Atlas of China
Lincang 临沧Líncāng
Black-tea hills, ancient rock art and a Wa face-smearing carnival by the border
About Lincang
Lincang, named for the nearby Lancang (Mekong) River, is tea country: Dianhong, Yunnan's black tea, was first made at Fengqing in 1939, and Mengku's big-leaf tea variety, from Shuangjiang, is now grown across south-west Yunnan. Along the Myanmar border, Cangyuan is the heartland of the Wa, with the rebuilt village of Wengding, rock paintings some 3,000 years old and a face-smearing carnival around 1 May. Lushi Ancient Town keeps a stretch of the Tea Horse Road.
What to eat in Lincang
- Dianhong black tea (滇红)
- Wa chicken porridge (鸡肉烂饭)
Listed sites in Lincang
10 sites in Lincang are on the official lists. Those with a page of their own link to it; the rest open as cards on the map.
- Banhong Hulu Wang Di (Banhong Incident Site) 班洪葫芦王地 4A scenic area · on the map
A scenic area around Banhong, a Wa village on the Myanmar border in Cangyuan county, where local Wa people clashed with British forces in 1934 as a silver-mining company moved in from Burma. - Cangyuan Rock Paintings & Sigangli Valley 沧源崖画 4A scenic area · National heritage site
Red rock paintings at 17 sites on limestone cliffs at 1,200–2,000 metres in Cangyuan county, made with haematite pigment, apparently by finger, and dated by uranium-series tests to about 3,800–2,700 years ago. - Hulu (Gourd) Town, Cangyuan 葫芦小镇 4A scenic area
A Wa-themed leisure quarter built on the edge of Cangyuan county town around Gourd Lake, with red-walled Wa-style buildings, totem carvings and large gourd sculptures recalling the Wa creation myth. - Mengxiang Wetland Park 勐相湿地公园 4A scenic area · on the map
A wetland park on the edge of Gengma county town, laid out around a lake with reed beds, groves of trees and boardwalks. - Rongkangda Oolong Tea Estate 荣康达乌龙茶庄园 4A scenic area · on the map
A company-run oolong tea estate and eco-cultural park in Shahe township just outside Shuangjiang county town, with tea gardens spread over the surrounding hills. - Wanyao Pottery Village, Boshang 博尚碗窑 4A scenic area · on the map
A pottery village in Boshang town south of Lincang city, founded according to the county gazetteer in 1738 by three potters from Hunan who built dragon kilns to use the local clay. - Wengding Wa Village 翁丁 4A scenic area
A Wa village in Cangyuan county long described as the most completely preserved traditional Wa settlement, with thatched stilt houses (people lived above, livestock below) and ritual posts once used in sacrifices. - Guangyun Temple 广允缅寺 National heritage site
A Theravada Buddhist temple in Mengdong, the county town of Cangyuan, also known as Xuetang ('school') Temple. - Liulang River Water Mills 流浪河磨房群 National heritage site · on the map
A group of Qing-dynasty water mills along the middle reach of the Liulang River at Gumo village in Shili township, northern Fengqing county. - Mengwang and Northwest Pagodas 勐旺塔及西北塔 National heritage site · on the map
Two Ming-dynasty pagodas north-west of central Lincang, listed together as a national heritage unit.
On the map
Open Lincang on the illustrated map to see its outline, its places and listed sites together, and to add them to a trip.
Open Lincang on the map