问渠那得清如许，为有源头活水来。Wèn qú nǎ dé qīng rú xǔ, wèi yǒu yuántóu huó shuǐ lái – Ask the pond why it is so clear: because a living spring keeps feeding it.
易门县 Yìmén Xiàn Yimen County sits in 玉溪 Yùxī Yuxi between 昆明 Kūnmíng Kunming and the prefecture seat, a small place that lives by water, mushrooms and clay. 龙泉国家森林公园 Lóngquán Guójiā Sēnlín Gōngyuán Longquan National Forest Park, on the edge of the county town worth confirming, gathers the 龙泉 Lóngquán Dragon Spring into a chain of lakes and 跌水 diēshuǐ cascades before the water drops over 瀑布 pùbù waterfalls at 大龙口 Dàlóngkǒu “the great dragon’s mouth” worth confirming – the county even bills itself a 滇中水城 Dīzhōng Shuǐchéng “water city of central Yunnan” worth confirming. The park is the town’s Sunday walk: stone paths under 云南松 Yúnnán Sōng Yunnan pine, the sound of moving water everywhere, and spring-fed pools clear enough to show the bottom. Yimen’s second trade is wild mushrooms: the county calls itself 野生菌之乡 Yěshēngjūn Zhī Xiāng “home of wild mushrooms,” and each 雨季 yǔjì rainy season the hills give 牛肝菌 niúgānjùn boletes, 青头菌 qīngtóujùn green-heads and 鸡枞 jīzōng termite mushrooms, celebrated at a summer 菌子节 jūnzi jié mushroom festival worth confirming. The third is 易门陶瓷 Yìmén Táocí Yimen pottery, especially 绿陶 lǜtáo green pottery with its 孔雀绿 kǒngquè lǜ peacock-green glaze worth confirming.
龙泉 Lóngquán is a park, not a fortress: entry is quoted as free or a small fee worth confirming, and the 大龙口 Dàlóngkǒu reach may charge separately worth confirming. Getting there is simple by Chinese standards – buses from 昆明 Kūnmíng Kunming run about two hours worth confirming, the drive is roughly 100 kilometres worth confirming, and 玉溪 Yùxī city is about an hour away worth confirming, so the park works as a stop rather than a pilgrimage. Give it half a day for the springs, the cascades and the 大龙口 Dàlóngkǒu waterfall reach, then spend the evening on the county’s real speciality: a 菌子火锅 jūnzi huǒguō mushroom hotpot in season, at valley prices. Hotels in the county town are modest and plentiful worth confirming; there is little reason to stay more than one night unless you have come for the mushroom markets. The whole visit is unhurried – this is central Yunnan’s smallest kind of pleasure, water and dinner rather than a checklist.
The season decides the visit. Come in 雨季 yǔjì July and August for mushrooms: the county’s markets fill with baskets at dawn worth confirming, the 菌子节 jūnzi jié festival runs in high summer worth confirming, and restaurants switch to hotpot menus; the cascades are also at their loudest after rain. Autumn is the clearest for the spring pools, when the water reads deepest green and the 云南松 Yúnnán Sōng paths are dry; winter is thin on water but quiet. For light, morning suits the springs, when mist sits on the lakes and the 跌水 diēshuǐ catch the sun in pieces. Add a stop at one of the town’s pottery workshops to see the 绿陶 lǜtáo glaze fired worth confirming, and pair the county with a 抚仙湖 Fúxiān Hú afternoon or a 昆明 Kūnmíng night – it sits neatly between the two. Stay in the county town, where the hotels are plain but the mushroom menus are not worth confirming, and give the park its first hour of the day, before the 玉溪 Yùxī and 昆明 Kūnmíng day-trippers arrive worth confirming. All checked October 2026.
Practicalities
- Rating: 龙泉国家森林公园 Lóngquán Guójiā Sēnlín Gōngyuán Longquan National Forest Park (the 大龙口 Dàlóngkǒu reach) – a water park of springs, pools and cascades on the county town’s edge; 易门县 Yìmén Xiàn also brands itself 野生菌之乡 Yěshēngjūn Zhī Xiāng and a pottery centre.
- Tickets: The park is quoted as free or with a small gate fee, and the 大龙口 Dàlóngkǒu area may charge separately (both worth confirming the details).
- Address: 易门县 Yìmén Xiàn, north-central 玉溪 Yùxī; buses from 昆明 Kūnmíng about two hours and the drive roughly 100 km (both worth confirming the details), about an hour from 玉溪 Yùxī city (worth confirming the details).
- Time needed: Half a day for the springs and cascades; add a night in mushroom season (July-August) for the markets and the 菌子火锅 jūnzi huǒguō.
Words and Names
龙泉 lóngquán the Dragon Spring · 大龙口 dàlóngkǒu “the great dragon’s mouth,” the waterfall reach · 野生菌之乡 yěshēngjūn zhī xiāng “home of wild mushrooms” · 菌子节 jūnzi jié the wild-mushroom festival · 牛肝菌 niúgānjùn boletes, the summer standard · 鸡枞 jīzōng termite mushrooms, the season’s prize · 易门绿陶 yìmén lǜtáo Yimen green pottery
flowcloud would say: 易门人夏天靠菌子续命，龙泉的泉水负责洗胃；一句"走，吃菌子"，比任何天气预报都准。
Getting there: 龙泉国家森林公园 Lóngquán Guójiā Sēnlín Gōngyuán on the edge of the 易门县 Yìmén Xiàn county town, about two hours by bus from 昆明 Kūnmíng (worth confirming the details); quoted free or a small gate fee, and the honest season is the July-August mushroom window. All checked October 2026.