Tropical Yunnan — Dai culture, monsoon forests, and the Mekong at its source
Jinghong is the capital of Xishuangbanna Dai Autonomous Prefecture in southern Yunnan, sitting on the Mekong River at the point where it flows between Myanmar and Laos before entering Southeast Asia. This is the most tropical and ethnically diverse corner of China — the Dai people (related to Thai and Lao) form a visible majority here, with their distinctive Buddhist temple architecture, water festivals, and cuisine, while the surrounding forests hold wild Asian elephants and some of the most biodiverse jungle in Asia. The border with Myanmar is 40 minutes away, and the Mekong here is called…
The Xishuangbanna region was the seat of the Tai Lue kingdom of Sipsongpanna from the 12th century — a Buddhist kingdom closely related to the Lanna kingdom of northern Thailand that maintained considerable autonomy under both the Chinese empire and the early People's Republic. The region was the site of extensive violence during the Cultural Revolution (1966–1976), when Dai temples were destroyed and minority cultures suppressed, but has since experienced a revival of Dai cultural expression. The Asian elephant population in the forests around Jinghong — the northernmost wild elephant popula…