As a destination in its own right, Kunming's greatest asset is its climate. The combination of subtropical latitude and an elevation of 1890 m give Kunming a climate that is generally described as "eternal spring." This characterization is not exactly literal: dustings of snow occurred in 1991 and again in 1994, and summer temperatures are often well above balmy. Nearly all of the annual 1500 mm of precipitation falls between May and August. The best time to visit is between February, when the blue camellias are in blossom, and May, and then again between August and November. In the broader context of climates prevailing throughout China and southeast Asia, Kunming's weather is genuinely attractive; however, it is unlikely that many Western tourists are drawn by climate, unless they are already in the general area.
Transportation facilities are important assets for the tourism industry. Kunming has train links to Chengdu, Changsha, and Vietnam. Kunming's Zhang Gui Zhauang Airport, only 7.5 km from downtown, offers direct flights to thirty cities in China, besides Rangoon, Bangkok, Chiang Mai, Singapore, Hong Kong, and Vientiane. There have been flights to Dali since the airport opened in November 1995, and, with opening of Lijiang Airport in July 1995, direct flights to Lijiang are also available. Within Yunnan, nearly all highways and most decent roads radiate from Kunming; most visitors to Lijiang arrive by bus from Kunming and leave the same way.
Kunming is not a large city by Chinese standards. The official population of the entire district is approximately four million, but that includes an extensive rural area. The urban population is variously estimated at one to two million, compared to 5 million in urban Beijing and 7.3 million in Shanghai. There are no rivers of bicycles or grid-locked traffic jams; the core of the city is relatively compact, low profile, and easy to get around. On the other hand, the city does not have a high density of tourist attractions. Evaluations published in popular guidebooks tend to be lukewarm. The section on Kunming in Lonely Planet's China begins
While Kunming and its surrounding districts boast a fair number of interesting sights, they pale in comparison with some of Yunnan's jewels, such as Lijiang or Xishuangbanna. But the city is still a fine place to wander around on foot, once you get off the wide boulevards... (Taylor et al. 1996:718)
Fodor's Exploring China gives Kunming its top rating ("do not miss") but also stresses the city's importance as a point of departure:
The capital of Yunnan province has as its main attraction the Stone Forest [120 miles to the southeast] and is a starting point for journeys further west but, with its pleasant climate and bustling streets, it is of interest on its own account (Knowles 1995: 240).
The many department stores and karaoke bars in downtown Kunming attract crowds of shoppers and Chinese visitors, but there are few places where Western tourists are likely to savor the exotic Orient. Some quaint pockets of traditional wooden architecture remain, but most have disappeared in the boxy concrete sprawl. One popular promenade is Cuihu (Green Lake) Park, about 1.5 km north of Kunming's urban ground-zero at the intersection of Zhengyi Lu and Dongfeng Lu. Laid out at the foot of Wuhuashan hill during the 14th century, Cuihu is a willow-lined rosette of ponds and islets surrounding a central pavilion. Another site highlighted by most guidebooks is about one kilometer south of the urban core. Two pagodas, the thirteen-story Xi Ta (West Pagoda) and the less impressive Dong Ta (East Pagoda), survive from the Tang Dynasty (618-907 AD). Both were rebuilt during the 19th century, having been demolished during the Muslim insurrection. (The Chinese attribute the damage to an earthquake.) Around the Xi Ta is a lively market area, but the fact that these places are cited at all does not speak well for the architectural assets of central Kunming. The other sites mentioned by Lonely Planet are the Yunnan Provincial Museum - "all things considered, the museum is probably not worth the foreigners' entry fee of Y10" - and the zoo - "Most travellers find the animals' living conditions depressing - animal lovers are better off giving the place a miss" (Taylor et al. 1996:724).
CLOSE TO KUNMING
Further from the city center are the Yuantong Si, a Buddhist temple complex, and the Xi Shan (Western Hills). Stretching out along Dianchi Lake, the Western Hills are something of a cultural Rorsach blot test: in early texts, they are referred to the as "Azure Rooster" hills, while current interpretations favor a reclining Buddha and a sleeping beauty. The steps up to the 2500 m summit of this scenic slice of parkland are punctuated by a handful of temples and other landmarks. These include the Ni Er Xhi Mu (Tomb of Ni Er), a Yunnan musician who composed the Chinese national anthem. Higher up is the Sanqingge Temple, originally a Yuan Dynasty (1280-1368) villa, later converted to a Taoist shrine. The Long Men (Dragon Gate) is a cluster of hanging passages, grottoes, and shrines perched precariously above Dian Lake.
Fed by twenty rivers, Dian is the sixth largest of China's lakes: 340 square kilometers. Steamers offer excursions, but the best views are probably to be had from the ridges of the Xi Shan along the west bank. About three kilometers southwest of the city center, Daguan Lou (Big View Tower) offers another good vantage point. The surrounding 60-hectare Daguan Gongyuan (Big View Park) was begun in 1690, during the Qing dynasty, around a Buddhist temple.
Among other lukewarm attractions in the Kunming area are the Anning Wenquan (Anning Hot Springs) and the Heilong Tan (Black Dragon Pool). Anning is located in a Miao minority sector 44 km southwest of Kunming; Heilong Tan is 11 km north of Kunming near the Kunming Botanical Institute. About Anning, Lonely Planet reports that "most travellers sensibly give this place a wide berth... the hot spring and surrounding area are not particularly interesting" (Taylor et al. 1996:735). Heilong Tan is characterized as an "uninspiring garden, with old cypresses, dull Taoist pavilions and no bubble in the springs" (Taylor et al. 1996:734).
The one nearby site that receives unanimous raves is Qiongzhu Si (Bamboo Temple), 12 kilometers northwest of Kunming. The Tang dynasty temple, destroyed and rebuilt in the fifteenth century, was radically renovated in the late nineteenth century. Li Guanxiu, a Sichuan sculptor, was commissioned to create 500 life-size clay figures. These include dozens of buddhas surfing the waves on a wild miscellany of mounts - dogs, crabs, unicorns, tigers. Other figures are hyper-realistic representations of all human conditions and emotions.
Apart from the traditional tourist attractions, which feature unusual natural or historic sites, Kunming is the gateway for visits to certain unusual ethnic assets. Only ten kilometers away, the Yunnan Minzucun (Nationalities Village) in Haigeng Park on the northeastern shore of Dianchi represents a concerted effort to capitalize on the exotic appeal of the non-Han cultures in Yunnan. In a scenic spot conveniently accessible by bus tours from Kunming, local tourist authorities have contrived a concatenation of model villages repre-senting the officially-recognized national minorities. Visitors pay a 20¥ general admission fee, plus 10¥ for each village, with additional fees charged for song-and-dance performances. The villages do present an opportunity to inspect the various "costumes" and architectural styles; on the other hand, the lifestyle of the residents of this cultural zoo has little in common with what might be encountered in the real world. Lonely Planet advises that "if you're at all averse to tourist-board fabrications of ethnic cultures, give the place a miss and spend an extra day in Xishuangbanna or Dehong, where you can see the real thing" (Taylor et al. 1996:737).
219 W. Spencer St. #3
Ithaca, NY 14850
Tel: (609) 256-0102 Fax: (708) 575-6620
Email:
sicroff@bridges-prtd.com
