Going to Xishuangbanna is a travel dream for many people. Elephants, peacocks, phoenix-tailed bamboo under the moonlight, the banana leaves that can be torn into long strips, and the dense tropical rainforest as well as the hills of rubber trees, like a green dream; and the red ribbon tying the dream soul is the mellow and moving melody of hulusi. Accompanied by the melodious sound of hulusi, let's go to feel the charm of Xishuangbanna together with the tourists in their delighted and intoxicated words!
Jinghong cityscape
Jinghong downtown is not big but very neat, there is a sculpture at the intersection of the city center: four elephants. The streets are lined with modern skyscrapers as well as ancient pavilions, and the green belts are planted with oil palms, which have the highest oil yield. The park is very general, no special impression, the only memorable is the park barbecue stall grilled fish, fish belly filled with chili peppers and a kind of local spices, a little like onions, very fragrant, that special flavor still make me gag.
The people here are gentle and generous. To the second day of Banna encountered such a thing let me quite touching: I rode the tourist car is traveling on the mountain road, opposite the sudden emergence of two mountain people on bicycles, straight to the car rushed over, the car side of the brake side of the steering wheel to avoid. Although the bike has been in a piece of muddy ground to reduce the speed, but still due to inertia and even people with the car forward planted 360 degrees of a big heel and then fell heavily on the ground. I was worried that they would be seriously injured, but I saw that they had already climbed up from the ground, looked fine, and was smiling nervously at the people in the car. It seemed that a fight was bound to happen. However, the frightened driver just asked gently and kindly: "Is the brake broken?" The young man was a bit embarrassed: "There is no brake." Both parties spoke calmly as if they were neighbors chatting, and then went on their way. I am used to seeing some noisy scenes, but here I feel only friendly and quiet. After a week in Xishuangbanna, I've forgotten what a fight is.
A night rain washed the asphalt-paved mountain road clean, and the air smelled of dirt and grass. Next to the highway were tall iron knife trees, dense leaves wet in the sunlight flooded with light, the trees were full of flowers, a large yellow dotted with the lush green mountain field. From time to time, there are grazing cattle on the side of the highway, no one to nibble on grass, an idyllic scene.
The highway passes through a large area of virgin forest, but see the valley deep ancient trees verdant, the forest warbling, birds chirping insects; roadside, a small stream along the winding mountain road with us, the stream is not cool, but lively and lively is very happy.
Visiting Menglun Tropical Botanical Garden
When you arrive in Xishuangbanna, it is the same as not coming to Xishuangbanna if you don't see the tropical forest. Menglun Tropical Botanical Garden covers an area of 112.5 square kilometers and is quite spectacular in scale. In the dense coconut forest, the mature coconut trees are straight and upright, with attractive fruits hanging on the trees, which are contrasted with the soft and green coconut seedlings. The sunlight sneaks down through the gaps in the canopy, spilling over a patchwork of color.
The botanical gardens encompass almost all tropical plants. Fishtail anemones, three-medicine betel nuts, banyan trees, sky-high trees, coral grasses with pearly fruits, and phoenix flower trees, all of which are colorful, compete with each other. Some palm trees are as big as a hut with just one palm leaf; the pods of an unnamed legume tree are 50 to 60 centimeters long, so exaggerated that people doubt its authenticity. The "Mystery Fruit" can turn sour into sweet, the "Windflow Grass" can dance to the sound of song, and there are also trees such as mango, lychee, banana, and ironwood king ......
There is also the long-awaited red mangrove tree, which has a long history of being used as a tree. Here also saw the long-awaited red beans. "The red bean is born in the south, spring hair a few branches," the poem is said to be it. Walking under the tree and savoring the ancient poem, and experiencing the feelings of longing triggered by the ancients, is a unique experience.
Joyful Olive Dam
There are several Dai villages in Banna, and Olive Dam is particularly famous. Olive Dam is located in the Dai language called "Mengham" place, is a piece of 50 square kilometers of the dam, because of the shape of the olive and named, the Lancang River from north to south, across the center of the dam. The Lancang River runs from north to south across the center of the dam. The olive dam is 530 meters above sea level, with flowers blooming in all seasons and green mountains. This is the most representative place for Dai residents in Xishuangbanna, with a natural, simple and tranquil beauty.
