Sights in Ruili

The Jiele Golden Pagoda, known as Guangmu Hemao in the Dai language, means "Ruili Dam Head Pagoda." From afar, the towering summit stands majestically, rivaling the Shwedagon Pagoda in Yangon, Myanmar, and Borobudur in Indonesia. Legend has it that the pagoda was built 2,500 years ago during the reign of King Zhao Wuding of the Mengmao Kingdom, making it the oldest Buddhist structure in Ruili.

During major Dai festivals, such as the "Gan Duo" (market fair) festival, not only Dai people from villages near and far in Ruili come to pay homage to the Jielejin Pagoda, but even monks from Myanmar, Thailand and other places often travel thousands of miles to Guangmuhemao to pay homage.

The Mori Scenic Area combines natural and cultural landscapes with Buddhist culture. The Zaduo River meanders through the area, and the spectacular Mori Waterfall cascades down a 60-meter cliff. The area is home to towering ancient trees, a rich variety of vegetation, and a variety of rare and exotic wild animals.

"Moli" is Dai language, meaning "beautiful waterfall". The ancients called it "Zado", which is a Dai place name, meaning "blind tube canyon". It is called "Jie Tuo" in Burmese, "Badong" in Pali, and commonly known as "Buddha's Footprint".

The scenic area boasts the "Buddha's Footprint," a legendary giant footstep of the Buddha Shakyamuni, renowned in the Buddhist world of South and Southeast Asia. Countless believers have flocked to the area and painted it with gold powder. Especially during Buddhist festivals, the area is bustling with pilgrims.

The big banyan tree in the Du Shu Cheng Lin Scenic Area has a mother tree trunk that spreads out in all directions, and aerial roots grow from the branches. The aerial roots grow into thick trunks in the soil, and then spread out to further places, forming this banyan forest, which is a breathtaking sight of a single tree forest.

According to research, this large banyan tree is over a hundred years old, with seven or eight people hugging its trunk. Its branches and leaves are lush and evergreen all year round. Banyan trees hold a high position in Buddhism and are considered sacred trees.

The border line divides a Dai village into two parts, the Chinese side is called Yinjing and the Myanmar side is called Mangxiu.

There is no natural barrier on the border, so it is common for Chinese melon vines to climb onto Myanmar's bamboo fences to bear melons, and for Myanmar's hens to run to Chinese residents' homes to lay eggs.

The people of the two countries in the village speak the same language and have the same customs. They walk the same road, drink water from the same well, go to the same market, live in harmony, and have passed down this tradition from generation to generation, which has become a legend.

Jiegao Port is a national-level border trade port and one of the busiest land routes for China's trade with Myanmar.

Across from the national gate is the city of Muse, Myanmar. It consists of three magnificent buildings, built along the border. The center is the main national gate, the right is for cargo, and the left is for people. Next to the main national gate is a duty-free shop where travelers can purchase imported goods according to regulations.

The Ruili River was called Nanmao River or Wushui River in Dai language in ancient times. It was called Luchuan River in the Yuan and Ming dynasties. In the Qing Dynasty, it was called Longchuan River and Ruili River.

The upper reaches of the Ruili River are called Longjiang River, which originates from the west side of Gaoligong Mountain, flows through Tengchong Longchuan, Lianghe and other counties, flows into Myanmar through Wanding and Ruili, and flows into the Irrawaddy River near Yiniwa, Myanmar. More than 20 kilometers of it is the boundary river between China and Myanmar. It is a long-flowing subtropical river.

The Ruili River flows gently and is as clear as a mirror. There are vast expanses of fertile fields along the river, and Dai villages are surrounded by trees and bamboos. The scenery is picturesque and very beautiful.

The Dai Historical Mural Gallery is over 400 meters long and consists of 104 mural scrolls with a total painting area of ​​1,200 square meters. It took the creators three years to complete it.

The entire set of scrolls uses the freehand brushwork techniques of Chinese painting, focusing on several major themes such as historical process, culture and art, ethnic customs, and caring, covering the entire historical and cultural changes of the Dai people in South Asia and Southeast Asia, and vividly reproducing the glorious political, economic, cultural, artistic and religious history of the Dai kingdoms such as the Daguang Kingdom and the Guozhanbi Kingdom, showing the historical development process, ethnic customs and production and living scenes of the Dai people.

The China-Myanmar Street is approximately 1.5 kilometers long. The national border is located in the middle of the street. The section on the Chinese side is called "China-Myanmar Friendship Street," while the Burmese section on the Burmese side is known as "White Elephant Street."

The China-Myanmar Street is lined with shops and can be called an "international trade street". The goods on display here include: jewelry, jade, jadeite and agate, cosmetics from various countries, teak carvings, as well as wild vegetables, fresh seafood from the Bay of Bengal, tropical fruits, etc.

