Xishuangbanna

The Xishuangbanna Dai Autonomous Prefecture is situated in the southern-most tip of Yunnan Province, and is contiguous to Burma and Laos. It is 733 km. from Kunming. With a total area of 19,185 square km., it has a population of 820,000 people, including the Dai, Hani, Lahu, Bulang, Jinuo, Yao, Yi, and some other nationalities. The population of the Dai people accounts for 34.9% of the total. The composition of the population is like this: the Dai people, the peoples of other minority nationalities and the Han people each occupy one third of the total population respectively. Some of the minority nationalities living on this side of the national boundary line belong to the same nationalities as the people living on the other side of the boundary line. They live harmoniously together, and are on very friendly terms, often coming and going across the boundary line in their daily activities. The prefecture seat is in Jinghong County (known as Yunjinghong among the Dai people).

In the Dai language, "Xi" means ten, "shuang" two, "Ban" one thousand, and "Na" paddy fields. Xishuangbanna therefore means "Twelve districts of one thousand mu of paddy fields each". It is the general name given to twelve administrative bodies under twelve chieftains in the old days. Yunjinghong is a term in the Dai language, meaning "The Daybreak City". The Dai calendar started from 638 AD. So, as for the Dai calendar, 2000 is 1362.

Far back in the Western Han Dynasty, Xishuangbanna was already a part of Yizhoujun Prefecture. In the 12th year of the Yongping era of the Eastern Han Dynasty (A.D. 69) it was incorporated into Yongchangjun. During the Tang and Song Dynasties it was under the jurisdiction of Nanzhao and Dali Kingdoms respectively. After the conquest of Dali Kingdom by the Yuan Emperor, Yunnan was made a province, and a system of governing the border areas by the local chieftains was instituted, and the hereditary chieftains were given comparatively greater authoritative power. In the 15th year of the Hongwu era of the Ming dynasty (1382), the ninth-generation Great Chieftain, or zhaopianling in the Dai language, called Zhao Kanmeng (literal translation of the Dai language meaning the highest feudal lord of xishuangbanna) pledged allegiance to the Ming Royal Court. In the 4th year of the Longqing era of the Ming Dynasty, the Pacification Commissioner divided the domain of the feudal lord into twelve "Bannas", and from then on this place has been called xishuangbanna. The Qing emperors inherited the Ming system without any change. Early in the Yuan Dynasty, the Great Local Chieftain with the family name Dao was appointed "the Pacification Commissioner of Cheli" (the old name of Yunjingbong) by the Yuan royal court, who thus became the hereditary supreme feudal lord and ruler of xishuangbanna, and whose descendants had inherited the title for 4 generations through the Yuan, Ming and Qing Dynasties. It was not until the liberation of Xishuangbanna in February 1950 that peoples of the various nationalities had really become the masters of this beautiful and affluent land.

Xishuangbanna is situated on the northern edge of the tropical zone. It is endowed with sufficient sunshine and is usually windless and very warm, with heavy dews and fogs and plenty of rainfall. It is not influenced by the typhoon from the Pacific Ocean, and belongs to the tropical forest type of climate. The plains and river valleys with an elevation of less than 800 m. belong to the tropical monsoon climate type and those places with an elevation of over 800 m. to the subtropical monsoon climate type. The annual mean temperature of the whole prefecture is 21 Centigrade. it is frost free all the year round, and there has never been snowfall in its history. The yearly rainfall ranges between 1,200 to 1,900 mm., and yearly foggy days amount to 108 to 146 days.

