What initially attracted me was its subtropical climate. When most of China is freezing, Xishuangbanna is a warm winter place. For me, a northern girl who is particularly afraid of the cold, this is heaven.
When I really came to Xishuangbanna, I realized that this place attracted me not only because of the climate.
Ethnic customs, magical tropical rainforest natural landscape, exotic architecture .....................
I. About Xishuangbanna
Xishuangbanna is located in the southernmost part of Yunnan Province, connected with Laos and Myanmar by mountains and waters, and bordering on Thailand and Vietnam.
Xishuangbanna, in the ancient Dai language, is known as "Mumbaranas", meaning "ideal and magical paradise". It is famous for its marvelous tropical rainforest natural landscape and ethnic customs, and is one of the popular tourist cities in China. The annual Water Splashing Festival is held on April 13-15 and is known as the "Oriental Carnival".
Second, travel preparation:
Carry-on items: clothes (to Xishuangbanna do not need to bring thick clothes, where the winter daytime are more than 20 degrees. High-frequency sunscreen, sunglasses, mosquito repellent, sun hat, summer medicine is essential.
Hotel: If you are a self-guided tour, make sure to book your hotel/guest house half a month before your trip. Xishuangbanna has a huge number of tourists all year round and hotels are very tight. The accommodation areas in Xishuangbanna are concentrated in Shuangjing, Gaozhuangxi and Wanda Plaza. Zhuangxi Shuangjing is a capital of tourism and leisure, blending Dai culture with modern cutting-edge ideas. There are hotels, restaurants, inns and night markets, so staying there is convenient. Wanda Plaza has nearly 10 famous five-star hotels such as Wanda Mandarin and Hilton.
Transportation: (Self-driving/group tour please ignore) It is recommended to contact local car rental service online in advance, or you can be a driver and guide.
:C. Precautions
1. When visiting or visiting Dai's house, do not peek into the host's bedroom because of the mystery.
2. Dai people are not allowed to enter the village when they are offering sacrifices to the village god.
3. There are three main pillars in the upstairs living room of the Dai family, two of which are in the bedroom separated from the living room side by side, and one of which is next to the fire pit.
The pillar by the fire pit was the top pillar of the Dai family and could not be leaned on.
4. Each Brown tribe has its own family god, usually wrapped in banana leaves, sugarcane leaves or wax strips, and enshrined on one of the pillars in the main room, which cannot be touched by outsiders.
5. The Brown men's head-wrapped handkerchiefs are not to be touched; they are a symbol of the dignity of the Brown men.
6. You must take off your shoes to enter the temple, and you can't touch the head of the children in the temple.
7. Every year in the sixth month of the lunar calendar, there is a three-day festival in the Genoese village. During this period, tourists are not allowed to enter the fortress.
Four, trip planning:
Day 1, Keno Hut-Forest Park
Keno Hut: The Keno Hut is the only tourist attraction in China that displays the most comprehensive and centralized, with the theme of Keno culture. It is also the performance venue for the first large-scale live music and dance program "Yule Yule" in Xishuangbanna. Keno is a nation that rose from the big drums in the era of the Great Flood. It has lived for generations in the boundless tropical rainforest of Xishuangbanna, and is the last of China's 56 ethnic minorities to be recognized.
Keno Lodge is 23 kilometers from Jinghong. We got up early, ate breakfast and drove to Kinuo Villa. As we and few other tourists formed a family under the guide, we saw the Goddess Statue, Dagumen, Ox Head Road, Black Horse Girl, Sun Flower Altar, Kino Five God Pillar (said to be equivalent to the Kino Totem), the Grand Communal House, the Kino Cultural Museum and the Zorba House. Saw Kino big encouragement, knife ladder and other items.
The rich and unique Kino style, like a huge magnet, y attracted people.
Forest: Xishuangbanna Primitive Forest Park, located 8 kilometers east of Jinghong City, is the largest comprehensive eco-tourism scenic spot in Jinghong, there are more than 50 attractions, such as Peacock Villa, Monkey Mound, large-scale ethnic performing arts venues, Nine Dragons Waterfalls, Full Shuanglong White Pagoda and so on.
Inside the garden, you can enjoy exotic landscapes such as Bane, Strangler, Old Stem Flowers and Ancient Vines. You can also enjoy the spectacular sight of hundreds of peacocks flying around.
You can watch the ballad of Ai, bamboo dance, Dongba tea and so on. In Ai's Hall, which is full of ethnic flavors. There are also large ethnic performance venues with ethnic songs and dances, and a small water-splashing festival.
