Green Lake Park Kunming
Cuihu W Rd, Kunming, China
The Platonic ideal of a Chinese city park, Green Lake Park Kunming is a timeless highlight of China’s Spring City. Wood and stone bridges amble over four lakes, where lotuses bloom in summer amid reflected pavilions. Musicians play live music; old folk sing, dance, and practice tai chi; and young sophisticats sip iced coffee or stroll hand in hand.
The basics
Kunming city sightseeing tours sometimes include a stop at Green Lake Park, alongside other downtown landmarks like Dongsi Pagoda, Yuantong Temple, and the Flowers and Birds Market of Kunming. Alternatively it’s easy to experience the park at your own pace: you can eat or drink in a wealth of restaurants, teahouses, or coffee shops, amble along the bamboo-decked pathways, or contemplate tulips, willows, and lotuses in season. It’s people-watching heaven.
Things to know before you go
Green Lake Park Kunming is great for photographers, nature lovers, and people watchers.
There are public bathrooms in the park, as well as a range of food, drink, and snack options.
The park is reasonably accessible for wheelchairs and strollers, thanks to its flat, low-lying terrain.
How to get there
Green Lake Park Kunming sits in the heart of downtown Kunming, a stone’s throw from Wenlin Street (Wenlin Jie) and a short walk from Yuantong Temple. It’s about a 1-mile (1.5-kilometer) walk west from the nearest metro station, Chuanxingulou (Line 2), or you can take a taxi or a rideshare: You’ll need to link overseas credit cards to the WeChat or AliPay apps to use China’s DiDi app.
When to get there
Kunming Green Lake Park is open throughout the year. Sundays are a great time to visit, with folk musicians, costumed dancers, and a carnival atmosphere. Summer is a lovely season, particularly when the lotuses bloom, but locals also appreciate winter, when black-headed gulls migrate from Siberia, arriving in November.
Natural highlights around Kunming
If you’re keen to get out in the open air, Kunming offers plenty of great options. Just south of the city the Kunming Dragon Gate complex of grottoes and tunnels offers spectacular views of Dian Lake (Dian Chi). Further afield lie the Stone Forest’s surreal rock formations—it’s one of a number of southern Chinese karst landscapes to share a UNESCO World Heritage designation. You can also head out to Dongchuan Red Land, where fields become a tapestry of vivid color at certain times of year.
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