Sights in Central Yúnnán
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Green Lake Park
Come here to people-watch, practise taichi or just hang with the locals and stroll. The roads along the park are lined with wannabe trendy cafes, teahouses and shops. In November everyone in the city awaits the return of the local favourites, red-beaked seagulls; it's a treat watching people, er, 'flock' to the park when the first one shows up.
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Qióngzhú Sì (Bamboo Temple)
Dating from the Tang dynasty, the temple burned down and was rebuilt in the 15th century. It was restored from 1883 to 1890, when Sichuanese sculptor Li Guangxiu fashioned 500 luóhàn (arhats or noble ones). These life-size clay figures are a sculptural tour de force - 70 incredible surfing Buddhas ride waves on mounts including blue dogs, crabs and unicorns.
The statues have been constructed with the precision of a split-second photograph - a monk about to chomp 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. So lif…
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Yuántōng Temple
This temple is the largest Buddhist complex in Kūnmíng and a draw for pilgrims. It's over 1000 years old and has been refurbished many times; the latest renovations were going on at the time of writing. To the rear a hall has been added, with a statue of Sakyamuni, a gift from Thailand's king. The good vegetarian restaurant here is to the left of the temple entrance.
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Kunming City Museum
The left-hand hall of this museum is packed with swords, spears and surprises like mini bronze ox heads excavated in the Kūnmíng area; you've got pot luck (generally none) on English captioning. The right-hand hall houses the highlight of the whole shebang, worth the cost itself - an impressive 6.6m pillar engraved with Buddhist scriptures from the Kingdom of Dali (AD 937-1253).
It's said Prime Minister Yuan Douguang of the Dali kingdom had the pillar constructed for Kūnmíng's Military Administrator Gao Mingsheng. A dinosaur exhibit inhabits the 2nd floor with the highlight, we kid you not, Yunnanosaurus robustus; this area is a bit middling, sadly underrepresenting Y…
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Nancheng Mosque
The oldest mosque in Kūnmíng (or at least on the site where a mosque has sat the longest), the 400-year-old Nancheng Mosque can be recognised by its telltale greenish onion domes, though the lower floors essentially look like the white-tiled offices that they are!
Even worse, the once-lively strip of Muslim restaurants and shops selling skullcaps, Arabic calligraphy and pictures of Mecca nearby got its marching orders from the city government and has slowly been dispersing throughout the city. Not much is left. To get to what's left of the Muslim area from the Zhengyi Lu roundabout, walk west past Chūnchéng Jiǔlóu (Spring City Hotel) and then bear left a half-block to …
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Bronze Drums Hall
The Bronze Drums Hall has a collection of artefacts from tomb excavations at Jìnníng (Diān Chí), Wanjiaba (Chǔxióng) and Lijiashan (near Jiāngchuān). The drums themselves date from the Warring States and Western Han periods and are superb. Of 1600 such drums known to exist in the world, China has 1400 and Yúnnán 400 itself, most unearthed at Shizhai Shān near Diān Chí. The ancient drums are brought into a modern context by their continued use among minorities such as the Yi.
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Chongsheng Temple
Some travellers find the admission price for the Three Pagodas steep, given that you can't go inside the pagodas. However, the temple behind the pagodas, Chongsheng Temple, almost makes up for it. Laid out in the traditional Yúnnánese style there are three layers of buildings lined up with a sacred peak in the background. The temple has been restored and converted into a museum chronicling the history, construction and renovation of the pagodas.
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TC/G Nordica
TC/G Nordica is best described as a gallery-exhibition hall-cultural centre. There's even a relaxing restaurant with Scandinavian and Chinese food. (One founder was Swedish, another Chinese - hence the mix). Do check out Nordica's website for a full slate of performances and exhibitions; most weekends something is happening (though if you wish to eat, at times on Friday or Saturday evenings reservations are required).
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Minority Nationality Hall
The Minority Nationality Hall mostly consists of photos and fairly tacky shop mannequins (some with blond hair!) dressed in minority clothes, with examples of embroidery, bags and hats. It gives an idea of Yúnnán's ethnic diversity but you are better off going to Kūnmíng's Nationalities Museum.
