Jinghong City, 773 km. from Kunming, is the capital of Xishuangbanna Dai Autonomous Prefecture. Both buses and airplanes are available from Kunming to take passengers there. The Yunjinghong, formerly called "cheli", a term in the Dai language meaning "Daybreak City", had been the capital of this region for generations, and is now also the seat of the prefecture government. It is one of the cities and towns of the county open to the outside world for tourism and trade. It is a place characterized by tropical scenery, rich and unique national customs and habits, and abundant fauna and flora resources that draw the attention of tourists in and out of China.

Basic Information

Jinghong City is situated in the south of Yunnan, with an area of 7,003 square km. and a population of 292,000 people. The permanent residents include the Dai, Han, Hani, Jinuo, Lahu, Yi, Bulang, Yao and Wa nationalities, etc, of whom minority nationalities amount to 62.5% of the total, with the Dai people accounting for 35.5%. The elevation of the county seat is 552.7 m. the highest point of the county is at Nanlejiaomei, with an elevation of 2,196 m, and the lowest point is at the confluence of the Lancangjiang River and the Nan'ahe River, with an elevation of 485 m. Its climate belongs to the northern tropical and southern subtropical humid monsoon type, with a long summer and practically no winter, very distinct dry and wet seasons, great variation in the daily temperature but small variations in the annual temperature. It is usually windless and very warm, basically frost free. The annual mean temperature various from 18.6 Centigrade to 21.9 Centigrade, the yearly rainfall of the whole county from 1,200 to 1,700 mm, and the annual sunshine from 1,800 to 2,300 hours.

History

Jinghong City has a long history. Far back in the Eastern Han Dynasty, it was already, a part of Yongchangjun and was then called Nanfu. Later it was subject to the rule of Nanzhao Kingdom in the Tang Dynasty and Dali Kingdom of the Song Dynasty. In the Ming Dynasty it was put under the jurisdiction of the Cheli Pacification Commissioner. In the fourth year of the Longqing era of the Ming Dynasty the Pacification Commissioner Zhaowenmeng first established Xishuangbanna, and set up Banna Menglong, Banna Jinghong, Banna Mengxing (Puwen) and Banna Mengla, altogether four Bannas within the domain of the present Jinghong City. In February 1950 this place was liberated, and in January 1953 the Xishuangbanna Autonomous Prefecture was established and in December 1957 the four Bannas were amalgamated into one Banna of the county status, and was given the name the Banna Jinghong People's Administrative Committee. It was renamed Jinghong City in June 1958, and has keep the name till now.

Resources

The flora and fauna resources of Jinghong City are very rich, having more than 5,000 species of seed plant and peridophyte, and having even kept some of the species left from the Glacial epoch of the Quarternary period. There are 1.55 million mu of land under a national nature reserve, containing abundant natural resources. Rare and precious plants include Yunnan Catalpa ovata, "Jiebuloxiang" tree, mountain osmanthus, black Dalbergia hupeana, Toona sinnensis, Mesua ferrea, Maytenus hookeri, Puwen Phoebe nanmu, etc. 'jiebuloxiang" is a typical tree in Asian tropical forest with very tall trunk and very hard timber. Maytenus hookeri was first discovered and identified by the famous Chinese botanist Cai Xitao, and can be used for the extraction of anticancer drugs. Rare and precious animals include the Asian elephant, Indochinese tiger, Indian wild ox, Macacus rhesus, hombill, green peacock, Gallus Gallusjabouillei, etc. There are about 100 Asian elephants roaming about in the vicinity of the Kunming-Daluo Motor Road, and is an extraordinary view for the visitors to behold.

Jinghong City is suitable for the cultivation of tropical economic crops such as rubber tree, oil palm, tropical fruit of various kinds, pepper, anacardium occidentale, tea, shellac, A. Longiligualre, etc. The area where rubber trees and A. Longiligular shrubs are planted ranks the first in the province. Paddy rice is the main agricultural produce, with corn, peanut, soybean, sugarcane and some other crops as subsidiaries. The place is also well adapted for the cultivation of upland rice.

The mineral resources preliminarily prospected in Jinghong City include copper, iron, tin, lead, zinc, cobalt, gold, coal and so on, amounting to more than 20 kinds. Copper and Tin are mined, and the others are waiting for further exploration. There are 6 hot springs within the county, with temperatures ranging from 400 to 800C, the highest being 103 C.

Economic And Social Development

As for industry of Jinghong, before 1949 there were only cloth dying, wine brewing, blacksmith work, silver ornaments making, etc., all carried out in family workshops. Now there are already electric power generation, chemicals, machinery, building materials, forest engineering, foodstuffs, tailoring, tannery, paper making and a few other industries, 21 categories in all. The industries mainly make use of raw materials found locally, and the various kinds of paper and card boards made by the paper making factory are sold in Gejiu, Kunming, Sichuan, Guangxi and other places.

