Tangchi Town

Situated in Yiliang County, Tangchi Town is 40 kilometers away from the downtown
 of Kunming. With beautiful rivers (lakes) and mountains, Tangchi Town abounds in
 geothermal resources and derives its name from the hotspring water whose highest
 temperature is 70 degrees Celsius (“Tang” means “boiling water”; “Chi” means
 “pond” or “spring”). With a long-standing history, Tangchi Town is also rich in
 tourist resources. It has numerous places of interest such as Wanfo Temple, 
Ruiguang Temple, Xihua Temple, Huilong Temple, Xiaobailong Forest Park, 
Yangzong Lake and the world famous Spring City Golf Club etc.

Temple Fair on lunar March 3rd
(1)-Temple Fair

Besides the West Hill, Tangchi Town is another place to go in Kunming on lunar
 March 3rd because a temple fair is annually held there. Villagers from 18 
villages of Tangchi swarm to join in the fair which is quite important for them.
 As a grand event to showcase the folk culture of Tangchi Town, the temple
 fair is an arena for people to appreciate Huadeng Opera, Caigaoqiao (Walking 
on Stilts), Lion Dance and other folk artistic performances. However, what is 
the most important for the religious devotees during the fair is to make sacrifice
 to and vows before Buddha or deities in Wanfo Temple.

(2)-Origin of the Temple Fair: Cukangbao, a folktale
Cukangbao is a household folktale prevailing in Tangchi area.

In Xizong Period of the Tang Dynasty (618-907), a civilian girl got involved 
romantically with the Patron God (Tu Zhu Lao Ye) of her village and gave birth
 to an infant boy. However, it was deemed indecent for commoners and gods 
to marry each other. In order to conceal the scandal (disgrace), the parents 
of the girl tried to murder the infant by burying it in husks (“粗糠 cū kānɡ”-husks).
 To everyone's surprise, 3 days later it (the infant) was found alive as if it was
 specially blessed by God. His mother therefore named him "Cu Kang Bao"
 (粗康宝, cū kānɡ bǎo. “康kānɡ” means healthy,“宝bǎo” means treasure).

Cukangbao was a gifted guy with magic power. Armed with the divine weapon 
passed down from his father (the Patron God), he joined the army at the age 
of 17. Due to his outstanding military feats, he was granted the title of "General
 of Nanzhao Kingdom (738-937)" and bestowed the name of "Duan Zongbang"
 by the king.

After spending years in the army, Duan Zongbang went back to his hometown 
(Tangchi) gloriously to visit his family. But he died suddenly on the way home. 
People in Tangchi felt his death a great sorrow and honored him posthumously 
"Qing Ping Jing Di" (Peaceful God). Since the year when Duan Zongbang passed
 away, locals in Tangchi annually hold temple fair on lunar March 3rd in Wanfo 
Temple. 

Travel tips:
(1)-Tangchi Town is 40 km form Kunming, bus ride available in Kunming East
 Bust Station;
(2)-Nearby: Jiuxiang Karst Caves; Yangzong Lake; Yunnan-Vietnam Railway;
(3)-Hotels: Brilliant Spa Hotel; Spring City Golf Club;
(4)-Food: Yiliang Roast Duck; Tangchi Preserved Soybeans (seasoning or appetizer)