I have traveled to Yunnan many times, but this is the first time I have seriously stayed in Kunming. Compared with Dali, Lijiang, and Lugu Lake, Kunming, as a tourist destination, has a much smaller chance of being "flopped." This time, I finally had the opportunity to have a good meeting with Kunming. From taking a walk by the Green Lake in the early morning to experiencing the nightlife of Spring City in the old streets of Kunming at night, this city maintains a unique sense of "leisure and contentment" and "aloofness".

A refreshing day starts with a stroll in Green Lake. At 7:30 in the morning, Green Lake is much quieter than during the day. The blue sky is reflected on the lake surface, the weeping willows are gently swaying in the wind, and the lush jacarandas add a touch of purple to the emerald green. Green Lake is named "Green Lake" because of its green water on all sides, green bamboo in all seasons, and green willows in spring and summer.

This place not only has green scenery, but also is steeped in rich cultural atmosphere. The retro high-rise building of Yunnan Provincial Library looks particularly tall. The former sites of Yunnan University and Southwest Associated University are also not far from the lake. At that time, Shen Congwen and Zhu Ziqing both drank tea, read books, and talked about the past and present here.

The goose-yellow exterior wall of the Yunnan Army Lecture Hall is extremely eye-catching. This is a famous military academy in modern Chinese history opened in 1909.

What is worth mentioning here is the Southwest Associated University. When the Anti-Japanese War broke out in 1937, Peking University, Tsinghua University, and Nankai University first moved to Changsha and then to Kunming to form the National Southwest Associated University. Scholars and professors such as Chen Yinke, Zhu Ziqing, Hua Luogeng, and Zhou Peiyuan all taught here. In 1946, the graduation ceremony was held and the three schools returned to Pingjin. The nine years of Southwest Associated University's existence had an impact on Kunming's subsequent politics, culture, and life. Some of the places we mentioned below have more or less left traces related to these literati and scholars.

Today's Cuihu no longer has to witness the ups and downs of history, and is surrounded by peaceful scenes every day. The crisp chirping of birds in the early morning in early summer, the Tai Chi music played by morning exercisers, or the radio broadcasts listened to by the elderly form a unique and vibrant tune in the morning in Spring City. People playing Tai Chi, tennis, cricket, and badminton by the lake are so sunny and healthy.

Speaking of the lakes in Kunming, you must see the scenery of Dianchi Lake. In Daguan Park in June, flowers are in full bloom, the summer breeze blows, and the lake surface is sparkling, calm and rhythmic.

Daguan Park is located in the southwest of Kunming City, at the northernmost end of Dianchi Lake. It is named after the Daguan Tower, which has the reputation of "a tower of clouds and mountains for thousands of miles".

The most famous thing about Daguan Tower is the 180-word "The First Long Couplet in Ancient and Modern Times" written by Sun Yanweng, a famous teacher in the Qing Dynasty. The first couplet writes about scenery, and the second couplet writes about history. The beautiful scenery of Dianchi Lake and the vicissitudes of Yunnan’s history blend together and are worth savoring. The first line of the first couplet depicts the golden horse in the east, the spiritual instrument in the west, the snake in the north, and the plain in the south. It depicts the Jinma Mountain in the east like a galloping divine horse, the Biji Mountain in the west like a dancing phoenix, and the winding snake in the north. Snake Mountain, Heshan Mountain in the south looks like a flying white crane; and the natural beauty of "surrounded by fragrant rice, vast hectares of clear sand, nine summer hibiscus, and three spring willows".

The second couplet traces the following periods of history in Yunnan with four allusions: "The Han Dynasty learned about building boats, the Tang Dynasty marked iron pillars, the Song Dynasty wielded jade axes, and the Yuan Dynasty crossed leather bags": In order to conquer the Erhai area, Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, in Chang'an He built Kunming Lake, built buildings and ships, and trained his navy hard; Emperor Zhongzong of the Tang Dynasty fought against the Tibetans, recovered the Erhai Lake, and erected iron pillars to record his achievements; Emperor Taizong of the Song Dynasty held a jade ax and demarcated the territory beyond the Dadu River outside the Northern Song Dynasty; Emperor Shizu of the Yuan Dynasty led his army in leather He made a raft to cross the river to bring peace to the Dali Kingdom and return Yunnan to the Central Dynasty.

Dynasties change and evolve, and they will eventually return to stability. Nowadays, people who come to Daguan Park, facing the quiet natural beauty in front of them, rarely explore the history, but more enjoy and be grateful for this comfortable life.

You can take a small boat to experience the vastness of the plateau lakes; you can also sit on a tall Ferris wheel to overlook the surrounding Kunlun Mountains and the green scene of the entire Grand View Park.

After visiting the natural scenery of Kunming’s two major lakes, let’s walk into the nearly century-old bookstore in Kunming Old Street to experience the ancient cultural atmosphere.

