Xishan (Western Hills) Dragon Gate
A grotto-and-plank-walk system chiseled into the cliff of Luohan Mountain, the highest peak of the Western Hills; it took 72 years to complete, from the Qianlong to the Xianfeng reigns of the Qing, as Daoist priests and craftsmen carved the "Longmen Datian Pavilion" (Dragon Gate Reaching-Heaven Pavilion) hammer and chisel along the cliff, with the walkway clinging to sheer rock hundreds of meters above Dianchi Lake
Visitor info
- Opening hours
- 08:30-17:30
- Ticket
- CNY 40 (cable car round trip charged separately)
Price is indicative — final quote on inquiry.
A grotto-and-plank-walk system chiseled into the cliff of Luohan Mountain, the highest peak of the Western Hills; it took 72 years to complete, from the Qianlong to the Xianfeng reigns of the Qing, as Daoist priests and craftsmen carved the "Longmen Datian Pavilion" (Dragon Gate Reaching-Heaven Pavilion) hammer and chisel along the cliff, with the walkway clinging to sheer rock hundreds of meters above Dianchi Lake. At the Dragon Gate, lean on the railing for a panorama of the misty 500-li Dianchi Lake and all of Kunming. The ancients invoked the saying "pass through the Dragon Gate and your worth rises a hundredfold" to express hopes of success in the imperial examinations, and worshippers still pray before the Datian Pavilion today. The Western Hills are densely forested, with hiking trails and a cable car running in parallel — the finest vantage point over the lake in Kunming.
Getting there: Western Hills cable car / bus
Photos
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.