The hotness of suing Zhuang
Gaozhuang is a must-see place for tourism in Xishuangbanna today, and its popularity was even worse before the outbreak of the epidemic. During the Spring Festival in 2019, the author once witnessed the three-hour traffic jam and the traffic flow across the Lancang River Bridge.
Gaozhuang as far as I know
Gaozhuang is called Gaozhuangxi Shuangjing, and it is a cultural tourism project that was only developed around 2010. It is said that Xishuangjing is in Dai language, which means "nine towers and twelve villages".
In the past, the urban area of Jinghong, the capital of Xishuangbanna Prefecture, was mainly on the west bank of the Lancang River, while Gaozhuang was located on the east bank of the Lancang River, so there were basically no "aboriginal people" here, and there were only hotels, shops, and specialty products one after another. Shops, bars, coffee bars, restaurants, etc., most of their owners are outsiders, and tourists from all over the country can find the taste of their hometown here. There is a Sichuan restaurant here that serves all kinds of Sichuan-style food, which are very delicious and not expensive (haha! It seems a bit funny to eat Sichuan food when you come to Xishuangbanna, but it is really authentic). Add to that the sheer volume of real estate offerings, and it's not surprising to meet more than one person here to sell you a property.
The service targets here are mainly foreign tourists, so the prices are relatively high. Many people will suggest that they should go to the old urban area on the other side of the river for food, accommodation and shopping.
The appearance and decoration of buildings in Gaozhuang, small street scenes, decoration styles of shops, especially iconic buildings such as the Shwedagon Pagoda are all characteristics of the Dai people, and even Southeast Asia. The feeling of Laos and other Southeast Asian countries that believe in Theravada Buddhism.
There are not many pedestrians on the streets of Gaozhuang during the day, and they are mainly tourists. Only when night falls is the time when Gaozhuang Night Market is lively.
Gaozhuang Night Market
Every evening, tourists begin to flock to Gaozhuang Night Market.
The night market has two parts: fixed shops and temporary stalls, selling various handicrafts, clothing, local and foreign snacks, fruits, etc. Among them, the local barbecue stalls with local characteristics occupy a large area and attract more customers. Jinghong has a tropical rainforest climate. Even though most of us are going through the cold winter every year from December to February next year, the temperature here can reach as high as 28 degrees at three or four o'clock in the afternoon when the weather is fine. Sitting by the Lancang River at night, eating barbecue, drinking beer, listening to music, and enjoying the night view is also a kind of enjoyment in life.
In the past, many people said that the Dai flavor at Gaozhuang Night Market was expensive and unauthentic, but in fact, the stall owners selling Dai flavor were all local Dai people, and after the impact of the epidemic on tourism in 2020, the stall owner The prices at checkout are much lower than the water price before the epidemic.
Travel photography, which has emerged in recent years, is very popular in Gaozhuang, and you are lucky here! You will see a lot of beautiful girls in various colors and styles of Dai costumes, wearing various decorations, and combing Dai hairstyles, walking in the aisles, lingering in front of the stalls, or leaning on the banana boat or put your hands together in front of the Buddha statue, posing various "poses" for special shots, and several popular viewing spots are even more lively. There are often as many as dozens of people waiting in line to take pictures, which has become a famous scene.
The night view of Gaozhuang has very ethnic characteristics and is worth appreciating and taking pictures as souvenirs.
Tourists see more and buy less in the night market. Most of them are watching the excitement and feeling the atmosphere of the scene.
There is a parking lot at the entrance of the night market, and the surrounding buildings also have underground parking lots. It is generally not difficult to find a parking space.
It is enough to arrange the tour time for one night. Of course, it is the most convenient to live in Gaozhuang to visit the night market.
Note: Because the pictures and videos in this article were taken on January 26, 2021, during the epidemic period, there were very few tourists and the night market was deserted.