praised as “a Pearl on the Yungui Plateau”， Dian Chi Lake is the sixth largest freshwaterlake (about 300 square kilometers) in China. Also known as Kunming Lake or Kunming Pond， it was formed by the subsidence of a fault zone. The lake and the area around the lake are regarded as the center of Kunming’s attractions. It creates a harmonious system with water birds flying above the water and trees waving along banks. With picturesque scenery， it ranges the scenic area and holiday place of high focus.The lake was named after an ancient Dian tribe living in this area. The crescent-shaped lake extends 39 kilometers from north to south and around 13 kilometers from west to east at an altitude of 1886 meters above sea level. Occupying an area of 306 kilometers， the lake’s water capacity is 157 hundred million cubic meters. Dian Chi Lake is surrounded by hills on four sides with the Jinma Hill in the east， Biji Hill in the west， Heshan Hill in the south and Snake Hill in the north. The area on the lake shore is fertile with comfortable weather condition， abundant rivers for irrigation.Dian Chi Lake also has a long history. In the Warrior Period， a Dian State was built in this region. Dian Chi Lake with crystal clean water， ripple lake surface， boats sailing on the lake looks like a glittering pearl set on a mountain basin and reflects the surrounding mountains the blue sky. The area around the Dian Chi Lake is clustered with sights of either beautiful scenery or rich cultural heritage. These include the Nanyun Nationalities Vil- lages， West Hills， and Grand View Park.The Western Hills， about 15 km from Kunming city， lie along the western shore of Dian Chi Lake. It stretches from north to south for about 40 km. The Hills resemble a reclining maiden lying on the banks of Dian Lake with her long hair flowing down into the lake. As a result， the Western Hills have the nickname of the “A Sleeping Beauty Hills”. In actuality， the Western Hills is a forested and lovely park which is perfect for hiking. Some of the major sites include: Huating Temple， an ancient Buddhist temple that was originally a retreat for the local ruler; Taihua Temple， with its charming orchard courtyard; Sanqing Pavilion， a Daoist temple dedicated to that religion’s three major deities; and Dragon Gate， a collection of Daoist caves and sculptures.Now， the Dian Chi Lake has been approved as one of the twelve national tourist resorts， as well as the only one in inland provinces of national resorts. When the weather is fine， there are white flocculent or massive clouds floating in the cerulean sky， the cyan water waves under the golden sunshine and the surrounding mountains reflect their silhouettes on the water. If you take a walk on the lake shore you will feel intoxicated by the beautiful landscape. The most beautiful view of Dian Chi Lake appears at dawn and sunset. The refraction of the ethereal rays glitter on the water surface， just like thousands of silver fishes swimming and playing. At night， when the breeze is fleeting over the water and the world is brimming over with hazy moonlight， Dian Chi Lake lies in silence and breathes in peace like a sleeping beauty.Haigeng Sports Park was built along the bank of the lake. It is regarded as the ideal natural swimming pools with the willow green litchi， beautiful sand beach， and colorful scenery. Overlooking the park across the lake in the high mountain forest park， a more sleep pleasing feeling will come to mind. If you want to play in Xishan Park on the dam， fishermen driving on the wharf surface can be reached through the fishing Xishan feet. You also can sit on the cable car Haigeng sports to ethnic， overlooking the Dian Lake with thousands of heavy waves， panoramic view of lakes and mountains.Daguan ParkDaguan， which means “the grand view”， is the most befitting name for the park and the pavilion which are on the terminus of Daguan Road in the southwest of Kunming city， Daguan Park and Daguan Pavilion.In 1682， a monk built a small temple here to give Buddhist lessons. Eight years later， in 1690， the satrap of Yunnan Province was attracted by the beautiful natural views here and began to construct a whole park including many halls， pavilions， bonsais， rockeries， trees and porches. Daguan Park became an attraction from then on and the most famous spot among them is the Daguan Pavilion.Like many other Chinese ancient buildings， Daguan Pavilion also had been in disarray， destroyed and restored several times because of the dynastic changes and the civil wars. The presentday square， three-storied pavilion was established in 1883.On the pavilion’s lakeside facade hang two 5-meter-long tablets on which a couplet was written by Sun Ranweng， a famous poet of the Qing dynasty. Consisting of 180 Chinese characters， this couplet is reputed as the longest couplet throughout China. The upper scroll depicts the beautiful scenery of Kunming， while the lower scroll contains the author’s comments on some important historical events in Yunnan. Personal feelings and beautiful sceneries mix together in this couplet， adding more charm to this park. Standing on the pavilion， people could have an overview of the park and the sceneries nearby.On every Mid-Autumn Day， locals normally go to Daguan Park to enjoy flowers and the full moon. Deeply immersed in thick moonlight， the park looks more enchanting than ever.Other sceneries like Santan Yingyue， Louwailou and Lu Garden， also deserve a visit. Santan Yingyue is a pool with three stone towers which divides the pool into three parts. Therefore when there is a moon in the sky there are three moons in the water; Louwailou is a stone pavilion built like a ship. Standing on it you can see Santan Yingyue on the right and the ocean of grass on the left， Dianchi Lake in front and levee behind; in the south of Daguan Park is the Lu Garden which was a private villa in 1937， with water lilies， roses， weeping willows and oleanders everywhere. Lu Garden looks like a little peaceful fairyland which is hiding in the corner of Daguan Park.Black Dragon PoolBlack Dragon Pool is situated at the foot of Longquan Hill in the northern outskirts of Kunming， 17 kilometers from the downtown area. Surrounded by towering old trees and bamboo groves， the pool has never got dry even in the years of drought. Legend goes that there used to be ten violently destructive dragons in the world. About 750 A.D.， LV Dongbin， a famous Taoist priest in the Tang dynasty， suppressed nine dragons and left the tenth， a black dragon， remained in the pool. So we got the name of Black Dragon Pool.Dating back to 1394， Black Dragon Pool is divided into two parts by a stone bridge. The color of the water in the south pool is green and the north yellow. Although the water of these two parts meets each other， fish in one pool never visits the other one. There are two Taoist temples in Black Dragon Pool， the lower one is Black Dragon Palace and the upper Longquan Temple. The Black Dragon Palace was first built in 1394 during the Ming dynasty. Enshrined in the temple are the Dragon King， god and goddess of thunder， god of rain and god of wind. Built in a twocourtyard structure， it provides a quiet and comfort place for relaxation.Longquan Temple is a restored Ming dynasty temple， which used to be the largest Taoist center in southwest China. The temple， perched on a hillside overlooking the pool， is built on three levels. The first contains many famous ancient trees in its courtyards， in which a Tang dynasty plum tree， over 1000 years old， is the most famous one. The second level building now serves as an art gallery and the top level is a restored temple building. Main buildings in Longquan Temple include ThunderLightning-Deity Hall， the Hall of the North Pole， Sanqing Hall， the Hall of the Jade Emperor and some other halls for worshipping Daoist immortals. Besides， the Black Dragon Pool owns the greatest plum garden in China， in which over 87 kinds of plums were planted.From the sparkling Dian Chi Lake to the superb Black Dragon Pool， I believe the natural beauties of Kunming will create a perfect place to spend your holiday.
