The Archway of
The
Golden Horse and
The
Green Rooster has long been regarded as the symbol of Kunming city.
Built in China's Ming Dynasty, it has history of more than 400 years.
Right on the central axis of old Kunming city, it is located in the
center of downtown Kunming.
The Golden Horse Archway is in the east against the
mountain
with the same
name
as the archway; the Green
Rooster
Archway
is
in the west against the Green Chicken Mountain.
Within
a short distance of each other,
the
two archways are in the traditional archway styles. Together with
another Loyalty Archway on the other side, these three archways shape
a triangle
of
archway clusters.
With
their distinctive characteristics they present
a
spectacular view in the midst
of surrounding downtown modern buildings.
There is a rare scene here you won't probably find anywhere else. It is
said there will be a day in the fall season
at
a particular time when the shadow of Green Chicken Archway from the sun
and the shadow of the Golden Horse Archway from the moon will merge
together. It is said the scene only happens
once
every 60 years, hence it was praised as one of Kunming's Eight Rare
Sceneries.
This area used to be center of old Kunming City, and it
continues as the
center
even
now. Actually,
many of these
buildings are newly renovated with new materials to
represent
Kunming’s
old architectural styles.
Houses and stalls hundreds of years old are
duplicated
so that
you can be reminded
of
how this area
was
in the past. The place where the archways
are
located is a mixture of modern and old. The archways are accompanied by
several other old buildings nearby within
easy
walking distance. There
is the
renovated Jingri Lou (or Close to the Sun Pavilion) and
the
ancient East and West Temple Pagodas. Right beside these old
structures
are
numerous
modern
shopping malls and high-end Chinese and western restaurants.
It is also very near to some other interesting sites, like the Bird and
Flower Market, the Yunnan Provincial Museum. It can be easily accessed
by taking buses or taxi.