Pictures and information about sites to see in the Yunnan Region

(for tours go to Yintian Ticketing Center)

Grand View Pavilion - On the southern tip of the Dagaun Park in west Kunming, it was first built in 1690 on the foundation of a Goddess of Mercy Temple, but was twice damaged in war. The pavilion as it is today was rebuilt in 1866. It is a three-storeyed square structure covered with a golden-tiled roof. Standing opposite it is the Lansheng Chamber, whose doorposts are inscribed with the “Number One Couplets under Heaven”, a 180-word antithetical couplets in the handwriting of the Qing dynasty popular poet Sun Ranweng.

West Mountains at Kunming - Rising on the west shore of the Dianchi Lake on the southwest outskirts of Kunming, the West Mountains is the collective name for the Huating, Taihua, Luchan and Bixiao mountains. It is a tremendous nature reserve blanketed by dense forests, but it is better known for its Longmen Grottoes in the cliff of the Luchan Mountain. Construction of the grottoes began in 1751, but it wasn't finished until seventy years later. Large numbers of chambers, footpaths, railings, pedestals and Buddhist statues, bearing such exotic names as “The Other World”, “Dragon Gate Archway” and “Heavenly Pavilion”, are chiseled right into the vertical rock walls. A flight of stone stairway conducts to the Heavenly-Pavilion Grotto, which hovers over the Dianchi Lake at a height of more than three hundred meters. Looking down over the stone railings at the lake, one has the feeling as of drifting in the midst of clouds. Hence the title, “Number One Sight in Central Yunnan”.

Dianchi Lake - At the foot of the West Mountains, it is known geographically as a fault lake which covers 300 square kilometers at an altitude of 1,885 meters above sea level. As its nickname, “Sparkling Pearl on the Highland”, suggests, the lake is of exceptional charm, with its mirror-like water skirted on all sides by tall mountains and studded with white sales, and its air, pure and fresh, reverberating with fishing songs.

The Yunnan Village of Ethnic Culture is located in the southwest part of the Dianchi Lake National Summer Resort of Kunming. It has been planned that twenty-six villages will be built on a space of 1,200 mu. So far twelve villages have been completed, representing the Dai, Bai, Yi, Naxi, Wa, Bulang, Jinuo, Lahu, Mosuo, Lisu, Hani, Zhuang and Jingpo peoples respectively. For those who want to combine sightseeing with entertainment and the study of folkways, the Yunnan Village of Ethnic Culture is the place to be.

Bai Village at Dali - The Bai are a minority ethnic group with a population of 1.5 million. The villages inhabited by the Bai people feature greay brick-and-tile houses with eaves embellished with patterns of flowers, birds and landscape. Portals are balanced on double brackets and covered with upturned eaves in tasteful forms. Each family lives in a quadrangular compound composed either of three houses and a screen wall facing the gate of the house or of four houses sitting on each edge of a courtyard. A good assortment of flowers and trees, such as camellia, sweet-scented osmanthus, and azalea, are planted in the compound.

Lijiang - The Lijiang Naxi Autonomous County is headquartered in Dayan Town, which is one of the famous ancient cultural cities in China. The mighty Jinsha River zigzags its way through the county's tall mountains for 400 kilometers, resulting in a lovely landscape of precipitous peaks and plunging ravines strung together by torrential rivers.
Major scenic spots and places of historical interest include the ancient city of Lijiang (i.e. Dayan Town), the Jade Spring, the snow-capped Yulong Mountain and its year-round natural skiing field, the Jinshajiang River Hutiao Gorge, the first bend of the Yangtze River, the natural botanical garden in the Hengduan Mountains, and the Lugu Lake of Ninglang and the folklore of the Mosuo people.

Stone Forest at Lunan- The Stone Forest is situated in the Lunan Yi Autonomous County, Yunnan, and 126 km from Kunming. In the distance it resembles a vast expanse of forest. Its 27,000-hectare territory is covered with the Greater and Lesser Stone Forests, the Outer Stone Forest and the Stone Forest Lake known as “Number One Strange Wonder under Heaven”, the forest is composed of stone peaks, stalagmites, stalactites, subterranean rivers and underground limestone caves. In a topographical turmoil characterized by sharp rock faces, grotesque-looking monoliths and rocks of a thousand and one statuesque forms, the Stone Forest is a wonder.

Three Pagodas of Dali - The three elaborately ornamented pagodas of the Chongshen Monastery, also known as Three Pagodas of Dali, stands statuesquely at the foot of the Cangshan Mountain of Dali and on the shore of the Erhai Lake. Their construction began in 836AD, and it took more than forty years for them to be completed. The largest of the trio is called Qianxun Pagoda, a 69.13-meter tall, 16-storeyed brick structure similar to the Xiaoyan Pagoda of Xi'an in a typical Tang-dynasty style. The front of each floor is adorned with an arched shrine, in which is placed a marble statue of the Buddha. The two smaller pagodas, standing north and south behind the Qianxun Pagoda, are a pair of 42.19-meter tall, octagonal brick structures with ten floors, looking elegant and resplendent with pavilion-like facades.

Xishuangbanna - Located in southwest Yunnan, it is a Dai Nationality Autonomous Prefecture. A 692km flight will take you from Kunming to Jinghong, the prefectural capital, in 50 minutes. In the more than 2,000-odd square km of tropical rain forest grows more than 5,000 species of tropical plants and hundreds of precious birds and beasts. Therefore, Xishuangbanna enjoys the reputation of being the Kingdom of Fauna and Flora and the Emerald Inlaid in the Tropic of Cancer. More than 10 ethnic groups, mainly the Dai, live here. The Dai people has a long history and preserves its ancient calendar and language.
From the 13th to 15th days of the fourth lunar month, the Dai people celebrate the New Year and also the Water-sprinkling Festival. The excitement created at this time is quite something. Major scenic spots includes the Manting Park, the Garden of Nationalities, the Manjinglan Dai Village, the Menghan Dai Village, the Menglun Botanical Garden, drifting on the Luoleng River, the Lushilin Forest Park, Mount Jinuo, the Valley of Wild Elephants, the Flying Dragon White Tower and the Jingzhen Octagonal Pavilion.

LAST MODIFIED: 02/23/2007

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