China Guide
Yunnan
Daguan Park
Opening time: Daily 7am–8pm
Price: ¥15
Address: On Kunming's southwestern limits (bus #4 from Dongfeng Lu)
Originally laid out by the energetic seventeenth-century Qing emperor Kangxi, Daguan Park has been modified over the years to include a noisy funfair, snack stalls and souvenir emporiums, and is a favourite haunt of Kunming's youth. Among shady walks and pools, Daguan's focal point is Daguan Ge, a square, three-storeyed pavilion built to better Kangxi's enjoyment of the distant Western Hills and now a storehouse of calligraphy extolling the area's charms. The most famous poem here is a 118-character verse, carved into the gateposts by the Qing scholar Sun Ran; it's reputed to be the longest set of rhyming couplets in China. The park is set on Daguan Stream, which flows south into Dian Chi, and there are frequent hour-long cruises down the waterway, lined with willows, to points along Dian's northern shore.