Xishuangbanna & Jinghong 西双版纳与景洪Xīshuāngbǎnnà yǔ Jǐnghóng

Why go to Xishuangbanna & Jinghong

Jinghong, the capital of Xishuangbanna in Yunnan's tropical far south, straddles the Mekong (here called the Lancang) and has a distinctly Southeast Asian feel. Its Dai people, close kin of the Thai, Lao and Shan, follow Theravada Buddhism: visit the gilded halls and stupas of the main Buddhist temple and Manting Park, once the Dai kings' royal garden, then cross to the riverside Gaozhuang quarter, where the sprawling Starlight Night Market fills with grilled fish, tropical fruit and crafts after dark.

The story

Xishuangbanna is the Chinese form of Sipsongpanna, 'twelve rice-field districts', the Tai kingdom that made Jinghong its capital after the town's founding in 1180. Its New Year, now known as the Water-Splashing Festival, falls around 13–15 April, when people bathe Buddha images, race dragon boats on the river and drench one another with water as a blessing for the year ahead.

What to see at Xishuangbanna & Jinghong

• Manting Park 曼听公园: The former garden of the Dai kings, now a park in the heart of Jinghong, and an easy first stop.
• Manchunman Temple 曼春满佛寺: A Dai Buddhist temple in the Ganlanba area, on the national heritage list.
• Xishuangbanna Ethnic Museum 西双版纳傣族自治州民族博物馆: The prefecture's ethnic-culture museum in Jinghong, open from Tuesday to Sunday.

How to visit Xishuangbanna & Jinghong

Jinghong is easy to do on foot and by taxi: Manting Park and the riverside by day, and the Gaozhuang night market after dark. Ganlanba, about 35 km away, makes a half-day trip for the temples and the Dai villages. The ethnic museum is closed on Mondays. One day covers the town; a second adds Ganlanba or the botanical garden.

How to get to Xishuangbanna & Jinghong

Bullet trains on the China–Laos Railway run from Kunming South to Xishuangbanna station, on the edge of Jinghong, in about 3–3.5 hours; flights from Kunming take about an hour. From the station it is a 10–15-minute taxi ride to the centre.

Where to stay

Stay in Jinghong city near the river, within reach of Manting Park and the Gaozhuang night market.

What to eat

• Lemongrass grilled fish 香茅草烤鱼: A Dai speciality of fish marinated with lemongrass and spices and grilled over charcoal.
• Bamboo-tube rice 竹筒饭: Rice cooked inside a length of fresh bamboo, a Dai staple of the region.
• Pineapple purple-rice 傣式菠萝紫米饭: Purple glutinous rice stuffed into a hollowed pineapple and steamed; guides describe it as sweet and a little sour.

Tips for visiting Xishuangbanna & Jinghong

• For the Water-Splashing Festival, book rooms and train tickets well ahead and expect to be soaked: keep your phone and passport in a waterproof pouch.
• Missed the festival? The Dai Ethnic Park at Ganlanba, about 35 km south-east, takes in five lived-in Dai villages, including Manchunman with its old temple, and stages water-splashing every day.
• Xishuangbanna borders Laos and Myanmar; carry your passport, which hotels, trains and road checkpoints ask to see.

Nearby

• Xishuangbanna Tropical Botanical Garden 中国科学院西双版纳热带植物园 50 km
  China's largest botanical garden, with giant banyans, palms and true primary rainforest
• Old Tea Forests of Jingmai Mountain 景迈山古茶林 90 km
  Ancient tea trees grown beneath the forest canopy around Blang and Dai villages

Also within 30 km: Xishuangbanna Southern Medicine Garden 西双版纳南药园 (under 10 km), Xishuangbanna Tropical Flower Garden 西双版纳热带花卉园 (under 10 km), Mengle Great Buddhist Temple 勐泐大佛寺 (under 10 km), Xishuangbanna Sunac Theme Park 西双版纳融创乐园 (under 10 km), Xishuangbanna Primeval Forest Park 西双版纳原始森林公园 (under 10 km), Wild Elephant Valley 野象谷 (20 km).

On the map

Open Xishuangbanna & Jinghong on the illustrated map to see the terrain around it, what else is close, and to add it to a trip and plan the days.

Learn more

• Wikipedia: Xishuangbanna Dai Autonomous Prefecture