Xishuangbanna

From ChinaTravelGuide

Southwest China (西南) » Yunnan (云南) » Xishuangbanna (西双版纳)

Contents 1 Overview 2 History 3 Video 4 Map 5 Weather 6 Getting in & Getting out 6.1 By Air 6.2 By Train 6.3 By Bus 6.4 By Ship 7 Getting Around 7.1 By Public Bus 7.2 By Tour Bus 7.3 By Metro 7.4 By Taxi & Rental Car 8 Attractions 9 Hotels 9.1 Budget 10 Restaurants 11 Shopping 12 Night Life & Entertainment 13 Sports & Recreation 14 Excursions & Day Trips 15 Tips & Practical Info 16 See also

[edit] Overview

Xishuangbanna (西双版纳) (Jinghong (景洪)) is a national scenic area in Yunnan Province, and one of the top tourist destinations in China. Located about 740 km (460 miles) from the provincial city of Kunming, Xishuangbanna is well known for its mysterious tropical rainforests, exotic wild animals, and fascinating minority traditions and customs. The main attractions include Manfeilong Pagoda (曼飞龙佛塔), Ethnic Culture Park (民族风情园), Wild Elephant Gully, Dai People Village, and Menglun Tropical Botanical Garden. Xishuangbanna is home to many ethnic groups, among which the Dai people is the largest. Visitors are always surprised by their unique customs, colorful festivals and spectacular architectures.

[edit] History

The name of Xishuangbanna was established in 1570 during the Ming Dynasty, when the local official, for the purpose of collecting taxes, divided the area into 12 sub-districts, or "Xishuang" (meaning 12 in Dai people's language) "Banna" (In Dai language, a "Banna" is one thousand Mu, a unit of area in Chinese, similar to acre in English). Since then, the name of "Xishuangbanna" in the Dai language became the name of the city.

[edit] Video

Xishuangbanna

Get the Flash Player to see this player.

The name of Xishuangbanna was established in 1570 during the Ming Dynasty, when the local official, for the purpose of collecting taxes, divided the area into 12 sub-districts.

[edit] Map

Click here to open Jinghong map.

[edit] Weather

Xishuangbanna has no winter or summer, only rainy season and dry season. There has never seen any snow in Xishuangbanna in history. Xishuangbanna has year around mild weather with lowest average temperature of 16 ℃ in January, and highest average temperature of 28 ℃ in July. You can visit Xishuangbanna any time, but the best time is from November to April. If you go there from June to September, you can enjoy all the delicious tropical fruits. May to October is the rainy season, but there are still many tourists due to the better road traffic.

Weather averages for Xishuangbanna
Month	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec
Average high °C (°F)	26 (79)	29 (84)	32 (90)	33 (91)	32 (90)	31 (88)	30 (86)	31 (88)	31 (88)	29 (84)	26 (79)	24 (75)
Average low °C (°F)	12 (54)	12 (54)	15 (59)	18 (64)	21 (70)	23 (73)	23 (73)	23 (73)	22 (72)	20 (68)	17 (63)	13 (55)
Rain cm (inches)	0.89 (0.4)	0.94 (0.4)	2.27 (0.9)	3.89 (1.5)	10.7 (4.2)	11.66 (4.6)	16.4 (6.5)	13.97 (5.5)	10.55 (4.2)	6.55 (2.6)	3.81 (1.5)	1.27 (0.5)
Source: per MSN 2008

[edit] Getting in & Getting out

Xishuangbanna is about 342 miles (550 km) from Kunming, the provincial capital of Yunnan province. Visitors can get here by air or by long-distance bus. But there are no railways reaching Xishuangbanna.

[edit] By Air

Xishuangbanna Jinghong Airport is the second largest airport (after Kunming) in Yunnan province. The airport can accommodate such large aircrafts as Boeing 737 and Airbus 319. There are direct flights every day from Kunming to Xishuangbanna. The flying time is about 50 minutes, and it costs about 780 RMB. There are also direct flight routes from Beijing, Shanghai, Chengdu, Chongqing, Bangkok and other cities.

[edit] By Train

No railways reach Xishangbanna.

[edit] By Bus

The high-speed express way from Kunming to Xishuangbanna was opened to the public on April 6, 2006. It stretches 550 km, and buses takes less than 9 hours to complete the journey. The bus terminal at Kunming side is located at the Kunming Long-Distance Passenger Bus Station near Kunming Railway Station. There are more than 20 sleeper buses and regular buses heading for Xishuangbanna every day. The bus fare is about 110-150 RMB, and it's usually adjusted up by 15%-20% during the holidays such as the Chinese New Year.

[edit] By Ship

Jinghong port on the Lancang River is a first-class water port in China. The port consists of three terminals, Jinghong, Ganlanba, and Guanglei.

Jinghong port currently has international tranportation service to Chiang Mai of Myanmar and Vientiane of the Laos.

[edit] Getting Around

[edit] By Public Bus

There are three public bus lines in Jinghong. All the attractions can be reached through bus.

