Green Lake Park, the Jade of Kunming

The Green Lake Park, situated at the foot of Wuhua Hill, is the most favored park of Kunming （capital city of Yunnan Province）. By the end of the Yuan Dynasty (1206–1368), the park was still a field planted with vegetables, lotuses and paddy, hence it was called "Vegetable Lake" in the old time.

For locals and visitors, the park is regarded as a perfect place to take a stroll or simple have a leisure afternoon. 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.

For decades, the Green Lake Park got famous for its "winter immigrant", the red-beaked seagulls. Since 1985, Thousands of red-beaked seagulls from the Siberia have been spending the winter months in the beautiful Green Lake Park. These sea gulls swooping over the water and scrambling with one another for crumbs of food, and makes the park even more glamorous. Normally the seagulls would stay in the park till late March. This spectacular scenery attracts lots of tourists each year.

Tourists who are interested in ancient Chinese architecture could visit the Haixinting Pavilion which sits at the centre of the Lake. 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.