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West Pagoda
Attached is a compound that is a popular spot for older people to drink tea, chat and thwack mah jong tiles around (if not get a shave and a haircut). This Tang pagoda can't be climbed, nor is the temple complexe open, but it is aging as gracefully as the neighbourhood gentrifies around it.
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Qianxun Pagoda
The tallest of the three pagodas, Qianxun Pagoda, has 16 tiers that reach a height of 70m. It was originally erected in the mid-9th century by engineers from Xī'ān. It is flanked by two smaller 10-tiered pagodas, each of which is 42m high.
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Yúnnán Provincial Museum
Fresh off an aesthetic rehab, this museum has reasonable exhibitions on Diān Chí (Lake Dian) prehistoric and early cultures, and Yúnnán's minorities.
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Chuàng Kù (The Loft)
West of downtown in a disused factory area known as Chuàng Kù (创库艺术主题社区) are a small number of galleries and cafes featuring modern Chinese artists and photographers. Yuánshēng Art Space is a gallery-bar-restaurant-theatre focusing on the province's ethnic groups. The cornerstone of sorts is TC/G Nordica, best described as a gallery-exhibition hall-cultural centre – with, oddly, a restaurant serving Scandinavian and Chinese food. Not many taxi drivers know this place as The Loft; ask to go to 101 Xiba Lu.
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Ancient Buddhist Art Hall
The Ancient Buddhist Art Hall has examples of the art at Shíbǎoshān, near Dàlǐ, and the murals of Báishā outside Lìjiāng, which are useful if you are thinking of visiting either site.
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Dàlǐ Museum
The museum houses a small collection of archaeological pieces relating to Bai history, including some fine figurines.
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East Pagoda
The East Pagoda is a Tang pagoda that was, according to Chinese sources, destroyed by an earthquake; Western sources say it was destroyed by the Muslim revolt.
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Yúnnán Nationalities Museum
On the northeast corner of the lake, the Yúnnán Nationalities Museum is reputedly the largest minorities museum in China, even if it doesn't have a whole lot on display. But the ground-floor exhibition of costumes is comprehensive and comes with proper English captions.
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Tang-Dynasty Pagodas
These pagodas won't give you a 'wow!' moment, but you can hang with the old dudes getting haircuts, slurping tea and playing their endless mah jong games, south of Jinbi Lu. West Pagoda has surroundings a tad livelier; East Pagoda smacks of a new edifice – it was rebuilt in the 19th century after either a Muslim revolt or an earthquake (foreign and Chinese sources conflict).
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Mosques
The oldest of the lot, the 400-year-old Nánchéng Mosque, was ripped down in 1997 in order to build a larger version, which looks vaguely like a bad Las Vegas casino. And sadly, that's now about it for the area's once-thriving Muslim neighbourhood (ripped down in toto in 2007).
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Catholic Church
Also worth checking is Dàlǐ's Catholic Church. It dates back to 1927 and is a unique mix of Bai-style architecture and classic European church design. Mass is held here at 9am every Sunday.
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Kunming Zoo
Kunming Zoo is worh it for the veiwes, if not the animals. Although the living conditions of the 750 animals are better than at most Chinese zoos (not saying much), most travellers give it a miss. High up on a spiral-shaped hill, you can strike out into the verdant grounds, which offer commanding views over the city.
If you do want a gander at regional fauna, residing here are such Yúnnán rarities as Xīshuāngbǎnnà wild oxen, lesser (red) pandas, leaf monkeys and black-tail pythons; from greater China you'll get the obligatory pandas, tigers, Yangzi alligators, golden monkeys and others. The main entrance is at the corner of Yuantong Jie and Qingnian Lu.
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Three Pagodas
Absolutely the symbol of the town/region, these pagodas 2km north of the north gate are among the oldest standing structures in southwestern China.
The tallest of the three, Qiānxún Pagoda, has 16 tiers that reach a height of 70m. It was originally erected in the mid-9th century by engineers from Xī'ān. It is flanked by two smaller 10-tiered pagodas, each of which are 42m high. While the price is cheeky considering you can't go inside the pagodas, Chóngshèng Temple (Chóngshèng Sì) behind them has been restored and converted into a relatively worthy museum.
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