This park contains the most prestigious Taoist temple in Yunnan. The serene Golden Temple standing on the Mingfeng Mountain is the largest bronze temple in China. It was built by General Wu Sangui, and dates back to the early Qing Dynasty (17th century). Rare plants and tea flowers flourish in this traditional Chinese-style garden. It has become a local traditional custom to enjoy the blooming flowers in the park every annual Temple Fair, which is held on the 9th day of every Lunar New Year.

The baroque "Chapel of Merchants, Shopkeepers and Bankers" was built at the end of the 1600s. This lesser known architectural jewel still holds numerous original artworks. The most noteworthy of them is the Perpetual Calendar built by the engineering Giovanni Plana — a primitive computing machine that allows its user to look up details about any date between the years 1 and 4000. Powered by a small wooden crank, the intricate gears and chains put into motion the nine inscribed cylinders, The chapel is only open to the public on the weekends, when mass is held. If you are lucky, you can attend the occasional classical music concert and experience the building's impressive acoustics.

The Green Lake is known as the Jade of the city. Two long dikes divide the lake into four parts. Brightly painted pavilions, tree-lined walks and exercising locals all add to the appeal of the park. During the winter months, black-headed gulls from Siberia migrate to Green Lake and entertain the crowds of visitors as they circle around and snap up bread fed to them by birdwatchers and visitors. There used to be a military school in the neighbourhood, where the famous Chinese generals Zhu De and Ye Jianying were educated in the 1910s.