Kunming Square
The city center has three major squares and five major streets: Jinma Biji Square, Nanping Square and Dongfeng Square along with Nanping Jie, Jinbi Lu, Renmin Lu, Zhengyi Lu and Jingxin Jie. Qingnian Lu, Zhengyi Lu, and Renmin Lu are the main commercial areas in Kunming; the most popular pedestrian streets are Nanping Jie, Jingxing Birds-Flowers' Market, and Jinma Biji Fang.
Kunming's public focus is the huge square outside the Workers' Cultural Hall at the Beijing Lu-Dongfeng Lu intersection, where in the mornings there are crowds doing taijiquan and playingbadminton. Weekend amateur theatre are also performed in the square. Rapidly being modernized, the city's true center is west of the square across the adjacent Panlong River (now more of a canal), outside the Kunming Department Store at the Nanping Lu/Zhengyi Lu crossroads, a densely crowded shopping precinct packed with clothing and electronics stores. The river is polluted, black and oily. Surrounding the area are plenty of new high-rises.
The center is an area of importance to Kunming's Hui population, with Shuncheng Jie, one of the last old streets in the center of the city, previously forming a Muslim quarter. Until shortly before 2005, this street was full of wind-dried beef and mutton carcasses, pitta bread and raisin sellers, and huge woks of roasting coffee beans being earnestly stirred with shovels. Under Kunming's rapid modernisation, however, the street has been demolished to make way for apartments and shopping centers. Rising behind a supermarket one block north off Zhengyi Lu, Nancheng Qingzhen Si is the city's new mosque, its green dome and chevron-patterned minaret visible from afar and built on the site of an earlier Qing edifice.
Running west off Zhengyi Jie just past the mosque, Jingxing Jie leads into one of the more bizarre corners of the city, with Kunming's huge Bird and Flower Market convening daily in the streets connecting it with the northerly, parallel Guanghua Jie. The market offers many plants such as orchids that have been collected and farmed across the province. In the small grounds of Wen Miao, a now vanished Confuciantemple off the western end of Changchun Lu, there is an avenue of pines, an ancient pond and pavilion, and beds of bamboo, azaleas and potted palms-a quiet place where old men play chess and drink tea.
Jinbi Lu runs roughly parallel to and south of Dongfeng Lu, reached from Beijing Lu. Two large Chinese pagodas rise in the vicinity, each a solid thirteen storeys of whitewashed brick crowned with four iron cockerels. The West Pagoda was built between 824 and 859, during theTang Dynasty; its original counterpart, the East Pagoda, was built at the same time, but was destroyed by an earthquake in 1833 and rebuilt in the same Tang style in 1882. South down Dongsi Jie, past another mosque, the entrance to the West Pagoda is along a narrow lane on the right. In the tiny surrounding courtyard, sociable idlers while away sunny afternoons playing cards and sipping tea in the peaceful, ramshackle surroundings. The East Pagoda is a more cosmetic, slightly tilted duplicate standing in an ornamental garden a few minutes' walk east on Shulin Jie. The temples associated with both pagodas are closed to the public.
Central Kunming
[edit]Parks
Cuihu Park (Green Lake Park) is one of Kunming's major park and is predominately a lake surrounded by greenery. It has a large and elaborate network of waterways and winding paths, with broad, lotus-covered pools and overhanging willows. It is a place where thousands exercise, do taijiquan, sing and feed the flocks of black-headed gulls. Located in the west side of the park is the statue of one of Yunnan's most famous patriots - Nie Er, the composer of China's national anthem.
Daguan Park lies on Dian Chi in Kunming's southwestern limits. Originally laid out by the energetic seventeenth-century Qing emperor Kangxi, it has been modified over the years to include a noisy funfair, food stalls and emporiums, and is a favourite haunt of Kunming's youth.
Kunming's zoo, founded in 1950, is adjoined to Yuantong Park. The zoo houses 5,000 animals from 140 species and receives 3 million visitors a year.[15]
Other parks in Kunming include Black Dragon Pool, and the Kunming Botanical Gardens in the north, and Wenmiao Tea Garden in Wuhua District.
