Kunming sits at 1,900 meters in a spring-like climate, with mild weather all year and a growing season that never really stops. The city is known in China as the Spring City, and its parks are used constantly. Green Lake Park, in the old town center, is the most accessible and the most representative.
What happens in the morning
From about 6:30 a.m. the park fills. Groups do tai chi and sword practice, women dance in circles with portable speakers, men play the erhu and the bamboo flute, and others play cards or feed the birds. Around the lake, willows hang over the water and the pavilions are reflected in it. The activity is entirely ordinary local life and visitors are simply part of the background, which is what makes it worth the early start.
The winter gulls
From November to March, thousands of black-headed gulls migrate from Siberia to Kunming and gather on the lake. Vendors sell small bags of bread to feed them, and the birds will take food from your hand. The sight of birds swarming over a city lake in midwinter is one of Kunming's signatures.
Practical notes
The park is free and open all day, close to the Yunnan University campus and the old town streets. Allow an hour, more if you sit down. Nearby are the Kunming bird and flower market lanes and several good noodle shops for a local breakfast. In the evening the park is quieter and lit, and the surrounding streets have restaurants and tea shops. Bring a light jacket; Kunming's evenings are cool even in summer.
