Green Lake Park (Cuihu Park)

Green Lake Park, aka Cuihu Park, situated almost in the city center and facing Yunnan University, is one of the most beautiful parks in Kunming city. It is at the foot of Luofeng Mountain and on the west side of Wuhua Mountain. Green Lake itself occupies 15 hectares (37 acres) in the 21-hectare (52 acres) Green Lake Park and used to be a part of Dianchi Lake, but has become an independent lake now because of the water level decreasing of Dianchi. Now the park is for daily leisure and playing with seagulls in winter for locals and travelers in Kunming.

Green Lake Park has five gates, four in four directions and one in northwest side, and two causeways. Divided by the two causeways, it has five main sections, Mid-lake Islet (Hu Xin Dao), Goldfish Islet (Jin Yu Dao) in the southeast, Bamboo Forest Islet (Zhu Lin Dao) in the northwest, Palm Garden (Zong Lv Dao) in the southwest and the Mid-sea Pavilion (Hai Xin Ting).

Entrance of the Park

Seagulls in the Green Lake

Two causeways meet on the Mid-lake Islet, like a plus sign. The south – north causeway, being constructed in the Qing Dynasty (1644 - 1911), is called “Ruan Causeway”, which was built by Ruan Yuan (a governor-general of Yunnan), following the style of Su Causeway in West Lake in Hangzhou. The east-west one is named “Tang Causeway”, which was built in 1911.
 Mid-lake Pavilion, Lotus Temple and Fish Viewing Pavilion are major architectures on the Mid-lake Islet. Accompanied by two yards in front and back, the Mid-lake Pavilion is used for different kinds of exhibitions now. To the west of the pavilion is the Lotus Temple and its construction can be traced back to the Qing Dynasty. The Fish Viewing Pavilion is a good place to appreciate and feed the fish in the Green Lake Park. In addition, Water Moon Pavilion (Shui Yuexuan) is connected to the southeast side with the Mid-lake Pavilion. At this pavilion, one of the earliest cinemas in China was formed and now it is for locals' daily activities.
 To the southeast of the mid islet, another islet, called Goldfish Islet, exists. On this islet, the cedars and camphor trees are green throughout the year; however, fish can no longer be seen there. Now, it is good for a stroll. A Children’s Playground is located here.The Nine-Dragon Pond (Jiu Long Chi) and the Bamboo Forest Islet are situated on the northeast. The Nine-Dragon Pond is a spring of the Green Lake and the water is from nine holes. It is said that nine dragons lived in the nine holes, so the pond was named after “Nine Dragon”. The Bamboo Forest Islet, next to the Pond, is for viewing different kinds of bamboos. About 40 categories of bamboos, even the Chimonobambusa, are cultivated.
 The southwest islet is also called Palm Islet, where different kinds of subtropical plants can be seen. A statue of Nie Er is placed. Nie Er, the composer of Chinese national anthem, was born in Kunming and he liked to stay near the Green Lake to practice instruments, so the statue is in memory of him.
 To the northwest side are the Mid-sea Pavilion and an amusement park.

Apart from beautiful scenery, red-beak seagulls in winter highlight the Green Lake Park. Every year, from mid November to the next March, seagulls from Siberia come to Kunming for winter. In the morning, these seagulls come to Green Lake for food and in the late afternoon return to Dianchi Lake for rest. If one wants to feed the seagulls, it is advised to go before 10:00 in the morning; otherwise, the seagulls are too full to eat. The seagulls’ food can be purchased in the park.
 Take bus 100, 235, or Z138 to Cuihu North Road Station. 
Kunming Bus Search
 

Entrance Fee	Free
Opening Hours	6:00 - 24:00 (last entry at 23:30)

 Nearby Attractions: Kunming Zoo, The Site of Yunnan Army Military Academy

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