The many treasures of south Denver's City of Kunming Park

Denver’s City of Kunming in south Denver's Rosedale neighborhood, is my favorite neighborhood picnic spot. The park is at the top of a hill, with a gorgeous view of the mountains at sunset. City of Kunming Park is just south of Harvard Park and west of Porter Hospital.

This Denver park shares the name of one of Denver’s sister cities, Kunming, the capital Yunnan, China’s most southwestern province. Kunming had a population in 2020 of 8,460,088, making it the largest city in Yunnan province. Many of the Yunnan's corporations are based in Kunming, making it a strong business and economic center.

Due to Kunming being closer to the equator, it's climate is much warmer and more humid than Denver. Kunming is a subtropical highland climate with flowers blooming year round. Thus the city is referred to as the "City of Eternal Spring".

City of Kunming park in Denver is part of the Sister Cities International, a noprofit citizen diplomacy network to promote cultural exchange, partnerships, and economic development between cities in other countries. A version of the program began in 1956 by Dwight D. Eisenhower and became a nonprofit corporation in 1967.

Sister cities partnerships have similar geographies and demographics. Denver is known as the Mile High City, and at 6,200 feet, Kunming is also a high altitude city. Both cities are intersection of plains and mountain ranges, giving them a strategic location for transportation of goods, business, and economic development. The map below shows the ruggedness of Kuming, China, right at the base of the Himalayas. You can zoom into the Shilin Stone Forest, an unusual set of limestone formations about 56 miles from Kunming.

Denver became Kunming's sister city in 1986. As part of the Sister City Partnernship, Kunming gave Denver limestone rocks from the Shilin Stone Forest for Denver's City of Kunming Park, which opened in 1997. In 2000, Denver gave Kunming rocks from Red Rocks Ampitheater for Kunming's lakeside Daguan Park, on the Daguan Stream, that flows into the Dianchi Lake.

Kunming was key in World War II due to its location on the eastern side of the Himalayas. The Japanese occupied the eastern coast of China, cutting off supplies. The only possible movement of goods was for pilots to fly west to east over "the Hump" on the eastern Himalayas to get supplies from India into China.

The Chinese airforce was quickly squashed by the better trained and equipped Japanese airforce. The Chinese government hired American aviators to protect supply lines and fight off the Japanese. These American soldiers, the American Volunteer Group (AVG) were called the Flying Tigers due to the shark's mouth paint detail on the planes nose. These aviators were trained by Captain Claire Lee Chennault, the leader of the Alabama-based Army Air Corps aerobatic team the "Three Musketeers". He trained the aviators to use high speed dives and climbs to out maneuver the superior Japanese planes. Due to their mobility, unusual flight tactics, and the element of suprise, the Flying Tigers were able to shoot down many Japanese planes. It's estimated 20 times more Japanese than American planes were shot down. This not only kept supply lines open, but it lifted the Chinese morale. The Flying Tigers were so effective the Japanese set a bounty for Chennault's life.

Denver used to have a thriving Chinatown in what is now the LoDo area, roughly from Market to Wazee and from 15th and 20th Streets. It was also called the derogative "Hop Alley", a reference to opium. The Gold Rush, followed by construction of the Transcontinental Railroad caused Denver to grow quickly.

Much of the Transcontinental Railraod was built by the Chinese and Denver's Chinese population boomed. Denver's Chinese population jumped from 4 in 1870 to 238 in 1880.

Denver had a thriving Chinatown until October 31, 1880, when a white crowd attacked the Chinese community, burning Chinese businesses, attacking and driving out Chinese residents. This racial attack would come to be known as the anti-Chinese riot of 1890. Many Chinese were severely beaten, and Look Young, only 28 years old, was lynched. The murderers of Young were tried but acquitted. Almost all of the businesses and homes in Chinatown were destroyed. The estimated loss was about $53,655 (equivalent to $1,627,042 in 2022), not accounting for the Chinese that fled for safety without claiming property. None of these business or property losses have ever been accounted for.

The Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882 created a 10 year ban on Chinese laborers immigrating to the United States. Chinese immigrants already living in the US were ineligible for naturalizaiton. The act was renewed in 1892 and made it permanent in 1902. The act was finally repealed in 1943, but the damage to the Chinese community was lasting.

A plaque on the southeast corner of 20th and Blake Streets was the only evidence of Chinatown. It was removed in August 2022 due to historic inaccuracies, exaggeration of the Chinese using drugs, and downplaying the violence towards the Chinese community. Members of the Colorado Asian Pacific United organization (CAPU) are pushing for a plaque better representing the community.

Finally, on April 16, 2022, Denver's Mayor Michael Hancock made a formal apology to the Chinese community for the mob violence. Denver joins other cities across the west to foromally apologize for anti-discrimation and violence against Chinese immigrants.

Denver being a sister city to Kunming shed light on multiple interwoven events throughout history. I am glad that President Eisenhower placed such importance on international relations and respecting and honoring other cultures.

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