[edit]Landmarks
The "Garden of the World Horticultural Exposition", located in the northern suburbs of Kunming, is six kilometers from central Kunming. From May 1 to October 31, 1999, Kunming held the 1999 World Horticulture Exposition, with the theme of "Man and Nature-Marching Toward the 21st Century". In the garden, visitors can see gardening and horticultural works from all over China and East Asia. All the horticultural works in the garden concentrate on the theme of "Man and Nature", with pavilions, towers, terraces, banks, islets and bridges.
The "Golden Hall Scenic Zone", located on the Mingfeng Hill in the northern suburbs of Kunming, is eight kilometers from central Kunming. Constructed in 1602 (the 30th year of the Wanli reign period of the Ming Dynasty), all of its beans, pillars, arches, doors, windows, tiles, Buddhist statues, and horizontal inscribed boards are made of copper, weighing more than 200 tons. It is the largest copper building in China.
There are two major museums in Kunming, Yunnan Provincial Museum and Kunming City Museum. A third which opened in November 2006, is the Kunming Natural History Museum of Zoology. Completed in 1995 is the Yunnan Ethnology Museum.
Yuantong Temple, the largest Buddhist complex in Kunming
Yuantong Si is northern Yunnan's major Buddhist temple and an active place of pilgrimage. It is Kunming's largest and most famous temple with the original structure being first constructed more than 1,200 years ago during the Tang Dynasty. The temple sits on the southern slopes of Yuantong Park. Northwest about 12 km from the city center is the Qiongzhu Si (Bamboo Temple) built in 639 and rebuilt in 1422 to 1428.
Huating Temple (华亭寺) in theWestern Hills near Kunming
South Asian Gate will be Kunming's first supertall skyscaper.
[edit]Administrative divisions
See also: List of administrative divisions of Yunnan
The prefecture-level city of Kunming has jurisdiction over 14 subdivisions; five districts, one county-level city, five counties and three autonomous counties.
Kunming is bounded by Qujing City to the east, Honghe Hani and Yi Autonomous Prefecture to the southeast and Yuxi City to the southwest, Chuxiong Yi Autonomous Prefecture to the west andZhaotong City to the northeast. Kunming also borders with Panzhihua prefecture level city andLiangshan Yi Autonomous Prefecture of Sichuan province.
Kunming plans to add two new districts to its existing four urban districts (Panlong, Wuhua, Guandu, Xishan) over the next few years.
Map
|
#
|
Name
|
Hanzi
|
Hanyu Pinyin
|
Population
(2003 est.)
|
Area (km²)
|
Density
(/km²)
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
City Proper
|
1
|
Panlong District
|
盘龙区
|
Pánlóng Qū
|
600,000
|
340
|
1,765
|
2
|
Wuhua District
|
五华区
|
Wǔhuá Qū
|
810,000
|
398
|
2,036
|
Suburban
|
3
|
Guandu District
|
官渡区
|
Guāndù Qū
|
750,000
|
552
|
1,359
|
4
|
Xishan District
|
西山区
|
Xīshān Qū
|
850,000
|
791
|
1,075
|
Satellite cities and district
|
5
|
Dongchuan District
|
东川区
|
Dōngchuān Qū
|
300,000
|
1,674
|
179
|
6
|
Anning City
|
安宁市
|
Ānníng Shì
|
270,000
|
1,313
|
206
|
Rural
|
7
|
Chenggong County
|
呈贡县
|
Chénggòng Xiàn
|
160,000
|
541
|
296
|
8
|
Jinning County
|
晋宁县
|
Jìnníng Xiàn
|
270,000
|
1,391
|
194
|
9
|
Fumin County
|
富民县
|
Fùmín Xiàn
|
140,000
|
1,030
|
136
|
10
|
Yiliang County
|
宜良县
|
Yíliáng Xiàn
|
410,000
|
1,880
|
218
|
11
|
Songming County
|
嵩明县
|
Sōngmíng Xiàn
|
340,000
|
1,442
|
236
|
12
|
Shilin Yi Autonomous County
|
石林彝族 自治县
|
Shílín Yízú Zìzhìxiàn
|
230,000
|
1,777
|
129
|
13
|
Luquan Yi and Miao Autonomous County
|
禄劝彝族苗族自治县
|
Lùquàn Yízú Miáozú Zìzhìxiàn
|
450,000
|
4,378
|
103
|
14
|
Xundian Hui and Yi Autonomous County
|
寻甸回族彝族自治县
|
Xúndiàn Huízú Yízú Zìzhìxiàn
|
500,000
|
3,966
|
126
|
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