You must visit Banna once in your life

Number of days：6 days
Time: March
With whom: and parents
Updated: 2023.03.26

March is the month of spring, and the orioles are beginning to sing. This is the best time of the year. Traveling or wandering in your mind is the only way to feel close to spring. I've longed for it, and it's time to get out on the road. When we were little, you held my hand, and now I'm walking with you. The tropical rainforest at 21 degrees north latitude might be a good choice. Yes, this is where the peacocks fly—Xishuangbanna.

Some netizens shared their travel experience like this: "Feeling the free wind, drinking leisurely wine, and being a person with no return date." Life is a journey. There's no need to rush. Each journey has its own scenery and beauty. Therefore, we chose to travel independently on this trip, visiting one or two attractions a day, stopping and strolling, focusing on leisurely sightseeing.

Day1:

Chongqing——Xishuangbanna Starlight Night Market, Shwedagon Pagoda

Accommodation: Dai Palace Thai Style Inn

Day2:

Manting Royal Garden Zongfo Temple

Accommodation: Miman Inn

Day3:

Xishuangbanna Tropical Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy of Sciences

Accommodation: Xishuangbanna Wanglian Hotel (inside the botanical garden)

Day4:

Wangtianshu Scenic Area of Tropical Rainforest National Park

Accommodation: Baixing B&B

Day5:

Xishuangbanna Primitive Forest Park, Dai Garden

Accommodation: Baixing B&B

Day6:

Jinghong City - Return

We set off, passing through hills and mountains, dense forests and vegetable fields. The ever-changing scenery outside the car window, like cauliflowers attracting bees and willows sprouting, aroused my expectations

Xishuangbanna's four main tourist attractions are heat (tropical rainforests, tropical flora and fauna), Dai (multi-ethnic folk customs, with the Dai people as the main focus), water (the Lancang-Mekong River, which connects six countries), and border (the exotic customs of the China-Myanmar and China-Laos borders). Gaozhuang Xishuangjing, located in the heart of the Lancang River Ethnic Tourism Resort in Xishuangbanna, aims to recreate the splendor of ancient Jinghong and create a prosperous "city within Jinghong." Located close to the Lancang River, it has developed rapidly in recent years and has become the first stop for most tourists arriving in Banna. Its architectural complex is breathtaking, including the Riverside Rainforest Path, the Baixiang Welcoming Path, the Carnival Entertainment Avenue, the Shwedagon Pagoda Assembly Square, and the Mekong River Family. The Shwedagon Pagoda, nestled in the center of the area, is particularly impressive from every angle. Dressed in winter clothes in the morning and switching to summer clothes in the evening, you'll stroll through streets lined with tropical plants like palm trees and traveler's palms, mingle among the bustling crowds, and linger in the glittering night market, filled with people checking in, selling goods, and entertaining themselves... It's a bustling scene, as if night is the only time it wakes up.

Today is the first day of our official Banna tour. We chose the Zongfo Temple and Manting Park in Jinghong City.

Zongfo Temple

This is a center of Buddhist worship, attracting a constant stream of worshippers. It best embodies the universal Buddhist faith of Xishuangbanna. The Grand Buddhist Temple boasts a majestic architecture, each corner unique and the exquisitely carved beams and pillars are a true delight to behold. The temple is connected to Manting Park, and visitors generally enter the Grand Buddhist Temple from Manting Park.

The most eye-catching feature of the park is the covered bridge. The layers of wooden arches on the ceiling resemble the flapping wings of a peacock, which is both very ethnic and very beautiful, and it complements the beautiful scenery of the lake and mountains in the park.

Along the way, various exotic flowers and plants always remind you that you are in the tropics. The traveler's palm, also known as the peacock tree, looks like a large folding fan, standing tall and graceful, with obvious trunk lines, just like a tree in a painting.

The Dai Palace, with its hollowed-out gate walls and an exotic atmosphere, has become a popular backdrop for tourists to check in. It's almost impossible to find a place without people there, so I had to rush into a corner of the palace to take photos.

I have seen red and crimson bougainvillea before, but this is the first time I have seen pink bougainvillea. It is so pure and clear, and very beautiful.

After visiting Manting Park, we stayed at the Miman Inn next to the park. Although the inn is not big, it is full of surprises. The small but exquisite items all exude tranquility and elegance.

Today's itinerary involves a chartered car trip to the Botanical Garden of the Chinese Academy of Sciences. Located in Huludao, Menglun Town, Mengla County, the garden is China's largest, boasts the richest collection of plants, and the most specialized botanical gardens. The palm garden is approximately 70 kilometers from downtown Jinghong. As the car drives along the mountain road into the forested area, the air amidst the lush greenery becomes exceptionally fresh and fragrant.

