Fisherman on Dianchi Lake 1995. [Photo by Bruce Connolly/chinadaily.com.cn]

The park occupies a beautiful setting with incredible lakes and canals forming foregrounds to the Three Pagodas of Dali or the magnificent White Stupas of Xishuangbanna's Manfeilong. Close by are the waters of the 300-squar-kilometre Dianchi Lake. Crescent shaped and roughly 39 kilometers long by 13 kilometers wide, it is the largest freshwater lake in Yunnan and sixth largest in China. Mountains rising, particularly to the west, enhance its scenic appeal. During my first visit, fishing and agricultural villages still spread along the shores close to Kunming but today such areas are absorbed by the city's urban growth. Indeed close to modern downtown, wetland parks have helped transform the scene. However in the 1990s traditional life was evident. Single deck metal boats ferried local people between shoreline villages or longer cross-lake journeys. Fishermen punted long wooden boats through plant-covered creeks. I could easily spend hours there watching traditions that were increasingly disappearing into the modern city.

Rising above the lake stands the Western Hills or Xishan. A popular local saying suggests, "If you do not visit the Western Hills, you have not visited Kunming. If you do not come to the Dragon Gate you have not been to the Western Hills." Today the area is a park easily reached from downtown by metro. In 1995 I had to transfer onto several buses followed by a shuttle carrier up to a small tourist village that had developed at the entrance to the Dragon Gate trail.

Ethnic culture at Yunnan Nationalities Village Kunming 1998. [Photo by Bruce Connolly/chinadaily.com.cn]

Steps led up between shrines constructed from the cliff face between 1781 and 1835 by a Taoist monk and teams of co-workers. With sheer drops straight down towards the lake, it was amazing that they managed to cut a path into such terrain. Some alcoves contained shrines and incense bowls. Ancient poems and calligraphy were etched into the rock. At times only a low wall protected walkers on the narrow and at times slippery path. Occasionally it became very narrow and difficult for descending visitors to pass. Eventually a steeply rising tunnel led up to the much gentler route before reaching a pavilion. This was a point for stopping, sitting and just taking in the views of surrounding hills and the expanses of Dianchi. Although there was a chairlift I walked down through an amazing limestone landscape, stopping regularly to appreciate everything around me. By late afternoon it was time to head back into the city, go to my local cafe on Beijing Lu and try to write up the day's notes. As usual I became distracted watching people passing and dreaming of my adventures in Kunming's Western Hills.

Yunnan being an early passion of mine, I led study groups from the UK to discover the province's many charms, including its geographical and ethnic attractions. Starting off at Kunming I would try and include time at the Western Hills, where ascending the narrow carved passage up the Dragon Gate cliff face would become be one of the city's highlights for them.

Much of the area around Kunming is characterized by limestone. Several times, either alone or again with groups I would head in the direction of the amazing Stone Forest (Shilin). A fascinating road journey led there from the city, skirting round a popular recreational area, the Yangzhonghai Lake. Today an expressway links Kunming with the Stone Forest but in my early journeys the highway passed through farming country before descending along a gorge crossed overhead by a bridge carrying the new railway connecting Kunming with Nanning, Guangxi's capital. High on one slope, along a narrow ledge, ran the historic French-initiated railway to and from Vietnam. It promised an exciting train journey that I would later experience.