Travel in China
Yunnan's great high-altitude lake with the Western Hills beyond.
Dianchi is the largest lake on the Yunnan-Guizhou Plateau - roughly 330 square kilometres of highland water cradled between Kunming and the Western Hills. Long called the city's 'mother lake', it sets the scene for Kunming's most classic day out, with cable cars, grottoes and gulls all in view of the water.
Most visitors make for Haigeng Dam on the north shore, a free, 24-hour embankment whose stars are the black-headed gulls that fly in from Siberia every November and stay until March. Ride the Western Hills cable car up toward the Dragon Gate for a bird's-eye view of the whole lake, then round out the day at the adjacent Yunnan Ethnic Village or Daguan Park, home of the celebrated 180-character 'No. 1 Long Couplet Under Heaven'.
Getting there is easy: Metro Line 5 traces the northern shore with several lakeside stations. One honest note - summer can bring blue-green algae and its smell along parts of the shoreline, but that fades from memory the moment winter's gulls arrive.
Highlights
The Plateau's Largest Lake
About 330 square kilometres of water - Kunming's 'mother lake' and the biggest on the Yunnan-Guizhou Plateau.
Siberian Gulls (Nov-Mar)
Black-headed gulls winter over the lake by the thousand; Haigeng Dam is the best front row.
Haigeng Dam
A free, round-the-clock lakeside embankment built for strolling, gull-feeding and mountain views.
Dragon Gate Overlook
The Western Hills cable car climbs toward cliff-carved grottoes high above the water.
Yunnan Ethnic Village
A lakeside park beside Haigeng celebrating the cultures of Yunnan's many ethnic groups.
Daguan Park's Long Couplet
Nearby on the waterfront, the famous 180-character couplet hailed as the finest under heaven.
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