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Kunming / Western Hills

Photo: Western Hills

Given the nice, occasionally even breathtaking view from the Western Hills over Lake Dian and the countryside beyond, it is no surprise that numerous temples have been constructed here over the centuries. It's the area that must be considered the fittest to house gods and demons in the vicinity of Kunming.

Among the temples and religious sites are Huating Temple, some fifteen kilometers from Kunming, then, further up the road, Taihua Temple and Sanqing Temple, and finally, the most famous of them all, the Dragon Gate.

The Dragon Gate is a system of grottoes and tunnels dug and hacked into a mountain-top cliff by a group of Taoist monks between 1781 and 1835. The grottoes are dedicated to a number of Chinese deities.

There is a chairlift up the hills. Its mountain-top station is near the Dragon Gate.

Idealists would believe that a person's actions are guided by his moral values, while materialists would assume that practical interests guide these actions.