Zurich, Kunming's second friendship city, is located north of the Alps, at the southwest end of Lake Zurich. A mountain and a lake are Zurich's distinctive landmarks.

Thousands of miles apart, Dianchi Lake is the "pearl of the plateau," with the silhouette of the Xishan's "Sleeping Beauty" reflecting on the water's surface, which is the soul of Kunming. 

Both have mountains and lakes, and they are beautiful lakeside cities. This is the beginning of the fate between these two cities.

In the 1980s, Guan Sushuang from the Yunnan Peking Opera Troupe visited Zurich. She told Zurich officials there were mountains and lakes here, just as beautiful as Kunming, and suggested the two cities become friendship cities. This proposal left a deep impression on Zurich.

In 1982, Zurich sent a delegation to visit Kunming. Upon seeing Kunming's landscapes for the first time, Zurich decided that Kunming would be their friendship city.

On February 17, 1982, the two cities officially established a friendship relationship, with the mayors at the time planting a friendship tree, "Camellia," together in Kunming. Zurich became Kunming's second international friendship city.

Over the past 42 years, the two cities have engaged in practical cooperation with fruitful results. Their friendship is not only praised as "one of the best among thousands of international friendship city pairs in China." Still, it is also recognized as a "model of friendship cities" by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the People's Republic of China and the Chinese People's Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries. Their relationship has been elevated to a "component of the China-Switzerland national relationship."

From Nanping Street to Panlong River, Chenggong New District to the Northern District... Walking around Kunming, many representative buildings and venues are closely related to Zurich.

In 1997, a Swiss expert team came to Kunming to collaborate with the Kunming Urban Planning Institute to draft a concept plan for the Northern District and guide its planning and construction.

In the Wulong area of Chenggong New District planning, Zurich experts proposed suggestions like "avoiding uniformity" and "reserving farmland as an urban green center and Dianchi Lake protection buffer zone," considering ecological protection and farmers' interests.

Kunming's historical districts carry the city's historical memories, with numerous cultural relics, former residences, and buildings forming the city's unique character.

Starting in 1996, the two cities launched an old city protection project. Then-Zurich Municipal Cultural Heritage Administration Deputy Director Stucky led an expert team, visiting Kunming 35 times, walking through old streets, having in-depth conversations with residents, recording and depicting old architectural styles, and jointly issuing the "Kunming Historical and Cultural City Protection Plan."

In 1996, the two cities listed the "Wenming Street Area" as a "historical and cultural district" that must be protected.

In 2000, upon Kunming's suggestion, both sides began a restoration project for the historical building "Jinlan Tea Garden" within the Wenming Street Area. This project won the UNESCO Asia Pacific Heritage Awards in 2001.

Both Kunming and Zurich are lakeside cities, and their lakes - Dianchi Lake and Lake Zurich - once experienced severe pollution. Within the friendship cities cooperation framework, since the 1990s, multiple Zurich experts have come to Kunming, bringing lake management experience.

Limnologist and then Deputy Director of Zurich's Water Supply Bureau, Zimmerman, led experts on multiple visits to Kunming, conducting field research throughout the Dianchi Lake basin. Zimmerman said, "To manage Dianchi Lake, every drop of water entering it should be clean." In the urban water supply and drainage project cooperation, Swiss expert teams provided selfless support in technology and processes, funding Kunming's construction of the sixth waterworks and first, second, and third water purification plants and helping establish the Kunming Water Supply Company's centralized laboratory.

To thank the Zurich government for its support, in 1993, Kunming sent a construction team to Zurich to build a garden with architectural styles similar to Cuihu Park, named the "Chinese Garden." This garden, full of Chinese characteristics, is hailed as an "Oriental treasure", attracting numerous visitors and serving as a window for Zurich citizens to understand friendship city Kunming.

Regarding Zurich, former Zurich Mayor Thomas Wagner often mentioned that he visited Kunming dozens of times, always caring about Kunming and Dian Lake. He said: "I hope one day, when Kunming people gaze at Dianchi Lake, they can see their reflection."

Mr. Wagner, an ophthalmologist, noticed that the operating tables at Yan'an Hospital were not advanced during his visit. After returning to Zurich, he sent an automatic operating table to Yan'an Hospital on behalf of the Zurich government. He also bought a long chocolate bar, hoping the Kunming delegation would bring it back to Kunming. He said, "I know Chinese children love Swiss sweets. Please take it back so the children in Kunming can taste our chocolate." He hoped that the seeds of friendship could continue to grow in the hearts of the next generation.

A Kunming foreign affairs worker who once worked in Switzerland recalled that many foreign friends choose major cities like Beijing and Shanghai when visiting China, but when handling visas for Zurich citizens, she saw that nearly all listed Kunming as their destination. They eagerly said, "We want to visit our friendship city Kunming." 

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(Editors: Jennifer, Ines)