The botanical garden is divided into two sections: the East Section and the West Section. The eastern section features a tropical karst rainforest, while the western section showcases a rich variety of tropical plants. For a more enjoyable experience, stay at the Victoria Hotel within the scenic area.

I put down my luggage and walked on the green path that blocked out the sun. I felt so excited. Please forgive my curiosity. I walked into the Grand View Garden like Liu Laolao and entered the magical world of plants.

Do palm trees have growth rings? Actually, palm trees are not trees, but herbs with hollow cores and vertical fibers.

The lush branches and swaying shadows make it feel like stepping into the Wizard of Oz, but in fact, various strangulations of the plant kingdom are also taking place.

Banyan Tree - A Single Tree Forms a Forest

Touch it, you’ll win more at the mahjong table. Jackfruit, blooms and bears fruit on the kang

Golden-billed Heliconia, like a macaw's face

Dongzong - a national second-level key protected wild plant, with leaves that look like fish scales

Victoria Victoria. Unfortunately, it is not the season for Victoria Victoria yet.

Carefree Flower

The Heliconius, also known as the Fortune Bird, looks like a chick with its mouth open waiting to be fed.

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Staghorn fern, an iconic species of tropical rainforest, has a graceful posture and its leaves are divided like antlers.

Cocoa tree

Colorful carnivorous plants

Buddha Belly Tree - Don't be fooled by its bright and beautiful flowers, they are poisonous!

Golden cup flower exuding a rich chocolate fragrance

If you don't read the introduction, you might think it's a cactus. In fact, it's a Euphorbiaceae

Beautiful bento flower

The seeds of the oil palm have a waxy luster.

The night and day in Banna seemed to pass in an instant. Five minutes ago, it was pitch black, and in an instant, it was completely bright. A fiery red sunrise was climbing above the treetops.

“The road is empty, and a myriad of trees stand tall. A blanket of smoke shrouds the ten-mile slope.”

After breakfast, we took a taxi to the Menglun Service Area and joined a tour group for a one-day tour of the Parashorea chinensis scenic area.

The Parashorea chinensis is a rare and endemic tree species found only in Yunnan, China. It is found only within a 20-square-kilometer area from Bubang and Guangnali Xinzhai to Jingpiao in Xishuangbanna. The Parashorea chinensis scenic area is the core of the Xishuangbanna tropical rainforest, located 14 kilometers northeast of Mengla County and approximately 170 kilometers from downtown Jinghong. It's the only oasis at 21 degrees north latitude and the only place in China where you can fully experience the tropical rainforest from land, water, and air. Upon entering the park, take a boat tour of the Nanla River, known as the "Amazon of the East," before ascending the steps and venturing into a dense forest path surrounded by trees. The park boasts numerous Parashorea chinensis trees, some over 80 meters tall.

The Parashorea chinensis canopy walkway is a suspended bridge over 30 meters high, built between the trunks of ten Parashorea chinensis trees. From above, you can take in the entire scenery below.

"Remarriage" in plants - Climbing the dragon and attaching to the phoenix

Today's itinerary is to visit Xishuangbanna Primeval Forest Park and Dai Garden.

Xishuangbanna Primeval Forest Park is located east of Jinghong and north of the Lancang River, 8 kilometers away from the outskirts of Jinghong City. It is the closest virgin forest to Jinghong City in the entire state. This valley rainforest includes the Aini Mountain Village, monkey area, peacock tree, and valley rainforest area.

We first took a sightseeing bus to the top of the mountain and entered the valley rainforest area. Although the area of the rainforest available for tours is not as large as the Tianshu Scenic Area, the lush green sea is enough to make people breathe freely and feel happy physically and mentally.

Among the many attractions in the park, the peacock release is the most anticipated event. As a whistle blows, groups of peacocks fall from the sky, which is a spectacular sight.

Warm reminder, if you are going to watch the peacock flying performance, you must pay attention to the scheduled performance time and prepare in advance. Otherwise, there may be so many spectators that you won’t even have a chance to look around.

In Banna, many names are named "Man". After asking the driver, I learned that "Man" means village.

The Dai Garden, known as China's first natural ecological village, is located in Olive Dam, Xishuangbanna. The scenic area is composed of the five most well-preserved Dai natural villages in my country: Manjiang, Manchunman, Manting, Mancha and Manga, covering an area of 3.36 square kilometers. Here, the tropical pastoral scenery is charming and charming, like a paradise on earth

Manchunman Ancient Buddhist Temple is the largest Buddhist temple in the Dai Garden. It is large and luxurious, and the entire Buddhist temple is magnificent.

Water Splashing Festival is a festival that best embodies the customs of the Dai people. Splashing oneself with wetness brings happiness for life. Splashing Water Square is the most popular gathering place in the park. Look, once the participants who were cautious at first got wet, they couldn't stop. The joyful atmosphere infected every participant and onlooker present.