Getting into the China groove

Green Lake Park

Our first excursion into downtown Kunming took us to Green Lake Park. As our campus isn’t on the map, preoccupations of getting completely lost in the city and not being able to find our way back were quickly subsided when we stumbled upon the Yunnan University – a key point on our map. Wandering through the campus of bamboo groves, elaborate gardens, and 19th century western architecture mixed with Chinese architecture, I became a bit jealous, as this campus was far more beautiful than our own. The university is on a hillside and as we slopped down to the main gate, we found Green Lake Park. The park was filled with people - families feeding the ducks and swans, elderly couples lounging, men playing mahjong and checkers while sipping from their green tea glass jars and young couples paddle boating around the lake. The lake was originally a marshland on the northern outskirts of town. Emperor Kangxi had the swamp drained and transformed the land into a large garden filled bridges, pavilions, lotus ponds and teahouses. Here we spotted our first foreigners – white people! Wow do we stand out amongst the hundreds of Chinese. As we weren’t quite ready to brave the buses, not knowing which one went where (the signs are all in characters), we walked to the park and back – taking over an hour each way.


Yuantong Si Pagoda


The next day we felt a little braver and as we had spotted bus 129 the whole route along our walk the previous day, we took the plunge and hopped on the route to take us back downtown. One-way fare is 1 Yuan (15 cents USD) and the buses are clean, announce each stop and have televisions that broadcast the local news. This day our destination was the Yuantong Si Pagoda. Construction of the temple began in the 8th century and is one of the most important Buddhist temples and pilgrimages. When I stepped foot through the gates of Yuantong Si, I immediately felt a sense of peace and was blown away by the beauty and tranquility of the temple grounds that sit hidden away in the middle of the bustling city. In front of the center, octagonal pagoda, worshipers were burning incense and bowing to the north, west and east holding three smoking incense sticks, then placing them to burn on a wall alongside dozens of others. The pavilion is surrounded in green water that’s teeming with hundreds of swimming quoi and turtles. The Great Hall temple with a large golden Buddha inside, sits behind the temple, connected by bridges. Elaborate and colorful carvings of dragons and lotus flowers cover the Great Hall with immense, red pillars supporting the rooftop. Steps behind the Great Hall lead up to a Thai Buddhist temple, built to accommodate the numerous visitors from Thailand. Here, the sound of worshippers’ deep, guttural chanting and rhythmic wooden block beat was overwhelming. The Yuantong Si Pagoda gave me my first real sense of ancient China, something I felt had been lacking from my experience thus far in this country.


Old Quarter

Next we worked our way to Kunming’s Old Quarter where the city’s remaining traditional residences are located. Sadly, most all the original architecture in Kunming has been torn down to make room for skyscrapers and other modern architecture. The Old Quarter is mostly consumed with the Bird and Flower Market where they sell not only those items, but zillions of other trinkets, Burmese jade, antiques, tea and live things like chicks, turtles, lizards, scorpions, hamsters and baby pigs. I’m afraid to say that I don’t think these animals are sold as pets. I had to restrain myself from buying any jewelry, tapestries or beautiful plants for the apartment – they have dozens of orchid varieties and handsome bonsai. The historic buildings with clay tile roofs and windows that overlook the street make it easy to imagine life here hundreds of years ago, before the western world gained influence.

The rest of our time here for the past week has been spent playing badminton on one of the many courts on campus (they also have many basketball, tennis and volleyball courts) and watching pirated American movies on the laptops that we can purchase here for only 75 cents a piece. When in Rome, rather Kunming. We are anxiously awaiting Monday when the administration gets back from holiday to fix us up with our meal cards and internet and for classes to begin. I’m writing today from a hip café near the Yunnan University called Salvador’s, using the wireless internet and sipping on my first cup of coffee since we arrived! Till next time…

Drinking green tea at the airport in Guangzhou, post chicken feet incident


Over-the-bridge Noodles