Oriental Bookstore has a bit of classicism in its name. Since its founding in 1926, many well-known literati have visited here. Hanging above the bookshelf are photos of Wen Yiduo, Li Gongpu, Lin Huiyin, Lin Yutang, Hu Shi and others who often visited the Old Oriental Bookstore during the Southwest Associated University period.

This place mainly sells literary books, as well as many second-hand old books. As an old bookstore that records the changes in Kunming's city, my favorite thing is the postcards of old city photos sold here. Each postcard has an introduction to the corresponding street or building.

Today, with the rapid development of the times, time seems to have frozen all the moving beauty of the past here. Whether it is a book or a picture, those records about the city’s past are even more precious. Aged wine tightly locks the cherished memories of a city or some people. I really like the sentence on the card on the table: “One day you and I will become each other’s old things.

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This is also a bookstore with an attitude. It has "Eight Don'ts" written on the door: it does not sell chicken soup for the soul, inspiration for success, immortality and Taoism, taboo and unofficial history, thick and dark strategies, wealth-making guides, and health care. , fortune telling. As for books, there are also exclusive book reviews here, which are very interesting to read carefully.

It is also a bookstore in Wuhua District, and you can stay there for a long time. From the name, you can feel the obvious difference from the former. This is more modern, playful and imaginative.

This is a bookstore hidden underground.

What is sold here. In addition to literature, there are also more books on architecture, design, and lifestyle. There is also a special bookshelf titled "Related to Kunming". What is interesting here is that each bookshelf has a sentence related to the number of that category. Quotations seem to connect multiple time and space. For example, on the photography bookshelf, it is written that Susan Sontag mentioned in "On Photography" that "Photographs may be more memorable than moving images because they are a kind of neat cut." A neat flow of time, not a flow. "So we can find those locked moments in every photo album.

The first thing I want to talk about here is not the old Kunming neighborhood called "Old Street", but the real experience. An ordinary city street that evolved over time. Xunjin Street is located on the west bank of Panlong River in the urban area. This street name originated from the Qing Dynasty because the Panlong River flooded all year round, so the Yunjin Embankment was built. The current "Xunjin" refers to Xunjin. On the bank of Yunjin River.

Xunjin Street is also the earliest neighborhood in Kunming to be opened to the outside world. The Panlong River passes through the city from north to south. On the west bank is Xunjin Street and on the east bank is the Yunnan-Vietnam Railway. The foundation for communication with foreign businessmen such as Vietnam. There is a saying in Yunnan's Eighteen Strange Stories that "trains cannot connect the country to the outside world", which refers to the Yunnan-Vietnam Railway.

Therefore, many old-fashioned Xiaoyang railways are left here. Floor. Lin Huiyin and Liang Sicheng lived here for a while. Many of their friends, such as Jin Yuelin, Zhu Ziqing, and Shen Congwen, also often gathered here.

Lin Huiyin once wrote "Kunming Scene·". "Small Building":

Today's streets have undergone earth-shaking changes, and only a few remaining small western-style buildings record the vicissitudes of time. Walls have been built outside the buildings, and the interesting thing is the murals on the walls. The new modern fashion and artistic atmosphere of the old street add a lot of literary style to the neighborhood.

Just like the first trade "fashion" in the past, this place has not been submerged in the development of the times, but has developed in a different way. This appearance has become the "Internet celebrity street" in Kunming, and more and more young people are attracted by it. The old street is not old and exudes new vitality.

The ancient style of the old street is best preserved. , it is also the Kunming Old Street. This is the largest block in Kunming and has the most preserved buildings from the Qing Dynasty and the Republic of China. It is also the block that is most worthy of being called an "old street" in terms of appearance. Mottled walls and old-fashioned folding wooden doors make time slow down here.

There are 6 streets and 15 lanes in the block, which retain traditional residential settlements, the Anti-Japanese War Victory Hall and the Confucian Temple, forming a street. The oldest one is Guanghua Street. At one end of the street is the iconic "Golden Cup" building, with two symmetrical buildings like wine cup bases surrounding the Anti-Japanese War Victory Hall.

Also on Guanghua Street is the century-old Fulin Hall, which is the oldest existing pharmacy in Yunnan. This Chinese-style civil structure building has a sense of age at first glance.

In addition to Fulin Hall, there are also more than 100 historical buildings of various sizes in the Laojie neighborhood, including the 97-year-old Ma Family Courtyard and the former residence where Nie Er was born in 1912.

There are also several popular time-honored food shops on Guanghua Street. You can taste delicious local snacks such as old Kunming papaya water, rice cloth, bean curd rice noodles, pea powder, etc. Paired with a mouthful of sweet but not greasy rice cloth, the memory of Kunming retained by the taste will be even longer.

Although Kunming has always had the reputation of being like spring all year round, among many tourist cities, Kunming’s presence is indeed very low. I finally had time to get to know it better, and found that I still wasn’t too excited about it. But it is this kind of infection that is neither arrogant nor impetuous, speaks eloquently, and flows slowly, that makes me like this city so much.