the panlong jiang is a river (盘龙江 coiled dragon river). it runs partly through panlong district, one of kunming's four urban districts. i was a little unclear which you were referring to.
the river runs through a variety of areas before it empties into dianchi (lake). there are nice places in the northern part of kunming by the river. just south of Jinse Dadao, there are new-build apartments that have green space etc that would suit a family. also, it's fairly near to amenities such as supermarkets, hospitals and such.