Daguan Park () is a lakeside park located in the southwestern suburb of

Kunming Kunming (; ), also known as Yunnan-Fu, is the capital and largest city of Yunnan province, China. It is the political, economic, communications and cultural centre of the province as well as the seat of the provincial government. The headquar ...

, Yunnan,

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...

. Today many locals come to sit, drink tea, fly kites, and go boating. Among shady walks and pools, Daguan's focal point is Daguan Lou, a square, three-storeyed pavilion built to better the Kangxi Emperor's enjoyment of the distant Western Hills and now a storehouse of

calligraphy Calligraphy (from el, link=y, καλλιγραφία) is a visual art related to writing. It is the design and execution of lettering with a pen, ink brush, or other writing instrument. Contemporary calligraphic practice can be defined as "t ...

extolling the area's charms. The most famous poem here is a 118-character verse, carved into the gateposts by the Qing dynasty scholar

Sun Ran The Sun is the star at the center of the Solar System. It is a nearly perfect ball of hot plasma, heated to incandescence by nuclear fusion reactions in its core. The Sun radiates this energy mainly as light, ultraviolet, and infrared radia ...

, reputed to be the longest set of rhyming couplets in China. The park is set on Daguan Stream, which flows south into Lake Dian, and there are frequent hour-long cruises down the waterway, lined with willows, to points along Lake Dian's northern shore. Lake Dian, also known as the Kunming Lake, is the largest lake on the Yunnan-Guizhou Plateau. At Longmen of the Western Hills, there is a panoramic view of the lake.

History

In 1696,

Wang Jiwen Wang may refer to: Names * Wang (surname) (王), a common Chinese surname * Wāng (汪), a less common Chinese surname * Titles in Chinese nobility * A title in Korean nobility * A title in Mongolian nobility Places * Wang River in Thailand ...

, the governor of Yunnan, carried out a largescale construction of a two-story pavilion. Ponds were dug, embankments were constructed, and trees and flowers were planted. With a good view of the waters and hills in the distance, and the sailing boats and trees in mist, the pavilion was titled Daguan ("Grand View") pavilion. In the later years, the Daguan pavilion had twice been reduced to ruins by warfare and flood. In 1883, Chen Yuying, governor of Yunnan and Guizhou Provinces, ordered Monk Xingtian to take charge of the renovation of the pavilion, and the pavilion has remained intact ever since. Since the Daguan pavilion was built,

men of letters ''Men of Letters: The Post Office Heroes who Fought the Great War'' is a book by Duncan Barrett, co-author of ''The Sugar Girls'' and ''GI Brides'' and editor of ''The Reluctant Tommy''. It was published by AA Publishing on 1 August 2014 and offic ...

coming from far and near in the country have often gathered here, composing and reciting poems. During the past two to three hundred years, many excellent works and poems have been created. Among them, the

Long Couplet Long may refer to: Measurement * Long, characteristic of something of great duration * Long, characteristic of something of great length * Longitude (abbreviation: long.), a geographic coordinate * Longa (music), note value in early music mensur ...

written by Sun Rangweng has for many years enjoyed the highest reputation around the world. Daguan Park has become famous due to Sun Rangweng's Long Couplet.

References

*https://web.archive.org/web/20100419200737/http://www.kmtrip.net/en/city/kunming/attraction/daguanpark.htm {{coord, 25, 01, 45, N, 102, 40, 25, E, display=title Parks in Yunnan Tourist attractions in Kunming