Green Lake Park (Chinese:翠湖公园;Pinyin: Cuìhúgōngyuán) is an urban park that was created in the 17th century. It is located on the west side of the Wuhua Mountain and is extolled as a "Jade in Kunming".
Legends believe that the lake water was from nine wells and then merged into the lake, so the lake is named "Nine Dragon Pond". Green Lake area were enclosed in to the city zone in Ming Dynasty (1386 ~ 1644A.D.). Green Lake is surrounded by a ring road, and along the edge of that are restaurants and tea houses (some with rooftop dining), shops, and hotels, including the upscale Green Lake Hotel and Harbor Plaza Hotel.
Two long dikes divide the lake into four parts. It consists of a group of 4 small lakes linked by bridges in the traditional style. Brightly painted pavilions on the islands inside the park, tree-lined walks, flowers, and it is a place where thousands exercise, do taiji, sing and feed flocks of gulls.
During the winter months, black-headed gulls from Siberia migrate to Green Lake and entertain the crowds of visitors as they circle around and snap up bread, usefully provided by a herd of local vendors, thrown up into the air by tourists. There are performances of Chinese operas.
|