Sports, Food & Lifestyle in Kunming, China!

(ARCHITECTURE !)

Monday, November 24, 2008, 7:33 AM

The oldest traditional Chinese architecture buildings and structures date back to the Ming and Tang dynasties.

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(LANGUAGE !)

7:32 AM

The Kunming dialect is known as Mandarin is spoken by the inhabitants of Kunming and the surrounding areas of Yunnan province in Southwest China. The dialect is basically similar to Standard Mandarin, the major differences being the unique pronunciation of certain sounds and the development of unique phrases and terms.

As with all dialects of Chinese, speakers of the Kunming dialect read standard Chinese characters, though the pronunciation of words can, in some cases, be markedly different. For example the Chinese word 什么 (in Standard Mandarin Hanyu pinyin shén-me) (meaning 'what') is pronounced nǎn-yàng in vernacular Kunming dialect.

In some cases entirely unique phrases are used, which may or may not have equivalent written characters. To say "I don't know" in Standard Mandarin is 不知道 (pinyin bù zhīdào) but in Kunming dialect is the completely different phrase rèn bù dé. Another example would be hai-zi meaning shoes in the Kunming dialect, whereas in Standard Mandarin hai-zi means child and xie zi is the phrase for shoes.

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(FOODY !)

7:28 AM

Kunming's cuisine is distinctly Yunnanese and combines fresh ingredients afforded by the moderate climate with mild herbs and spices giving its cooked dishes sufficient flavour but lacking the pungency associated with food from other regions of the country.
The city's climate fosters the growth of literally hundreds of species of mushroom which are consequently a predominant feature of many dishes.

There are other regional Chinese cuisines, with a few upmarket restaurants serving international dishes. Back lanes running north off Dongfeng Xi Lu or Jinbi Lu have the famous stalls and restaurants where the locals offer specialties such as grilled cheese, hotpots, fired snacks rolled in chilli powder, loaves of excellent meat-stuffed soda bread, and rich duck and chicken casseroles.

The special dish of Kunming is guò qiáo mĭxiàn, a boiling, spicy soup with noodles under a layer of oil. Meat is added to the broth kept hot by the layer of oil.
The legend behind "crossing bridge noodles" involves a student studying for the imperial exam (which was given once per year).
He went to study on an island a short ways away from his wife and village. Everyday his wife would bring him food, but because of the distance (she had to cross a bridge) the food would get cold. The student's wife figured out that by layering the broth with oil, she could keep the food hot.

Some of the most famous Kunming food is as follows:

Over the Bridge Rice Noodles

Steam Potted Chicken

Er Kuai (Rice Cake)

Smoked Smelly Bean Curd - popular night stall snack

The Eight Treasures of Yunnan - type of stuffed cake

There are some famous restuarant in Kunming:

Qiao Xiangyuan Restaurant - special local food

Jinbichun Restaurant - has a history of over 100 years

World Expo Jixing Yuan Restaurant

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(SPORTS !)

7:26 AM

Sports....

Every year, many athletes from over the world would come to Kunming to train. The city has been China's national high-elevation training base for more than 30 years. There are two major training complexes, Hongta Sports Center and Haigeng National Training Center.

Haigeng National Training Center is located on Lake Dianchi near Kunming's award-winning Lakeview Golf Club and new condominium developments, and is relatively isolated. It contains eight basketball courts, weight rooms, indoor and outdoor tennis courts, a dozen football pitches, two running tracks, a pool for swimming and one for diving.
It also has a large snooker hall, a room for table tennis and a volleyball gym. Athletes, coaches and team managers stay onsite in the complex's many dormitories and hotel rooms.Hongta Sports Center was built in 2000 by one of Yunnan's largest corporations Hongta cigarette company with a cost of US$58 million. Near Haigeng Park, the complex is mostly used by professional athletes but also acts as a sports club for the general public.

The general public can use all of its extensive facilities and every weekend, it hosts amateur football matches. Aside from about 10 football pitches, including one surrounded by a running track, Hongta also has a 50 m swimming pool, a badminton gymnasium, tennis courts and a basketball court. It also has one of China's few ice hockey rinks, and a workout room with treadmills and weightlifting machines. There are also game rooms for air hockey and pool tables, and a basement bowling alley. Hongta also has a 101-room hotel and restaurant.

GOLF

Golf is a major attraction in Kunming - there are four golf courses within an hour's drive of downtown. For the last six years, Spring City Golf and Lake Resort in nearby Yiliang County has reigned as the best golf course in China and Hong Kong according to US Golf Digest. In 2004, it was named Asia's best golf resort by Asian Golf Monthly. It hosts the Kunming Leg of the Omega China Tour.

Kunming has attracted foreign investment in golf course development. "Spring City" Golf Resort is a US$600 million project that began as an investment led by Singapore's Keppel Land Group in 1992. Today it is not only ranked by some as China's top golf course, but also one of the top golf destinations in all of Asia. Much of this is attributable to Keppel's financial backing in addition to having golf legend Jack Nicklaus and eminent golf course designer Robert Trent Jones, Jr. design the two courses.

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