At the end of December, I just left as soon as I said so
I found out that I have the habit of going to avoid the cold every winter
The Philippine Islands in 2018 / Da Nang in 2019
I couldn’t leave the country this year, so I randomly arrived in Xishuangbanna
Originally, this area has never appeared on my travel list
I just occasionally saw it somewhere, and the air tickets are really cheap and there are direct flights
Some people say that Banna is a "tacky attraction" and "only goes to senior tour groups"
I came here with a little doubt and a little expectation
I just want to say it was worth it! (Please do not join a group!!!!!
If you also want to experience Xishuangbanna, you can refer to my itinerary guide👇
Note: Rama Island Sound The music festival happened to happen on this day by accident. But Jinghong also has some special activities on weekdays. Before you go, you might want to read more articles and other platforms related to local travel.
Not all the attractions I visited are worth checking in. I will talk about which ones are must-sees and which ones are not. In addition, this trip was more of a leisure trip, so I added some Some coffee shops, delicious food, bars, and specialty dessert shops Waiting for the rest to explore the store.
Local transportation: The urban area is not big, you can basically take a taxi directly through the software (I used Amap to take a taxi, it is very convenient); there are also through trains in scenic spots farther away, and it is very convenient to book in advance .
Accommodation recommendations: There are many, many, many B&Bs, which are cheap and good. Almost all of them have balconies/swimming pools/free airport pick-up. Just live in the Xishuangjing area of Gaozhuang, it's convenient to go anywhere. Very lively at night.
Gaozhuang Xishuangjing
This is a whole tourist area, a bit like a tourist town. Inside there are many B&Bs, restaurants, leisure and shopping . Basically, in Banna, this is the center of the circle and activities are carried out around it.
The famous Starlight Night Market is here, and the very Southeast Asian style Shwedagon Pagoda is also here.
Gaozhuang is quiet during the day, but becomes active from six o'clock in the evening until the early morning. All kinds of bars, music bars, Dai cuisine restaurants, Southeast Asian restaurants, coffees, and desserts are everywhere.
The area is so big that you won't get tired of shopping here for three nights. The atmosphere, lights, scenery at night, the boats on the Mekong River, the hustle and bustle of the night market, the beautiful shops you encounter in the alleys, the well-designed B&B... The whole thing is very chill, and it feels like a vacation!
Shwedagon Pagoda | Starlight Night Market | Floating Market
These are all together,they are all in the Gaozhuang Scenic Area mentioned above, and you can walk there.
Shwedagon Pagoda is beautiful whether it is day or night. Just take a photo and pretend to be in Thailand. It is very impressive.
Starlight Night Market is very big. You don’t need to go shopping here (it’s all small commodities and homogeneous). It’s quite comfortable to take photos along the way and experience the lively nightlife + eat whatever you want.
The floating market is connected to the Starlight Night Market, but it is built on the Mekong River. You can also go shopping and take a cruise. The night view is super beautiful!
Manting Park|Zongfo Temple
Manting Park used to be the royal garden of King Dai, and the scenery is very good. I continue to pretend to be in Thailand. It looks really good when the weather is nice. There are also some performances to watch inside. Tickets 20.
The Zongfo Temple is right next to Manting Park. You can go directly through one of the gates. It is a Buddhist-style temple that is more beautiful than the temples I have visited before in Thailand. Temple admission is free.
Chinese Academy of Sciences Botanical Garden
Chinese Academy of Sciences Botanical Garden, a must-see attraction! The scenic area is huge, huge, huge, huge, please be sure to buy a battery ticket for the entire park... so you won’t suffer!
Because this scenic spot is far away from the city, it takes 70 minutes by car. If you don’t drive yourself, it is recommended to buy a scenic spot direct bus (bus) for round trip.
The best way is to buy a one-day tour to the Botanical Garden of the Chinese Academy of Sciences on platforms like Ctrip/Meituan/Fliggy. It is said to be a one-day tour, but in fact it doesn’t matter whether you are with a large group or not. Let’s go Just go with the return trip.
The one-day tour we bought is which includes Botanical Garden tickets + East and West District battery cars + round-trip transportation + tour guide explanation. The great thing about this kind of same-day tour is that if you want to follow the tour guide and listen to the explanation, you can follow along. If you don’t want to, you can take pictures and perfect them at your own pace.
No shopping! ! Meals not included!
Flower Garden | Primeval Forest
The scenic spots in Xishuangbanna are highly homogeneous. I read the guide before and said that you only need to visit one of the same type of scenic spots. But because we don’t want to go to Wild Elephant Valley (we don’t like the elephant performances because they are uncomfortable to watch), also don’t want to go to Dai Garden which is said to be an IQ tax attraction. (Just watch performances and sell handicrafts?)
So I also chose two other plant/natural scenic spots to visit. Flower Garden and Primitive Forest Park are both in the urban area and cost around 20 by taxi, so I chose these two.
The Flower Garden can be understood as a small Botanical Garden of the Chinese Academy of Sciences. If you are pressed for time, you can only arrange one day at the Botanical Garden of the Chinese Academy of Sciences. There is no need to come here. If you have time, you can come. The ticket is 20 and it’s not a loss~ (You don’t need to buy the battery car here)
The tropical crop area is more interesting, you can see a variety of tropical fruit trees! But you may not be able to see much fruit in winter...
Don’t go to the virgin forest park, it’s a bit of a trap. Except for the jungle area where you can wander around for a while, the rest is pretty boring. The jungle area is not as good as the Chinese Academy of Sciences Botanical Garden.
Jiangbian Night Market|Walking on the Bridge|Splashing Square
Jiangbian Night Market is a night market on a similar embankment. There is not much to see but only small commodities. However, there is a barbecue street. I heard that the ones here are good, so I gave it a try. The taste is very good! !
We returned to the city after spending half a day in the virgin forest in the morning and went directly to Splashing Water Square . There are not many so-called attractions here, but there are some large supermarkets and food and drink, I visited a quite famous coffee shop in Jinghong and sat there leisurely for a while.
Walking on the bridge was not part of the plan. We just happened to have barbecue at the riverside night market. Looking at the navigation, we found that it was not too far from Gaozhuang. The Baozou sisters felt that it was not a problem within 5 kilometers, so they walked directly on the bridge. You can see the coast of the Lancang River~ (The scenery is not beautiful, but the houses are under construction
Okay, that’s all the guide sharing about Xishuangbanna
If you have any questions, please leave a message~
Now the epidemic has begun to spread in many places again
Everyone should still take precautions when going out!