Peacocks are released seven times a day, at 8:40, 10:00, 12:00, 13:20, 14:40, 15:30, and 17:00, each lasting about 10 minutes.
The performance of Aini Cottage is from 8:30 to 17:00, and you can go to it anytime.
Song and dance performances are from 11:20-11:50, and the Water Splashing Festival is at 13:40, 14:30, 15:20, and 16:10.People need to rent national costumes to participate in the water-splashing event.
The second day, Rainforest Valley - Botanical Garden of Chinese Academy of Sciences
Rainforest Valley: it is a tourist attraction integrating eco-tourism and science education, which maintains the primitive rainforest wonders of tropical valleys.
Entering the Rainforest Valley, you will first visit the Kemu people, an ethnic minority whose clan name has not yet been determined. They still follow the most primitive way of life, without their own special characters but with their own language. Due to living in the primitive forest for a long time, the Kemu people live in extreme poverty. At the same time, due to historical reasons, the Kemu people came into contact with the outside world late and still retain traces of a clan society.
In the Rainforest Valley, you can see many rare wild animals, climb the uniquely designed forest canopy air corridor, visit the forest canopy, walk between the century-old trees, watch the high-level ecological landscape of the tropical rainforest from a different angle, walk into the strangled king with nearly 300 years of history and the 'living fossil' of the dinosaur era --Cyathea, enjoy the minority performance and the unique performance of Kemu people.
Botanical Garden: Tropical Botanical Garden of Chinese Academy of Sciences, the only 5A-level scenic spot in Xishuangbanna. Botanical gardens in other places start from planting trees, and every tree here grows naturally from seeds. It is the largest botanical garden in Southeast Asia, covering an area of about 1,100 hectares. There is a large area of tropical rainforest and more than 13,000 kinds of tropical plants from all over the world have been introduced.
You can enjoy the shy trees in the Garden of Exotic Flowers and Herbs, where your fingers touch the leaves and shyly close them gently; the Garden of Famous Trees where you can see famous trees planted by national leaders;
In the Garden of National Trees, you can learn about the national trees and national flowers of various countries; in the Garden of Southern Medicines, once you go in, you are greeted by a nose full of fresh scent and small fragrant trees, which are all thriving in the place; the Hundred Flowers Garden with its plant labyrinths is a children's Play paradise; palm garden tall palm trees stand quietly, as if waiting for our arrival. One scene, one tree, one scene, beautiful.
3. Day 3, Mengda Buddha Temple-Manting Park-Lancang River
Mengmeng Buddha Temple: built in the Ming Dynasty, formerly known as Jingdrang Temple, was built by King Bolong of the Dai nationality in honor of his deceased consort Nan, and was later destroyed in the Opium War. Now we see the restoration and reconstruction of the original site of Jingdiao Buddhist Temple, which was an ancient royal temple.
It is said to be because Sakyamuni practiced 7749 days of Taoist symbols. Sitting in the north and facing south, the Buddha looks down on the earth with kind brows and teaches compassion.
Crawl all the way to the foot of the Buddha and look into the distance to Jinghong City, the whole city and the subtropical scenery as far as the eye can see.
Manting Park: It is the oldest park in Xishuangbanna with a history of more than 1300 years. The Dai people used to call it "Chunhuan", meaning "Garden of the Soul". It used to be the royal garden of the Dai king in Xishuangbanna. It is said that when Princess Dai came to visit, the beauty of this place attracted her soul, hence the name.
The garden also has the sacred Mansi Dragon Shoot Pagoda, Xishuangbanna, Wabajie Buddhist Temple, the exquisite Jingzhen Octagonal Pavilion and Dai Sala Pavilion. This
Lancang River Night Cruise: we took the Peacock II cruise. This cruise ship is really well decorated. The wooden floor and bamboo dining table were filled with all kinds of Dai cuisine. After putting them on, we started to enjoy the night view of the Mekong River while savoring the Dai-style meals. After dinner, we moved to the second floor of the cruise ship to watch a siren show, enjoying costumes and singing and dancing performances from six countries.
Day four. Hit the China-Myanmar border
Day trip to the China-Myanmar border: in the morning, we depart from Jinghong, the first stop is the first town of China-Myanmar border, Luodha Town, to visit Luodha Border Crossing. The second stop is to enjoy the performance of Thai red entertainers (siren show). The third stop is to climb the China-Myanmar Boundary Monument 202. the fourth stop, look up to the forest. The fifth stop, feel the Hani culture.