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| Paradise of Spring with Flowers |
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| Touch of Southwest Center in China |
| Taste of Ethnic Culture |
Kunming city is the provincial capital of Yunnan Province, with a history of more than 2400 years, owes its importance to the fact that it was the gateway to the celebrated Silk Road that facilitated trade with Tibet, Sichuan, Myanmar and India. Today the city is the political, economical and cultural center of Yunnan and the provincial center for transport, science and technology and consequently has become the most popular center for tourism in Southwest China. |
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It is situated at the high plateau of the eastern part of Yunnan Province. To the south is the biggest Dian Lake of Yunnan Province. It belongs to the subtropical plateau monsoon climatic zone; the annual average temperature is 14.7°C and the yearly precipitation is 1024 mm. It is rich in phosphorus, salt mine and quartz and other such mineral resources as mirabilite, iron, bauxite, copper, coal, etc; it is also rich in ground water and geothermal energy resources.
Kunming City has a good transport service in traffic and has been linked with more than 30 cities, domestic and abroad, by air. |
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| The City is China's famous historic cultural city. Because it's evergreen everywhere like spring all the year round with flowers blooming everywhere, the city is known as "City of Spring" or "City of Flowers". It is indeed a well-known site for sightseeing and a summer resort. The Dian Lake and the Stone Forest are the two State Major places of historic interest and scenic beauty. There are also such beautiful sites as "Black Dragon Pond" and "Tranquility Hot Spring". You will also have the opportunity to savour such traditional local specialities as the Yunnan Ham, Cured Chicken, Long Across the Bridge Rice Noodle, Fragrant Tea Sending Forth Delicate Fragrance far and near, Steam Pot Chicken and the Whole Chicken Banquet, etc. |
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Kunming Travel Guide |
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Kunming enjoys a pleasant climate and does its best to live up to its title of 'the City of Eternal Spring'. Whenever you are planning to go, the temperature is always pleasant. With its convenient transport links in and out of the city, Kunming welcomes and sees off tens of thousands of tourists every day. |
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| City Facilities |
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For first-time tourists Kunming city center is an attraction with its two squares and five interlaced roads - Jinma Biji Square, Dongfeng Square, Dongfeng Lu, Jinbi Lu, Zhengyi Lu, Renmin Lu and Qingnian Lu, among which Jinbi Square has the most eye-catching architecture. Qingnian Lu, Zhengyi Lu, and Renmin Lu are the main commercial areas in Kunming; the most popular pedestrian streets are Nanping Jie, Jingxing Huaniao Shichang, and Jinma Biji Fang. |
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| Dianchi Lake |
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The Dianchi Lake Scenic Area is located in the southwest part of Kunming City. Dianchi Lake is, beyond question, the center of the resort. There are numerous attractions along the lake captivating tourists.
Dianchi Lake is about 300 square kilometers (74,132 acres). It is the largest freshwater lake in Yunnan Province and the sixth largest one in China. With picturesque scenery and its location on the Yungui Plateau, the lake has a reputation as 'A Pearl on the Plateau'. Unfortunately, the lake has been badly polluted. Although efforts have been made to save the lake, they have been largely unsuccessful. |
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The lake is crescent-shaped, about 39 kilometers (24 miles) in length and 13 kilometers (8 miles) in width at its widest. Its natural banks are formed by mountains on all four sides. More than twenty rivers nurture the lake which has a shoreline of 163.2 kilometers (101 miles). Four surrounding hills contribute to the picturesque landscape, making visitors intoxicated and linger around. You may appreciate the beauty of the lake and hills from a boat, and explore this cradle of Yunnan culture. |
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| Stone Forest |
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Stone Forest, the most typical karst sight in the world, covers a square area of 350 km, and is one of the four natural sights in China as the “natural museum of landscape”. |
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| The Village of Ethnic Culture |
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Located in the south coast of Dianchi Lake, Yunnan Ethic People Village covers a square area of 1250mu and is 8km from the downtown. It serves as the window of showing the ethic group cultures and the base of newly-emerging tourism zone in Yunnan. |
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| Grand View Pavilion |
Daguan, 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.
Daguan Park locates on the shore of Dianchi Lake and faces the Western Hills which are on the other side of Dianchi Lake. In 1682, a monk named Qianyin built a small temple here to give Buddhist lessons; eight years later, in 1690, the satrap of Yunnan Province Wang Jiwen 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. |
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| Dining |
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| Restaurants in Kunming - Chinese and Ethnic Minority |
Kunming is also renowned for many delicious local dishes. You can enjoy them both at local famous restaurants or the night market. In the night markets you will find many pubs, bars and cafes that serve good quality meals.
While most Chinese restaurants in Kunming are not great, there are still quite a few good places to sample, especially (but not limited to) local cuisine that is almost impossible to find outside of Yunnan. Over the Bridge Noodles are a Kunming specialty and are easily worth a try. Also, there are quite a few Dai Minority restaurants around town that both provide good food and good opportunities to experience some of the cultural uniqueness that separates Yunnan Province from the rest of China. |
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| Dai Minority Cuisine |
Dai food is similar to Thai food in that it combines a lot of sour, spicy, and sweet flavors. At the same time Dai cuisine still incorporates quite a bit of Chinese culinary influence. Dai food comes highly recommended by this author, especially compared to the regular Chinese food in Kunming. |
| Crab Dry Hotpot |
Every single night there is a line of hungry customers waiting outside the restaurant in order to savor the spicy crab dry hotpot. By arriving around 7 pm, smaller groups of 4 or less can expect to wait an hour to get seated. If you enjoy crab and hot spice, you are sure to enjoy this Kunming restaurant. |
| Over the Bridge Noodles |
Over the Bridge Noodles is possibly the most famous and notable culinary treat local to Kunming. When ordering these noodles, the customer has many options that range from the bare-bones 6 RMB bowl to more extravagant options that can cost more than 30 RMB. With any choice, the customer is first served a steaming hot bowl of chicken broth. The customer is then given a host of small plates of meats, tofu, and other things to cook in the broth. Lastly, a bowl of rice noodles is added into the mix. The difference in price varies with the quantity and selection of the small plates given. |
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| Tips |
Kunming has more than one hundred star rated hotels and a variety of a thousand or so guest houses. These provide tourists a wide choice of somewhere to relax after whole day's tour.
Lastly, do not forget to buy some locally produced souvenirs for your friends or family when you visit Kunming, such as the imitation of ivory or wood carvings, minority tie dyings. You will find a variety of stores to meet your specified requirements.
People should not support the trade in endangered animals.
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