Do the math, the last time I came to Banna was ten years ago. This warm paradise in the southwest of the border, with the "Southern Town" where the Lancang River flows, is the hometown that Cao Fang has sung many times, and it has always been a special existence in my heart.
Nanlan Zhang
Nanlan palm is the name of "Lancang River" in the ancient Dai language.
Today, ten years later, Jinghong City has not changed much, but with the expansion of the urban area, the other side of the river has changed from a barren land in the past to a bustling city that never sleeps. The construction of commercial apartment buildings, tourist Buddhist temples, and large-scale night markets has made this place the most popular destination in Jinghong.
Only after I came here this time did I realize that Xishuangbanna has become their new "migratory bird habitat" after they "captured" Hainan Island in pursuit of the warm "Northeast Army".
The starlight night market in Gaozhuang West Shuangjing is brightly lit and as lively as the train night market in Bangkok, almost stealing all the limelight from the original night market and bar street on Binjiang Road in the urban area.
Rows and rows of neat booths, all kinds of small commodities, art, specialties and delicacies are available. Walking in the crowd of people, attracted by the dazzling array of goods, the eyes are not enough.
In the huge waterscape area, there are rows of houses on the water connected by wooden bridges, which are still the home of various shops. The artificial waterscape river reflects colored lights, and you can also take a boat to experience the night market scenery.
"Gaozhuang Xishuangjing" means nine towers and twelve villages. It is an open scenic spot that reproduces the prosperous scene of Jinghong in ancient times. The Shwedagon Pagoda facing the center overlooks the entire night market and the Lancang River in the distance from a height, creating a cyberpunk religious aesthetic in the colorful night of Gaozhuang West Shuangjing.
Back in the urban area, Manting Park is still a good place for a walk. As the imperial garden of the Dai king, it is also the oldest park in Banna, where the tropical vegetation is dense, and there are many exquisite pavilions, full of Dai flavor.
The Zongfo Temple next to Manting Park is the most important Buddhist temple in Xishuangbanna. The architecture is exquisite, with carved beams and painted buildings, and the connection between religion and culture is similar, making people feel like Thailand in a trance.
Mandiuzhai, which is not far from Gasa Airport, is surrounded by mountains and facing water. A road leads to the village through the center of the pond. Tall coconut trees are neatly planted on both sides, giving you a sense of freshness.
Watching from family to family, the flowers they planted, the cars they drove, and the stairs leading to the second floor, they never tire of it.
The houses in the village are built one after another along the mountain, and the Buddhist temple of the village is located high on the mountainside. Unlike most of the magnificent Dai temples, this temple is very simple. The tiles on the roof of the temple are the black tiles of ordinary people, but the muddy walls are still covered with simple but exquisite murals.
jungle valley
The last time I came to Banna in the rainy season in summer, I remember the wild elephant valley with light rain, and my eyes were full of fresh green. Sitting on the open cableway and passing over the rainforest, the contrast between the yellow river and the bright green forest is frightening. I was really worried that a python would swallow me up if I fell.
The green color of Wild Elephant Valley in winter is a little less angry, and the cableway has been updated to a closed and safer model. Because in the dry season, there is no trace of the yellow rainforest rapids in the impression. Only by looking carefully on the cableway can we find small streams among the trees.
Boa constrictors and wild elephants naturally don't come and go, but this time they encountered many of the same kind. A black monkey was playing jungle leap in a tree by the road and almost pissed on my head. The other loris curled up on the tree trunk. I don't know if it was shy or too lazy, so I didn't see it raise its head. Even so, Furry still wants to pinch it!
The tour trail should have been refurbished, suspended in the rainforest, not as "down-to-earth" as before. The road is better, but I personally feel that it is less interesting.
And no matter what season, the blue sky, green trees, flowers and creatures in Banna always make people feel comfortable:)
Menghai Tea Township
Xishuangbanna has three administrative districts: Jinghong City, Menghai County and Mengla County. Menghai to the west is the hometown of Pu'er tea, and there are countless tea gardens and old tea trees on Nannuo Mountain.
Along the national road to the west, there are blue sky, white clouds and green trees and fertile fields all the way. In Menghai, I found a wild luxury homestay with affordable prices. Each room faces the rice field, and there is a small landscape pool on the terrace.
The lobby of the homestay is a glass wall for daylighting. There is a big tree with a swing hanging in the front, and a wide lawn on a sloping field at the back. There is an infinity pool at the highest point. In the early morning, the fog is filled, the evening sun is shining, and the night is full of stars.
Tianbian Brown Village
Zhanglang Village in Menghai County is hidden in the high mountains. "Zhanglang" means "the place where frozen elephants are frozen", and it is a village of the Blang nationality with a history of thousands of years.
The road to Zhanglang Village was in good condition at the beginning, until after turning over a few mountains, the asphalt road suddenly disappeared and became a narrow road made of stones. We bumped and bumped all the way to the entrance of Zhanglang Village, and I was really sweating for the tires.
With the increase in population, the village has been divided into Zhanglang Old Village, Zhanglang Middle Village, and Zhanglang New Village. I have visited each village, but I have not seen the well-preserved original ecological settlements in my imagination. There are one or two hotels and a Blang museum in the village. It can be seen that they were built on purpose. Unfortunately, the so-called museum is unmanaged, dilapidated and dusty, and there is nothing to display.
The entire Zhanglang Village has been quietly "modernized" in the past few years. It is a pity that the houses in the village have not been supported by the government and have been repaired as before, and the overall maintenance has been carried out. Most of the Blang people also don't have enough funds to build new and sturdy houses, so they have to use simple materials such as plastic boards to build more space beside the old houses. In Xishuangbanna, where the sunshine is strong and the temperature is not low, it is impossible to imagine how hot it will be in such a "plastic house".
The only amazing thing in Zhanglang Village is the well-preserved Zongfo Temple. In this place where there are few tourists, we even met foreign tourists.
Go down the mountain from Zhanglang Village and pass Jingzhen Bajiao Pavilion. This octagonal brick-wood pavilion built in the Kangxi period is accompanied by a huge luxuriant linden tree, with bells ringing in the wind and whirling branches and leaves.
write at the end
Since the outbreak of the epidemic, it has been like a trial step by step, from the suburbs to neighboring provinces, and then to further places within the national border. Being "trapped" in the country, we have to pay attention to the landscape of China. Strangers in the motherland are fortunate to have walked into the mountains and rivers of this land. It is thought to remember.