When we walked into the gate of Olive Dam village, Cat Do Li and Whistle Do Li, dressed in colorful national costumes, stood on both sides, blessing and welcoming the guests from afar to the village with Dai language and Dai songs. We strolled in the village on the path, the Dai family wooden buildings and Buddhist temples in the coconut grove and green bushes, wooden buildings around the planting of bananas, mangoes, lychees and other tropical fruit trees, as well as tall and straight coconut trees, standing betel trees, enchanting red bananas, Dai family wooden buildings dressed up extraordinarily beautiful.
In the guide's lead, we tourists to a Dai family, this "old cotton peach" (Dai language on the middle-aged and elderly women respectfully called) and whistle Do Li received us. We sat on the floor of the guest house on the wooden floor of their home, the old cotton peach and whistle Do Li for us to make a cup of hot fragrant glutinous rice tea, by whistle Do Li to introduce us to the Dai customs and traditions, and warmly welcome us to the village as guests. And then they took out their own handmade silver jewelry such as silver bracelets, necklaces and other handicrafts to us to sell, we buy some of the favorite jewelry as a gift to go back to send friends and relatives. We said goodbye to the old cotton peaches and whistle Do Li to the village square, far away from the square heard from the other side of the festive and cheerful sound of the drums Man, we looked, only to see a group of Dai men and women dressed in national costumes, is with the drums Man's beat and with the rhythm of the sheng, hulusi, jumping in the cheerful dance to the tourists, we could not help but join the dance team, imitating their dance dance jump up and from time to time to take out the camera! And they took a picture to leave a good memory ......
Playing is strong when, the square came from the center of a burst of playful sound, the original Dai traditional festival "Water Festival" began. See olive dam square central fountain around the tourists weaving, they changed into Dai clothing with the local Dai people, each hand holding a basin, scooping the fountain pool water on each other to splash, some divided into two groups of rivals to play a water fight, each drenched like a "peacock in the water", play happily, frolicking, immersed in the joy! In the middle of the water, all the troubles and sorrows are thrown to the sky, leaving behind happiness and joy. This is also the Dai people give us tourists auspicious blessings.
The temples are flourishing
The Dai people are a people who believe in Hinayana Buddhism, and in the place where they live, you can see a splendid temple like a pyramid. Especially located in Menghai County Menghai Township Jingzhen village next to the "Octagonal Pavilion", which is located on top of a round hill, is a Buddhist building in the precepts, for the national cultural relics protection units, was originally built in 1701 AD, has been nearly 300 years of history. Jingzhen Octagonal Pavilion modeling exquisite and gorgeous, unique, for the Hinayana Buddhist architecture in a fine product, but also the ancient Xishuangbanna Dai architectural art level of a symbol. The main door is in the shape of an arch, with a rolled niche above the arch, enshrining a bronze statue of Buddha, and two doors made of red toon boards are carved with Dai sunflower and double-dragon twisted-tail motifs. In front of the door, there is a wooden ladder connected to the stone steps, with a lion and a divine dragon standing on each side. The lion has teeth and claws, and the dragon swings its head and tail in a lifelike form. Octagonal Pavilion for the brick and wood structure, by the seat, body, eaves, face, top 5 parts. The base for the folded angle subzigzag, pavilion height of 21 meters, the bottom diameter of 10 meters, divided into 8 large surface, 31 small surface, into 32 corners, 24 walls constitute the pavilion room, indoor and outdoor walls with gold and silver powder leakage printing patterns, pavilion roof for the wooden structure is tapered save the cusp of the multi-storey eave, 12 10-meter-long beams hold up the 10-layer octagonal pavilion, the face of the paving flat tiles, such as the fish scales cover. Precept Hall in front of more than three hundred years of Bodhi tree witnessed the vicissitudes of Xishuangbanna, precept Hall, such as clouds of visitors, incense constantly.
All Dai boys from the age of five have to cut their hair as monks, to the temple monk, to accept the baptism of Buddhist education, the face of the Buddha they worship, very pious. Monk's head is absolutely can't let people touch, touching the monk's head is a great disrespect, they think a touch his head, will touch off his intelligence and aura. Incense and tourists into the temple must take off their shoes, temple visitors such as weaving, incense burning all day long, in the face of the gods, the guests silently praying for the good intentions of the heart, may the gods bless them with happiness and well-being! For this reason, the Dai people worship and respect two kinds of people, firstly, monks, and secondly, people wearing glasses. Monks are representatives of the gods, while wearing glasses is often a learned person, a professor of the name, but wearing sunglasses is not popular, the Dai people satirized as "wearing glasses is a professor, wearing sunglasses is a beast. It can be seen that the Dai people are a respect for knowledge, respect for modern civilization and ancient Buddhist culture, intelligent and humorless people.