• Bus line #1: Start from the intersection of Civil Aviation Road and Jingde Road (right across the ticket office of Civil Aviation Office) and end at Gasa (嘎洒). The fare is 2 RMB. Stops are Ethnic Culture Park, the Old Gate, and the airport.

• Bus line #2: From Jinghong Port to Gadong (嘎栋) with stops at Jinghong Passenger Station, Tropical Flower Garden, and Botanical Garden. The fare is 2 RMB.

• Bus line #3: Start from the intersection of North Jinghong Road and North Galan Road (嘎兰北路), and end at Manting Park (曼听公园) with stops at Jinghong Passenger Station, Banna Bus Terminal, Farmer's Market, the Golden Phoenix Hotel, Tianshun Supermarket (天顺超市). The fare is 1 RMB.

[edit] By Tour Bus

[edit] By Metro

[edit] By Taxi & Rental Car

The taxi fare starts from 7 RMB.

[edit] Attractions

• Manfeilong Pagoda (曼飞龙佛塔)

Manfeilong Pagoda (曼飞龙佛塔) was built in 1204, and is located on a mountain top behind Manfeilong Village, Town of Damenglong, 76km away from the Jinghong (景洪) city. Its main tower is 16.9 meters tall, and is surrounded by eight smaller ones of the same height (9.1 meters). The cone-shaped pagoda complex is known as "bamboo-shoot pagoda" because it looks like a cluster of bamboo shoots. It is called the White Pagoda because of its white body.

In the southern base is a large footprint of 0.9 meters long and 0.8 meters wide. Legend says that the footprint was left by Sakyamuni when he came here for expounding sutras. Near the pagoda is a well. It is said that Sakyamuni dug the well by magic, so the water in it can cure some eye diseases.

Theravada Buddhism (南传佛学) is practiced by many people in Xishuangbanna (西双版纳). Every village has its temple, often dating back hundreds of years. Almost every Dai (傣族) boy will go to the temple beginning at age six or seven and stay there for two or three years to begin his education and learn the precepts of Theravada Buddhism. The monks give lectures on Buddhist scriptures and perform ksama, a type of confession. Early each morning the monks leave the temple with their "begging bowls" in hand and make their morning rounds to collect food for those staying at the temple. Many men return to the temple and the monastic life several times during their lives for a period of meditation and spiritual revival.

The Songkran Festival (or Water-splashing Festival) (usually on April 13-15) is celebrated here annually by Dai ethnic minority (傣族) to welcome the new year in Dai calendar. With a long history and profound influence, the pagoda attracts hundreds of Buddhist followers from Myanmar and Thailand, who come here for worship in the Buddha.

• Xishuangbanna Nationality Culture Park

Nationality Culture Park (民族风情园) is located on the bank of the Liusha River (流沙河), only one km away from Jinghong (景洪) city. The park with a size of 30 hectares, is divided into south and north section. The south section consists of a plants specimens zone, a tropical fruit zone and a sunbathing and swimming zone. The north section can find the traditional houses and customs of ethnic minorities residing in Jinghong. You can enjoy fascinating ethnic performances and activities on each Wednesday and Saturday evenings.

• The Octagonal Pavilion

• Xishuangbanna Dai Minority Park (西双版纳傣族园)
• Xishuangbanna Virgin Forest Park (原始森林公园)

[edit] Hotels

[edit] Budget

[edit] Restaurants

Dai flavor food enjoys the high reputation as the representative of Yunnan cuisine. Rice, aquatic products, and roasted meats are the main dishes in Dai cuisine. Sour roast meat, Dai-style spicy food, wild-grown vegies all come with unique flavors.

[edit] Shopping

[edit] Night Life & Entertainment

Water-Splashing Festival is a well-known traditional festival celebrating ethnic Dai people's new year. It usually falls on mid April. The activities include dragon boat races, peacock dance, foot-drum dance, fireworks, hosting fairs and sprinkling water to wish each other well. For full three days during the festival, men and women, young and old, enjoy the fun and indulge themselves in the partying spree.

[edit] Sports & Recreation

[edit] Excursions & Day Trips

[edit] Tips & Practical Info

• The plane ticket is hard to get for Xishuangbanna most of times. So be sure to make reservation in advance.
• Remember to bring sunscreen and mosquito mosquito repellent.
• Respect the local Dai People's custom and traditions.
• The area is full of choices of jade and other types of jewelries. There can be some fake ones.
• Pay special attention to safety and health when traveling in the border areas such as Myanmar.

[edit] See also

Baoshan (zh:保山) Chuxiong (zh:楚雄) Dali (zh:大理) Diqing (zh:大庆)

Gejiu (zh:个旧) Jinghong (zh:景洪) Kunming (zh:昆明) Lijiang (zh:丽江)

Lincang (zh:临沧) Lushui (zh:泸水) Pu'er (zh:普洱) Qujing (zh:曲靖)

Ruili (zh:瑞丽) Shangri-la (zh:香格里拉) Wenshan (zh:文山) Yuxi (zh:玉溪) Zhaotong (zh:昭通)

• Yunnan (云南)
• Provinces and Cities

• Southwest China (西南)
• Wikipedia:Xishuangbanna