The western hills is certainly a place that must not be missed while visiting Kunming.
To get there, I caught the cable car that transported me all the way up to the hills. The short trip is quite scenic, travelling over the (dianchihu), it is an emerald coloured lake and the views over the city are quite good.
I am particularly attracted by the parks having some fine temples up in the mountains, but there is always this bloody entrance fees that are absurdly expensive.
Paid all the entrance fees, I started the climb to the beautiful (lingxu) pavilion, which is about 2,500 meters above sea level and with great views over the dianchi lake.
Today the heat was bearable, the gentle breeze dried away all my sudor and giving that sensation of pleasure and relax that you have when you just made it to the top of a summit in summer.
This is actually the best spot to rest a bit after the long ascend to the pavilion, you could have the place for yourself if coming a bit earlier, in the morning, but as you begin the descend down
to the (longmen) Dragon Gate, all the magical ambiance vanishes away as tourists groups appear and you constantly feel someone pushing you from behind, as the path is very narrow, and the sensation is not very comfortable.
Devout people worshipping their gods inside the small and colourful shrines, the incense was gleaming, releasing its abundant scent, golden Buddha statues shining even inside the dark room of the temple, the beauty of the place was just indescribable.
These temples dated back to the Ming Dynasty (1368 - 1644) but, in the years, they have been restored several times, they are Taoist related temples; I personally like the (doumu) hall, which is a long, narrow hall with several deities , lined one after the other, and, in the middle of them, there is the golden statues of the (doumu) goddess. It is a Taoist goddess, she is also called the (tianhou), which means the Queen of the Heaven. It is a marvelous golden statue and the goddess has got nine arms, three heads and three eyes. The hall is finely decorated with flowers, dragon motif and, in the middle, there is the symbol of Taoism.
If
you like to visit some temple perched on the mountain slope and stay in Kunming for a few days this is a quite good place to check out.
RENanDREW
Ren & Andrew
Views
What a lovely view, and those Taoist temples on the cliff look amazing. The emerald lake looks nuclear green in parts though :) Is zongi sweet sticky rice with red beans? I think I've had a similar thing in South East Asia called bachang.