At night, the place becomes even more lively than during the day, with brilliant lights and flashing neon lights. Stalls selling Burmese coffee, milk tea, swaying baba, lemon tea, and Jingpo barbecue attract many diners. Local specialties are also available, making you salivate.

The unique "One Courtyard, Two Countries" attraction is located in the home of a Dai farmer near Hongzhai Village in Ruilitun. In his yard stands Boundary Marker No. 84, marking the China-Myanmar border. This is where the phrase "One Courtyard, Two Countries" comes from. This boundary marker is a double marker. Because the China-Myanmar border lies in the middle of a river, erecting a marker is not feasible. Therefore, according to relevant international regulations, each side set back a certain distance to erect a marker.

The Jewelry Pedestrian Street is located in the city center of Ruili. It is well-known in the jewelry industry for its centralized sales and exhibition of tens of thousands of dazzling and priceless jewelry. It is the most prosperous street in Ruili.

The Jewelry Pedestrian Street was built in 1993. There are now nearly 200 jewelry stores in the entire pedestrian street. The jewelry on the pedestrian street is mainly jadeite, and the prices range from mobile phone pendants worth a few yuan to ornaments worth tens of millions of yuan.

"Wanding" is a Dai word meaning "sun at its zenith," hence the name "the place where the sun is at its zenith." Wanding, also known as Menghui, means "big mountain valley village." It is the smallest national-level border city in China and is also known as a "pocket city" on the border.

A hundred years ago, this area was a wilderness infested with jackals and wolves. A narrow path served as the "post road" leading outside the country; a dilapidated thatched cottage by the Wanding River served as an "inn" where passing merchants could water their horses and rest.

Located on the edge of Wanding City, it serves as the gateway to China's southwest, a key link to the Yunnan-Mianyang Highway, and a link between the China-India Highway. It's the terminus of National Highway 320. It connects Kunming to Shanghai in the north, Lashio in Myanmar to Yangon in the south, and northwest to India. It's truly a single bridge, a gateway that holds no way out! Its natural beauty and historical significance have earned it international acclaim, drawing worldwide attention.

Located on the Wanding River on the southern edge of the city, this bridge serves as both the border bridge between China and Myanmar and the entry and exit point for the Yunnan-Burma Highway, marking the China-Myanmar Friendship Bridge. The bridgehead houses the Customs and Border Inspection Station of the People's Republic of China. Every morning at 8:00 a.m., a flag-raising ceremony and opening ceremony are held here.

Ruili River Square is the largest cultural and leisure venue in Ruili City. Built along the Ruili River, the square is covered with green grass, bougainvilleas in full bloom, giant elephant-foot trees standing tall, and cobblestone paths winding through the trees.

The square is filled with overlapping eaves of buildings with ethnic characteristics, the water-splashing dragon pavilion is filled with the sound of wind chimes, the educated youth monument at the entrance stands tall, and the Buddhist Association to the south of the square chants sutras loudly, creating a harmonious picture of the border area.

There are three bridges on the artificial lake on one side of the square: the Pauk-Pauk Bridge, the Water Splashing Bridge and the Munao Bridge, which respectively symbolize the everlasting friendship between China and Myanmar, the jubilant Water Splashing Festival and the Munao singing and dancing with thousands of people.

Jiegao Jade City primarily wholesales raw jade and sells petrified jade. The busiest hours are from 8:00 to 10:00 a.m., when people flock to buy and sell raw jade. Jewelry carvers often come here to "pan" for raw jade, which they then take home for resale or carving.

Another attraction of Jade City is the petrified jade, which comes in all shapes and sizes, ranging from the smallest one as small as a pen holder to the largest one as tall as four or five meters.

The Banyan King in Jiedonglai faces Ruili Dam and backs onto Jingpo Mountain. It is a natural beauty that combines the mountain and the dam. The banyan tree here covers an area of ​​several acres and is the largest in Ruili, so it is called the Banyan King.

Next to the Banyan Tree King stands a seemingly ordinary temple, but within it lies the largest bamboo Buddha statue in China to date. The statue, approximately 5 meters tall and 3 meters wide, depicts Sakyamuni in a meditative state, chanting sutras. The sculpture was woven by Nong Enxiang, a Dai folk artist of Burmese descent and a Chinese national, who spent a month weaving it.

Hansha Temple is one of the most famous temples in Ruili. The former abbot of Hansha Temple, Venerable Wu Bingya Wensa, was a famous monk of Theravada Buddhism in Southern Taiwan and enjoyed high prestige among believers.

Surrounded by bamboo and draped with banyan trees, Hanshazang Temple boasts unique ethnic architectural features. It embodies the essence of Dai architecture and a treasure trove of Dai culture. According to Dai historical records, it was once the capital of the ancient Mengmu Kingdom and is also rumored to have originally been a habitat for mandarin ducks.