Kunming is one of the most fascinating cities in China.  It should be one of your top chosen destinations for Chinese language study and travel.  The city itself presents the many cultural elements that could make your Chinese learning deeper and more interesting.  A day trip in Kunming can make your study and stay in China more interesting and fun.

Kunming is one of the cities in southern China that has been greatly influenced by the Han Chinese culture, as a large demographic composition migrated throughout history from central China, where Putonghua or the standard Mandarin Chinese language developed and evolved.

In downtown of the city, the Green Lake and the Archway of Golden Horse and Green Rooster and many other surrounding ancient architectural buildings tell you how much this frontier city was influenced by central Chinese culture.  The Yunnan Provincial Museum helps you understand how Yunnan was impacted by Han Chinese while its origins have been well preserved. Wandering around Wen Hua Xiang (cultural Alley) and the Bird and Flower Market, you are bound to encounter language students like you who enjoy studying Chinese by exploring the city and looking for places where you will be exposed to real experiences of the local community.

The “Number One Couplet under the Heaven” posted on the Grand View Pavilion is a masterpiece for both Chinese culture understanding and Mandarin language study, as it has been praised and honored by Chinese scholars throughout China’s history.

Chinese culture is intrinsically the combination of Buddhism, Taoism and Confucianism.  Spots like the Golden Temple and the Black Dragon Pool are typical Taoism holy lands. Yuan Tong Monastery, among many other Buddhist temples in Kunming, is the only monastery in China where all three Buddhist schools are showcased--Mahayana Buddhism, Theravada Buddhism and Tibetan Buddhism.  Sculptures of the Dragon Gate in the Western Mountain Forest Park represent well the ideals of Confucianism.  Meanwhile, each of these places has philosophies and ideas of these religions perfectly integrated into their architectures.

Yunnan Ethnic Village gives you a foretaste and snapshots of the cultures, customs and traditions of Yunnan’s 25 distinctive ethnic minority people.

Enjoy yourself in the Kunming World Horticultural Exposition Garden, the best preserved World Exposition site in the world, and by visiting the Dianchi Lake, China’s sixth largest fresh water lake.