Travel Notes|The longing for life in Xishuangbanna

The sunset on the Lancang River, the banana trees in Manyuan Village, the dazzling Dai beauties at Gaozhuang Night Market, the ice coffee in bags on the streets, the sweet and delicious coconut juice at the roadside stalls, the dazzling tropical fruits... This is the charming Xishuangbanna.

After the Spring Festival, the weather began to slowly warm up. Finally, I no longer had to shivering in the snow wrapped in a down jacket, but the cold in Hubei still made people shiver. The woolen coat that was used to keep out the cold in Wuhan was stuffed into my suitcase as soon as I arrived in Xishuangbanna, and I changed into fresh and cool clothes to start the summer mode.

The hotel we stayed in was near Gaozhuang Xishuang. When we came out of the hotel, dusk had arrived. Wandering aimlessly, the number of tourists gradually increased, and unknowingly they walked into the Gaozhuang Xishuang Scenic Area, as if they had mistakenly entered a quiet town hidden in the busy city. The houses here are short, the sky is blue, the roads are wide, and a few palm trees rise from the lush trees. Tourists in long skirts stroll leisurely in the streets and alleys, and locals sit in front of the shops and mind their business comfortably. This scene has a very Southeast Asian feel.

Beautiful scenery often comes unplanned. Passing through several rows of colorful and uniform houses, what comes into view are various stalls lined up along a main road by the water. A coconut opened on the roadside is sweet and delicious. You must carry a bag of freshly brewed Laos iced coffee and a bowl of sizzling baked tofu.

Passing through the Liuguo Floating Market and crossing the road, the Lancang River bursts into view. The evening breeze was blowing, the river was surging, and an orange sun was sinking little by little between the high-rise buildings on the other side. Such a picture of a riverside at night and at night has its own magical power, which can block all the noise and disturbance from the outside world and wrap people in this tranquility. Sitting on the stone on the embankment, I watched quietly as the color of the sun opposite me darkened little by little. The river water was sometimes gentle, sometimes turbulent, and night had quietly fallen.

Two years ago in Cambodia, there was also such a water flow, where it had another name - the Mekong River. On such a dusk night, I took a boat trip on the Mekong River. The evening breeze was blowing, and the sunset was like a city background hidden behind high-rise buildings. It’s just that there was a warm smell of fish in the air at that time. On the other side of the city were small shacks. At the pier, people on motorcycles filed in from one side of the river. The other side of the river. The Lancang River in front of us is clear, the city on the other side is dotted with stars, the Xishuangbanna Bridge spans both sides, and there are crowds of tourists on the riverside. A family of four wearing parent-child clothes is playing by the water, and the young father dotingly scolds the naughty ones. Behind the shore are splendid Dai-style buildings and a lively and bustling night market.

The night market in Gaozhuang Xishuang is different from other places. Although the night market here is also lined with snack streets and various small items probably brought from Yiwu, it has the unique flavor of Xishuangbanna. There are no Changsha stinky tofu, Shaanxi Liangpier, mutton skewers, grilled gluten, etc. that can be seen everywhere. There are mostly barbecue stalls with a wide range of varieties, colorful fruit stalls and some local specialty snacks such as tofu with milk, Haobeng, etc., next to the stalls Usually standing there is a beautiful woman with thick eyebrows, big eyes, hair tied up high, and wearing a brightly colored Dai skirt, attracting tourists with her colorful appearance.

Of course, these are not the point. The most exciting and enjoyable part of the night market is watching! Beautiful! Female! A large part of the prosperity of the tourism industry here comes from the clothing rental and photography industries. Surrounding the night market, you can see Dai clothing stores, makeup and hair salons, photography shops everywhere, and some stores are even opened directly in the night market scenic area. In the room, the merchant put up a few clothes hangers to hang a row of colorful Dai costumes, and a piece of cloth was used as a simple changing room next to it.

While walking, I accidentally caught the shot of a gun and cannon next to me. Then I turned my head and saw beauties with fair skin, exquisite makeup and hair, and graceful figures. They were wearing Dai costumes and posing in various charming poses, exposing half of their shoulders. And navel, some are paired with a long ribbon hanging down from the shoulders, red, yellow, blue and green, sparkling under the light, colorful and interesting, very beautiful. Being surrounded by all kinds of beauties, I felt like I was in the land of daughters, which made me very happy. Sure enough, it is human nature to like to see beautiful things, and it has nothing to do with gender. As a girl, I can’t bear to close my eyes when looking at beautiful women.

There are many scenic spots in Xishuangbanna, such as the Chinese Academy of Sciences Botanical Garden, Wild Elephant Valley, Manting Park, Primitive Forest Park, Tropical Rainforest National Park, etc. If you don’t have research and strong interest in plants and want to visit them one by one, it is recommended to choose one or two of them. Just one. The feeling of aesthetic fatigue will greatly reduce the scenery behind.

