Daguan Park & Grand View Tower, Kunming

The most famous thing in Daguan Park is a pair of long wooden boards flanking a tower doorway. They carry 180 characters, the couplet that a commoner scholar named Sun Ranweng wrote in the Qianlong era after looking out over Dianchi Lake, and they made this spot on Kunming's southwestern lakefront a place of pilgrimage for readers of Chinese ever since. The park around the tower grew into the city's best-loved classical garden: linked islets, arched bridges, willow canals and lotus ponds where the Caohai inlet of Dianchi meets the city.

The longest couplet under heaven

Sun Ranweng's couplet is celebrated as "the longest couplet under heaven". Its first half paints what you still see from the upper floors, the lake running to the horizon and the Western Hills lying across the water in their "Sleeping Beauty" profile; the second half sweeps through a thousand years of Yunnan history and ends on the vanity of dynasties. The verses put the Grand View Tower (Daguan Lou) in the company of China's most famous towers, alongside the Yellow Crane Tower and Yueyang Tower.

The building has had a hard life. First raised in 1690 under the Kangxi emperor, it gained its third storey in 1828, burned with the original couplet boards during warfare in 1857, and was rebuilt in 1883, which is the structure standing today. Climb it: the couplet reads best from the doorway, and the lake view explains why Sun wrote what he wrote.

A garden to wander

Beyond the tower, Daguan works as a strolling garden and an everyday park at once. Summer fills the ponds with lotus. From November to March the park becomes one of Kunming's stages for the black-headed gulls that migrate down from Siberia each winter, wheeling over the water in their thousands; vendors sell bird food in season, and posted signs set the feeding rules. You can rent a rowing boat, follow the long causeway out toward the open lake, or drink tea and watch retirees run through their morning routines.

Entry, reservations and hours

Entry became free, and so did climbing the tower; as of 2026 the park runs on real-name reservations instead of tickets. Book through the park's official WeChat account or scan the reservation code at the gate with your passport details ready; on ordinary weekdays walking up and registering on the spot is usually quick, but holiday mornings in gull season move faster with a booking made the night before. The park opens roughly 07:00 to 19:00 daily, with occasional evening extensions around festivals. There are three gates: north (the main one on Daguan Road), west, and an east entrance by the Wujiadui wetland.

Getting there

No metro station sits within an easy walk, so the simple options are a taxi or Didi from central Kunming, about 10 to 15 minutes, or one of the many buses that stop at the gates, including routes 4, 22 and 52. Daguan shares the lakefront with the Dianchi shoreline paths and the Yunnan Nationalities Village, so it slots naturally into a lakeside day that ends with sunset over the Western Hills.

When to go

June through August for lotus, November through March for gulls, and early morning year-round for still water and the tower's reflection. Sunset over Dianchi is the other classic hour. Give it one to two hours, more in either peak season.

FAQ

What is Daguan Park famous for? The Grand View Tower and Sun Ranweng's 180-character couplet, honoured as the longest classical couplet in China.

Does it cost anything? Entry and the tower climb are free as of 2026; the park uses real-name reservation instead, via WeChat or a QR code at the gate. Boat hire costs extra.

When do the gulls arrive? The black-headed gulls winter in Kunming roughly November to March.

How long should I plan? One to two hours covers the tower and gardens; lotus or gull season rewards a longer stay.