Jinghong City has very convenient transportation facilities. There is a scheduled flight from Kunming to Jinghong The Kunming - Daluo highway traverses the county from north to south, and Mengyang - Mengla highway crosses the county from east to west. There are four branch highways between the county seat and the outlying districts, forming a network With Yunjinghong as the centre. The highway from Jinghong to Ganlanba and Little Mengcang is asphalt paved. There is also a shipping transportation service on the Lancangjiang River, with a daily service between Yunjinghong and Ganlanba for passengers and freight.

Attractions:

Right in Jinghong's center, Peacock Lake is a small beautiful park for early morning exercises, with a row of caged birds, beasts and reptiles from Xishuangbanna's jungles hidden off to one side. There is the Yunnan Institute of Tropical Crops, 1.5km west down Jinghong Road West, a few acres of palms and vines nicely arranged around a lake. Along the road are the Medicinal Botanic Gardens, a quiet grove of gingers and small shrubs growing in the gloom of closely planted, rainforest trees. The gardens lead through to a large Traditional Medicine Clinic, whose friendly staff might invite you in for a cup of tea and impromptu qigong demonstration. Shops outside the gardens on Jinghong Road West sell locally made herbal remedies.

For some more greenery and an introduction to Dai life, head about 3km southeast of the center to Manting, once a separate village but now absorbed into Jinghong. On the way here down Manting Road, you'll pass a brisk morning market outside the temple school of Wat Changliarn. Traditionally, all Dai boys spend three years at such institutions getting a grounding in Buddhism and learning to read and write skills which are denied to Dai women. Manting itself is mostly modern, though Neolithic pottery has been dug up here and a few older, two-storey wooden Dai houses still lurk in the wings. Near the end of the road is Wat Manting, Jinghong's main Buddhist monastery and the largest in all Xishuangbanna, a huge but simply furnished affair being rebuilt in a grand style with donations from Thailand. Dai temples differ from others acroos the land both in their general shape and the almost exclusive use of wood in their construction, which necessitates their being raised off the ground on low piles to guard against termites and rot. Also unlike Buddhists anywhere else in China, whose Mahayana (Dacheng) teachings filtered through from India, the Dais follow the Theravada (hinayana, or Xiaocheng) schoold of thought, a sect common to Sri Lanka, Thailand, Laos and Burma. As the Dai consider feet to be the most unclean part of the body, remember to remove your shoes before entering any temple.

Next to Wat Manting is the rather more secular Chunhuan Park (Manting Park), where the royal slaves were formerly kept. Official tour groups are shown water-splashing highlights here on a daily basis. On a lighter note, following the path past the entrance to Chunhuan Park brings you to Manloh Hon village, which gets its water through the efforts of a large bamboo waterwheel.

Culture

The culture and arts of Jinghong with those of the Dai people as the principal component are colourful and variegated. They have their own written language, calendar, music, dancing, poetry, folklore, fables, painting etc. The long epic poems alone that have been handed down number more than 500 volumes, in the form of the highly popular "Zanhadiao", such as the wide spread "Zhaoshutun", etc. There are many dances popular among the Dai people, such as the elegant peacock dance, the highly rhythmic elephant-leg-drum dance, the very popular 'Yilahou" dance and so on, numbering more than 30 kinds in all. Jinghong is indeed a veritable homeland of dances.

The Jinuo people in the county have a unique cultural and artistic tradition of their own, both antiquated and simple in style. The big drum dance is both vigorous and uninhibited, and the music made by bamboo instruments is full of deep feeling and mild in temperament.

The music of the Hani people is vehement and sonorous, and their dances are bold and unconstrained, such as the "tea picking dance" and the "Dongbacha dance".

Today Jinghong City has grown bigger, with an area of more than 12.7 square km. and a population of more than 40,000 people. The Lancangjiang River crosses the county from west to east and divides the county into two parts, the southern section and the northern section. They are connected by the 300 metre long Lancangjiang Bridge. The northern section is the industrial district and the southern section the political, cultural and commercial centre. There are 25 streets inside the county town proper, with coconut trees, oil palms, area catechu, banana, Michelia alba and other tropical trees and flowers, growing on both sides of them, offering a coverage of more than 75.3% of the area. Typical scenes of the tropics are seen everywhere. The main streets are decorated with flower beds and fountains. There are also two picturesque parks inside the county town, namely, the Peacock Lake and the Manting Park. There are also Dai Nationality Cultures and Customs Garden, Manjinglan Nationality Flavor Food City and Tropical Botany Institute.