The Chinese Academy of Sciences Botanical Garden is divided into the East Park and the West Park. It takes about one day to visit the entire park. If you only want to spend half a day, just choose one of the parks. Take the rural bus to Menglun in the city, get off at the Botanical Garden of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, take the park's sightseeing bus to the park, and start a stroll around the plant kingdom. The vegetation inside is lush and diverse. If you are a plant fan, you will be very excited. But in my eyes, they are collectively called "trees" and "flowers". According to legend, Wang Lian, who can be sat on, floats aloof in the middle of the water. There is no passage to Wang Lian, and no one can sit on it. The garden is very big. Starting from ten o'clock in the morning, I walked around looking at the flowers and plants. In the west garden alone, I lasted until after one o'clock in the afternoon.

Different from the various green plants in the Botanical Garden of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Manting Park is a Dai-style park. It used to be the royal garden of the Dai king in Xishuang version and was named after the Dai princess's visit. The park is located in the city, with convenient transportation, and the park is not big. An hour is enough to go around the lake. However, after visiting the Botanical Garden in the morning, the amount of exercise today has exceeded the standard. When I visited Manting Park again, I only felt a little tired, so I hurried back to the hotel to rest and regain my blood.

In the evening, we came to Jiangbian Night Market, which is said to be more authentic than Gaozhuang Xishuang Night Market, and locals tend to come here more. After all, the mood of tourists is different from that of locals. When going out to play, they still want to feel the fireworks of the world and have some different experiences. I didn’t see Jiang around the Jiangbian Night Market. It was a straight street from beginning to end. On both sides of the street were barbecue stalls, fruit stalls, drink stalls and small items. I tried the egg fruit and it looked like a mango. The pulp tastes pink and sweet, but there doesn't seem to be anything special about it. From the perspective of fun, Gaozhuang Xishuangjing Night Market is still more recommended.

During the trip to Xishuangbanna, the most unforgettable place is Manyuan Village. I am a fan of "Longing for Life". Every time I see Huang Lei and He Jiong chatting with the guests, fishing in the water, picking coconuts from trees, digging bamboo shoots in the mountains, planting rice seedlings in the fields, and cooking big pots on the stove. It feels very relaxing to cook and wait in there. Manyuan Village is the filming location of the fourth season of "Longing for Life".

The transportation from the urban area to Manyuan Village is not convenient. For public transportation, you need to take a shuttle bus to the town, and then take a shuttle bus from the town to the village. The departure time is fixed every day and the number of times is limited. Self-driving or chartering is a good choice. When the chartered car drove onto the small road to Manyuan Village, the banana trees and oak trees on both sides moved as the car moved forward. I thought of Teacher Huang and Zhang Zifeng and Ouyang Na who were running in the morning on this road facing the morning sun and the breeze. The scene of Na riding a bicycle on this road singing "Summer Wind".

There is a house number at the entrance of the village. Stepping over the house number, it feels like you have entered another world. A cement road that is neither wide nor narrow runs from the beginning of the village to the end of the village. There are flowers in full bloom all the way. On the roadside are Dai stilted buildings built of wood. The empty floors of the stilted buildings are decorated with seasonal products. Fruit, the fruit trees outside are heavily hung with bananas, papayas and mangoes. All of this is just a part of local people's life, pure and natural, without too many additions and decorations deliberately made to create tourism.

At the end of the path, there is a pond, and the last house is the "mushroom house" where "Longing for Life" lives. Now this yard has been purchased by an uncle a few months ago, providing some simple drinks and accommodation services for people to visit and play.

Pushing the door open, you will see a big world in a small world. The flowers, plants and trees in the yard have grown very lush, complementing the yellow wooden living room, bedroom, kitchen and dining room. The hammock is still there, the swing is still there, and there is an extra cat. , the two peacocks "Caiyun" and "Zhinan" named by Teachers Huang and He were still in the yard, and they opened their screens several times to save face. This scene made me feel very friendly, as if I had returned to my own home.

Seeing that the door to the living room was still open, I sneaked in quietly. The familiar cushions, familiar coffee table, familiar carpets, familiar placement, and the pig sent by Wang Luodan were still beside me.

Every corner here makes me feel like home. I sit on the swing and look at the green vegetable fields in a daze. I squint my eyes and lie on the wicker chair and feel the sunshine falling in the yard. The air is filled with The fragrance of gardenias makes me wish that time would slow down a little slower... Before I left, with my uncle's permission, I picked two gardenias and took them away, but my heart has always stayed here.

Nearly half a year later, recalling this place is still fascinating. Why Manyuan Village is so memorable to me? I think it may be because this is also the life I yearn for. In the small yard, there are flowers and grass, swings and hammocks. Farming in sunny days and reading in rainy days. You can see the blue sky when you look up, and you can see the green water when you step out. It is probably the tropical rainforest version of "Peach Blossom Land".

"In the Taiyuan Dynasty of the Jin Dynasty, the people of Wuling were engaged in fishing. They walked along the stream and forgot the distance of the road. Suddenly they came across a peach blossom forest, hundreds of steps along the bank. There were no stray trees in the middle, the grass was delicious, and the fallen flowers were colorful..."