Xishuangbanna is extremely rich in natural resources. There are a few million mu of virgin forest, and the species of tropical trees number more than 5,000. The forest coverage is 34%, in which there are about 40 species of fast growing precious trees, more than 500 species of medicinal plants and herbs, and about 160 species of oil-bearing plants yielding edible oil and oil for industrial use. Rare and precious plants include fast growing "tuanhua" tree, Catalpa Ovata that is precious plants include fast growing "tuanhua" tree, Catalpa ovata that is humid resistant and immune from blight caused by insects and ants, Parashorea chinensis that is highly esteemed as a rare timber for industrial use, black Dalbergia hupeana that is extremely hard and strong, Maytenus hookeri and Gloriosa superba used for the treatment of cancer, Rauwolfia verticillata for the treatment of hypertension, the aromatic stomachic A. longiligulare, the main ingredient in the astringent "xuejie" in Chinese medicine D. cambodiana, the stomachic and anthracene purgative Areca catechu. The oil-bearing woody plant Horsfieldia tetratepala yields oil that forms a special additive for lubricants used in tanks, motor car engines and petroleum drilling machines to raise the viscosity and lower the freezing point when operating in severely cold and alpine regions. The oil produced by the "little tong" tree can be used as a substitute for diesel oil. The oil distilled from the flower of Can anga odorata, praised as the "king of flowers", is a valuable ingredient in the manufacturing of high class perfumes, Xishuangbanna is also the second largest base of natural rubber trees in China, and the homeland of the world famous 'Pu'er" tea. Besides, this place also produces a great variety of tropical fruit, flowers and ornamental plants.

The tropical rain forest of Xishuangbanna provides favorable environments for the growth and propagation of various kinds of wild animals. There are 18 orders, 56 families, 210 genera and 399 species of birds, and 8 orders, 28 families, 47 genera and 67 species of animals. The species of birds account for 33.8% of the total species of birds of the country, and the species of animals 16% of the country's total. In addition there are more than a hundred species of fishes, including the rare and precious "Yinyu" and "Yingyu". Xishuangbanna is also a natural zoo where live many very rare and precious species, such as wild elephants, wild oxen (bison), tigers, leopards, peacocks, hornbills, gibbons, golden- haired monkey, slow lories, and big-spotted civet cats.

The five patches of rain forest at Mengyang, Menglun, Mengla, Shangyong and Menggao of Xishuangbanna, totaling 3 million mu (200,000 hectares), belong to a national nature reserve. In the reserve are found rare and precious animals and birds such as wild elephants, wild oxen, gibbons, peacocks, etc., which are all listed as animals and birds under state protection.

Xishuangbanna is also rich in mineral resources. The noted ones are rock salt, iron, copper, manganese, cobalt, rare earth ores, oil shale, aluminium, zinc, tin, mercury, saltpetre, tungsten, gold, antimony, lignite and so on. 149 mineral water resources have also been discovered. In agriculture the principal produce of the place is grain, including mainly paddy rice, upland rice, corn, and soybean. Next come wheat, Chinese sorghum, potato, sweet potato, pea, and broad bean. Most of these agricultural produce yield two crops every year. The place is therefore reputed as the "Granary of South Yunnan". Economic crops include mainly sugarcane and oil bearers.

Lancang River (also Mekong River) has a flow of 1187.5 kilometers in Xishuangbanna. Currently, the water tour voyage is divided into the upper and lower sections. The upper section is 135 kilometers long, from Jinghong to Tiger Leaping Gorge while the lower section is 40 kilometers in length, from Jinghong to Olive Dam. The lower section attracts more tourists at present. Visitors will be enchanted by the tropical rain forest, primeval forest and animals along the two banks of the river, especially by the incredible " Sky Garden ", " Blossoms in Old Stems ", " Plant Killer ", " Root Plant " and " One Tree Forest ". The Olive Basin, with a reputation of the " Peacock Plumes " and the " Tail of Green Peacock ", is regarded as the symbol of Xishuanghanna. It is said that " the trip to Xishuanghanna is a fruitless one without visiting the Olive Basin ".

Xishuangbanna is one of the key scenic resorts of the country. Points of interest are scattered in many locations of the prefecture, all with distinctive features. With the virgin tropical rain forests, rare and precious ornamental plants and wild animals combined with the multifarious peculiar national customs and habits of the people, together with their distinctive residential buildings and garden-like surroundings, the place presents a typically beautiful view of the southern country, and has always been a cherished tourist resort for visitors at home and abroad.