Visiting Xishuangbanna at the beginning of the new year

Number of days：3 days
Time: January
Average cost: 5800 yuan
With whom: and parents
Updated: 2023.01.30

I haven't traveled abroad in a few years, and now that we've reopened, I'm eager to get out and about. I'm probably going to take my first trip abroad in June or July. Since I can't go abroad right now, I'll go to Xishuangbanna first. I've always felt that Xishuangbanna actually has some similarities to Thailand, from the architecture to the food.

For this trip, we booked a Lingpai from a certain company and picked it up and dropped it off at Gasa Airport.

Botanical Garden of the Chinese Academy of Sciences

The Botanical Garden of the Chinese Academy of Sciences is a favorite of mine. It's a scenic spot that combines sightseeing and scientific research. To learn more about the plants, we hired a tour guide, and the guide's explanations were quite interesting. We saw palm trees here. I never expected palm trees to be herbaceous plants. It really broadened our horizons.

We also saw some really large lotus flowers here. It's really huge, and so beautiful. The stamens inside are absolutely stunning. We also saw some really large lotus leaves. As expected of the Chinese Academy of Sciences Botanical Garden, it feels like they can be number one in everything.

While I was still immersed in the beauty of the water lilies, new and unfamiliar plants in front of me caught my eye. Although I know I'm not well-educated and my knowledge is limited, it's a little hard to accept how "shallow" I am when I got here. So, we started looking at all kinds of plants, and I was dazzled by what I saw. If it weren't for the tour guide's constant introductions, I'm afraid I would have been like Granny Liu entering the Grand View Garden, where everything was strange but I didn't understand anything.

Those various kinds of Pinguicornis that I have only seen in popular science books, I can actually see them here. I highly recommend everyone coming here to see these plants; it's truly an eye-opener. If you have children who love plants, this place is a must-see. The moment the pictures of pitcher plants and Venus flytraps come to mind, it feels so worth it.

We took tons of photos in the botanical garden. After returning, we organized them—this is our little encyclopedia of plants.

After leaving the Chinese Academy of Sciences Botanical Garden, we went to our hotel. The hotel has a huge swimming pool.

Day 2: Water Splashing Festival

On the second day, our main attraction was the Dai Garden Water Splashing Festival. We had a lot of fun splashing water, but we didn't take any photos, which is a pity.

We had a lot of fun splashing water, but we didn't take any photos, which is a pity. This shows that finding a travel photography studio is more appropriate.

When you arrive at the Dai Garden, you absolutely must wear Dai clothing. The feeling is instantly clear as soon as you put on the clothing. The clothing sold here is indeed average quality, but the price is also okay, 80 yuan. Everyone can afford it. I guess this is the business strategy of these street vendors.

After putting on the costumes, we were all super happy, so we asked friends to take pictures, took pictures of each other, and asked passers-by to take pictures. I was so happy, and I still feel excited when I think about it now.

We also picked a lot of carambolas here. It was the first time I knew carambolas were so delicious. It goes to show that things that are ripe on the tree really taste better.

Day 3: Continue to visit the Dai Garden

For our third trip, we continued to visit the Dai Garden. Actually, the Dai Garden is the perfect place to visit Xishuangbanna. We walked past the Water Splashing Square. I didn't splash water today, which made me even more regretful that I didn't take photos yesterday.

Passing by the water splashing square, I heard the beautiful sound of birdsong. Following the sound, I found a peacock garden. The peacocks here are much more beautiful than those at the zoo. Look at their feathers, so full. There aren't many peacock feathers at the zoo, and seeing someone selling peacock feathers at the zoo, I couldn't help but wonder. After passing the Peacock Garden, we continued walking and saw the White Pagoda Temple. There is a banana plantation next to the White Pagoda Temple. There are so many bananas in the banana plantation. Some were covered in bags, others separated by foam. The bananas here grow incredibly densely. Walking through the banana plantation, smelling the fragrance of bananas, was a delightful experience. Nature always offers us many surprises. We also saw something we didn't know what kind of fruit it was. My guess is it was a sugar apple. Anyway, in Xishuangbanna, we always see so many beautiful tropical plants and fruits. In the afternoon, we started to move to another place, Mengla Inn. It is about 90 kilometers away from Xishuangbanna. We drove all the way there. We only found out after we arrived that the place wouldn't be open to tourists until January 8th. So, we just took a few photos outside.

There's a small shop here. They sell Vietnamese and Laotian currency. Although I haven't been to either place, I figured I'd buy some commemorative coins. I originally wanted to mail a postcard from the post office, but it was closed. So, I just got a stamp as a souvenir. The weather here is really good, but different from that in Xishuangbanna.

The weather here is really good, but different from that in Xishuangbanna. While Xishuangbanna may have some taller buildings, the houses here are mostly low, and even the small pavilions seem shorter than elsewhere.

Day 4: Crossing the Pine Forest

Our fourth day was spent traversing the jungle. We woke up in the morning and had breakfast at the inn. After a quick bite, we headed to Mengyuanbi Wonderland. Note that the tour opens at 10 a.m., and since we were early, we had to wait outside for a while. There are several packages for traversing the rainforest, and we chose the one costing 238. It's recommended that you find a guide to accompany you. The guide can explain the route. After reaching the mountain, we also saw Rafflesia flowers. We were so lucky. The chances of encountering a Rafflesia flower are quite low, as it only blooms for three days. Actually, visiting Xishuangbanna in winter is quite pleasant. After all, in the summer, snakes are always lurking in the jungle. For someone like me who's extremely afraid of snakes, it's a nightmare.

I highly recommend embarking on a jungle trek; you'll encounter all sorts of beautiful plants and flowers along the way. On the fifth day we set out for the Wild Elephant Valley. In order to get to the Wild Elephant Valley early, we drove to a nearby village the night before. It's been a while since I've lived in a village, and this time I felt especially happy.

The next day, when we set out from the village to the Wild Elephant Valley, the villagers gave us some dragon fruit.

After leaving the Wild Elephant Valley, we started to walk back to Xishuangbanna. On the last day in Xishuangbanna, we played around and said goodbye to this beautiful city.