The Green Lake Park, situated at the western foot of Wuhua Hill, is a well renowned beautiful park of Kunming, capital city of Yunnan Province. By the end of the Yuan Dynasty (1206–1368), it was still a field planted with vegetables, lotuses and rice, hence it was called “Vegetable Lake” in the old time.
This Green Lake Park is reputed as the Jade of Kunming. It is a very popular park among local residents. Since 1985, the seagulls from Siberia have been spending the winter months in the Green Lake. The spectacular scenery attracts lots of tourists each year.
The Green Lake’s banks are covered with an abundance of willow trees and dotted with a variety of vibrant lotuses. This contrast between the green of the willows and the array of colors in the lotuses makes the park a popular destination for nature lovers. You could feel the gentle breeze flowing on the face and refresh the body from working pressure and routine. The natural landscape makes it a popular place to go for picnic, a morning stroll, or simply sitting and enjoy a leisure afternoon.
The Haixinting Pavilion sitting at the centre of the Lake is a must see of the park. On the north and south sides there are two octagonal pavilions with craved beams, painted rafters, beautiful glazed tiles and elegant eaves. Inside the pavilion there are two courtyards, where seasonal shows are staged: flower shows, lantern shows, fish shows and picture shows. On the west side of the pavilion situated several buildings for fish-watching. There is a two-storey pavilion on which hangs a horizontal board inscribed with four characters meaning “getting drunk in spring in the abode of immortals”. All the buildings are covered by yellow and green glazed tile roofs, with corners seeming to fly and beams and rafters colorfully painted.
Every winter, thousands of red-beaked sea gulls from the Siberia will migrate to the beautiful Green Lake Park. These sea gulls swooping over the water and scrambling with one another for crumbs of food make the park even more glamorous. Normally they would stay in the park till late March.