August 2023 Yunnan Trip—(Part 3) Xishuangbanna

Number of days: 4 days
With whom：parents and children
Updated: 2023.08.28

My trip to Xishuangbanna was a group study tour focused on connecting with and exploring nature. The tour was scheduled for six days and five nights, but only four days were actually planned. The first and last two days were unplanned, so I'll just write it as four days.

Xishuangbanna is rainy and the weather is unpredictable, so always bring rain gear and sunscreen. Even when it rains or at night, it's not too cold; a light jacket will suffice.

——Itinerary

D1: Sun River Forest Park. Zipline tour, explore the forest park, and get up close with the animals. Accommodation at the Red Panda Manor.

D2: Morning free at leisure (crafts at the Red Panda Manor's Forest Experience Center). Afternoon: Wild Elephant Valley, elephant conservation, and camping.

D3: Xishuangbanna Tropical Botanical Garden. Family games, rainforest adventure, and a night tour of the botanical garden. Accommodation at the Victoria Hotel. Day 4: Xishuangbanna Tropical Botanical Garden. Mission Challenge. Afternoon Dai Village Experience, Bonfire Party. Accommodation: Overnight at the Wanglian Hotel. Tours: [Sun River Forest Park] Of the three main areas we visited, this was my favorite because I had the rare opportunity to pet a red panda! The animals at the forest park are free-range, and while none are particularly aggressive, they are mostly vegetarian. You can get up close to the monkeys, but avoid getting too close. Interacting with them requires guidance from staff. While there aren't many species, the experience of seeing them through cages is quite unique. There were rhinos (which you could pet), slow lorises (very lazy, constantly lying in a tree), barking muntjacs (which looked like deer), macaques (we saw a baby monkey clinging to its mother for milk), giant salamanders, also known as spinulosa, white-cheeked gibbons (which came out and perched on the pavilion beams, looking down at us from above, their bodies all black with a white patch on their faces, resembling Peking Opera masks), white-naped cranes (which you could feed), black bears (two, two-year-old babies), and red pandas (which initially hid in a tree and refused to come down, but were lured down by the keepers with food and whistles. You could pet their fur, which was a bit rough and wiry, but super cute). The tour was guided by a guide who provided explanations along the way, and you learned a lot. Another activity was the jungle zipline. Non-slip shoes are recommended; it's not too difficult, but it does require some stamina. We did it in the rain, and several sections of the tightrope walk were slippery.

Red Panda

White Rhino

Macaque

White-naped Crane

[Wild Elephant Valley] 1. Listen to the elephant father's class and tell the story of rescuing elephants; 2. Bath the elephants, walk the mountain path that elephants walk on, see elephants scratching themselves and defecating on the trees, and give the elephants a physical examination; 3. Enter the campsite and be lucky enough to see 6 wild elephants, including a 1-year-old baby elephant. We also saw two baby elephants fighting.

[Xishuangbanna Tropical Botanical Garden] The tour guide will lead the whole tour, talking about plants and insects. There are many unique plants and the scenery is also beautiful. We were unlucky as it rained on the night of our tour, so many insects hid and were nowhere to be seen, but we still had a lot of fun. You can go up and take pictures with the Victoria amazonica, but it depends on your luck and whether you are overweight. The weight limit depends on the season. In midsummer, heavier people can go up, but in late summer, the Victoria amazonica gradually stops growing, so lighter people can sit.

Note Flower

Iron Tree Blossom src="https://dimg04.c-ctrip.com/images/1mf4512000c0upcjp6138_R_800_10000_Q90.jpg?proc=autoorient" /> Golden-mouthed Scorpiontail Flower

Strangler Fig

Parashorea chinensis

——Accommodation

[Crowne Plaza Hotel]

We stayed here on the first day. There are peacocks roaming in the lobby, but it's best not to get too close as they seem wild. There are two mynah birds hanging by the door, and they can talk a little. There's a craft shop to the right of the lobby. When we went, they only had papermaking and pottery, and finished paper products are available 24 hours a day. A little further from the lobby's customer service area is the refreshments area. To the left is the Western restaurant (café), and to the right is the Chinese restaurant. Further ahead is the outdoor pool, and further still is the fitness room and indoor pool.

The room is spacious and has a balcony. The service was excellent. The front desk clerk proactively opened the car door, helped with luggage, and showed us to our room. The front desk was also very welcoming. There are so many rooms, and it felt like walking 10 minutes to get there, like navigating a maze. Fortunately, we found a shortcut that led directly to the lobby. Breakfast was served in the Western restaurant. The buffet was extensive, with a wide selection of breads, muffins, and donuts, as well as Chinese favorites like fried rice and porridge. There was also a wide variety of sauces and yogurt toppings, and drinks included soy milk and yogurt. You can also order food to your room.

【Red Panda Manor】

The hotel is a single-family wooden house in the woods, and you can hear the sound of rain on the roof. The space is spacious, and the bed has an electric blanket installed. The disposable items are packaged with cartoon red pandas. You basically have to rely on electric carts to get around; the place is too large, and there's not much to see. You can participate in activities at the Forest Experience Center, which offers a wide variety of indoor and outdoor activities. However, they're not cheap, and you should ask for exact completion times. For example, the insect amber making process is listed as taking an hour and a half, but in reality, the first three steps take an hour, followed by the final steps, which take half an hour, in the afternoon. You'll then have to wait a day or two for the finished product. There's a wetland restaurant on the estate, and the breakfast and hot pot buffet are both delicious, with a wide variety of options.

[Camping in Wild Elephant Valley] It takes over half an hour to walk to the campsite, and the accommodations are limited. It's recommended to pack light and forget about tablets, as there's no light at night and reading tablets hurts your eyes. The tents are in good condition and the sleep is quite comfortable, though a little damp is unavoidable. To wash up, you have to walk a short distance to the public bathroom, which is limited to only three stalls. Lighting comes entirely from camping lanterns. We were unlucky; it rained that night, and we couldn't see any stars. When the rain stopped at 10 p.m., I planned to check the river for any animals, but it was pitch black and I couldn't see anything. I went back to bed in despair. However, in the middle of the night, I heard a few howling wild elephants, probably telling the children to leave.

[Wanglian Hotel] The only hotel in the Botanical Garden, you can explore the garden right outside. However, you can't use the park's electric carts with your room card; you have to pay separately. The facilities are good. However, although the rooms have balconies, it's difficult to dry clothes outside. It's faster to hang them in the air conditioner. There are two decent places to eat in the garden: the hotel's Chinese restaurant and the barbecue restaurant in the bamboo garden. I personally recommend the barbecue, but it's only available for dinner. Lunch is a buffet, so the food is quite average.