Kunming Through a Journalist's Eyes

Join me, a former journalist, on a free walk through Kunming. We’ll meet at Yunnan University’s main gate and visit the old imperial exam grounds. For families today, China’s university entrance exam can feel just as momentous.

In Wenhua Alley, where scholars lived during World War II, we might catch the scent of roasted chestnuts. At the Yunnan Military Academy, we’ll see the parade ground where officers trained before helping lead Kunming’s 1911 uprising against Qing rule.

At Green Lake, follow the click of mahjong tiles or watch a calligrapher paint a poem in water. The first line may vanish before the last is finished. You might even get a turn with the brush.

At the Yongli Emperor’s memorial, we’ll ask how a braid once required by Qing rulers came to represent all Chinese men in Western cartoons. We’ll finish at Yuantong Temple, a Buddhist retreat in the heart of the city (RMB 6 entry).

Bring your questions about Chinese history, politics or daily life. Food and drinks are optional and at your own expense. If you’re hungry afterward, ask me where I’d go for noodles.