Attraction · Kunming Daguan Pavilion (Grand View Tower)

Daguan Pavilion (Grand View Tower)

A three-story tower on the north shore of Dianchi Lake, built in 1690 (the 29th year of the Kangxi reign of the Qing) under Governor Wang Jiwen and named for its "grand views of lake and mountain"; the best-preserved classical tower in Kunming

Visitor info

Opening hours
07:00-19:00
Ticket
CNY 20

Price is indicative — final quote on inquiry.

A three-story tower on the north shore of Dianchi Lake, built in 1690 (the 29th year of the Kangxi reign of the Qing) under Governor Wang Jiwen and named for its "grand views of lake and mountain"; the best-preserved classical tower in Kunming. Hanging in the tower is the famous 180-character long couplet composed by Sun Ranweng, a commoner poet of the Qing — the first line depicts the scenery of Dianchi Lake, the second laments a thousand years of Yunnan history — with a sweep and literary grace unrivaled through the ages, honored as "the First Long Couplet under Heaven"; couplet and tower set each other off brilliantly. The park has lotus ponds and willow embankments, with flowers in every season, and faces the Sleeping Beauty of the Western Hills across the water; climbing the tower to view the lake is the crowning touch of a Kunming culture trip.

Getting there: Bus on Daguan Road

Photos

Daguan Pavilion (Grand View Tower) — photo 2Daguan Pavilion (Grand View Tower) — photo 3Daguan Pavilion (Grand View Tower) — photo 4

More in Kunming

  • Green Lake Park

    A 'jade within the city' at the heart of Kunming's old town, also known as Nine Dragon Pool because 'nine springs emerge and gather into a pond'; Bamboo Island, Goldfish Island and Lianhua Chan Temple (initiated by Chen Can in the late Qing) on the lake are linked by causeways and bridges; with weeping willows and green water in all seasons, it is the starting point of everyday Kunming life and slow wandering through the old town

  • Former Site of the Yunnan Military Academy (Jiangwutang)

    A modern-style army school founded in 1909 in the late Qing, ranked together with the Tianjin and Northeast Jiangwutang as the three great military academies of the late Qing; its beige courtyard complex in the 'zouma zhuanjiaolou' style (linked corridors and corner towers) encloses the parade ground, making it one of China's best-preserved modern military academy sites

  • Yunnan University (Huize Building)

    Donglu University, founded in 1922 by Tang Jiyao, was one of the earliest modern institutions of higher learning in southwest China; the campus stands on the former site of the Ming-Qing Yunnan Gongyuan (provincial examination hall), where Zhigong Hall (the main hall of the examination cells) still survives

  • Wenlin Street & Wenhua Lane

    Back lanes right next to the west gate of Yunnan University, named 'Wenlin' in the Qing dynasty for their proximity to the Confucian Temple school; today a coffee street where Kunming's young people and international students gather, with dozens of independent cafés, craft-beer bars and second-hand bookshops lining the slope

  • Kunming Old Street (Wenming Street Historic District)

    The last contiguous stretch of old streets left in Kunming's urban area, the commercial hub of the provincial capital since the Ming and Qing dynasties; Wenming Street, Guanghua Street and Yongdao Street criss-cross in a grid, with rows of shops under grey-tiled pitched roofs

  • Golden Horse and Jade Rooster Archways

    Two street-spanning memorial archways first built in the Ming Xuande era; the east arch stands by the "Golden Horse" and the west arch near the "Jade Rooster" — the source of Kunming's ancient name "Golden Horse and Jade Rooster". A spiritual emblem of the city, they were destroyed in modern times and rebuilt to their original look in 1997.