My 21 days - Overland Border Crossing Train Rides from Malaysia > Thailand > Laos > China (Feb 10 > March 2 2025) - Xishuangbana, China Feb 21 2025 (Day 12)

The Manting Imperial Garden
Jinghong, Xishuangbana, Yunnan, China

Tropical Flowers & Plants Garden
Xishuangbana, Yunnan, China

Mengle Dafosi Temple 
 Xishuangbana, Yunnan

Gaozhuang Xishuangjing Scenic Area

 & Starlight Night Market,

 Jinghong City, Xishuangbana, Yunnan

Good Friday Feb 21 2025 (Day 12 -Xishuangbana, Yunnan, China) - after arriving in Xishuangbana yesterday evening, today is our 1st day in Xishuangbana & our group devoted the whole day & visited 3 major touristy places in Xishuangbana ie The Manting Imperial Garden, Tropical Flowers / Plants Garden & Dafosi Temple & in the evening, visited Gaozhuang Xishuangjing Scenic Area & Starlight Night Market - a very productive day indeed seeing the best of Xishuangbana (one of the shining jewels of Yunnan) in our 1st encounter & we were impressed with what we saw in this sub-tropical city & Dai culture of Yunnan ! A really TGIF (Thank God Is Friday) for our group of 4 having visited 4 major touristy places in Xishuangbana, Yunnan in one day - how not to fall in love with this city !  

Ground Transport & Food: CNY87

1. Didi Cab: CNY9 + CNY16 + CNY20 + CNY15 + CNY19 + CNY20 = CNY99@CNY25 (cost sharing of 4)
2. Entrance fee (Imperial Manting Garden, Tropical Flowers / Plants Garden, Mengle Grand Temple (Dafosi) : FOC for Senior above 70+
3. Buggy: CNY40
4. Sundry: CNY10
5. Food: CNY12

1) Hotel buffet breakfast - a good selection of breakfast food & drinks. 

2) Xishuangbana Tourist Map - various day tour packages offered by the Xishuangbana Tourism Authorities. Ideal for solo travellers or those who dread taking public transport ie buses or Didi cab or metered taxi ! 

3) China Mobile Customer Service Centre nearby our hotel - my travel buddy bought a local Sim Card (CNY100, ideal for China mobile phone users) here but realised later (after 4 - 5 hours of use) that the data usage was rather restricted for foreign registered mobile phone, as a consequence, he successfully sought a refund on the very day of purchase ! I bought my Sim Card (Rm26) online in Kuala Lumpur & I was happy with the data usage covering my 10 days visit in China ! 

4) Banna Mobile Bus Stand / Stop nearby our hotel - you may like to rely on public bus services (or via transit) to visit major tourist places in Xishuangbana ie Primitive Forest Park, Dafosi, Peacock Garden, Jinghong Bus Terminal etc, a cheaper option of moving around in Jinghong city ! If you have 4 in a group, the best option is e-hail a DiDi cab & the fares are affordable & economical if based on a cost sharing of 4 & time saving too ! 

5) The Manting Imperial Garden - admission fee CNY20 for Senior above 60+, free admission for Senior above 70+, buggy rides CNY40 (round trip). Took a DIDI cab (CNY9) from our hotel to Manting Imperial Park (1st visit).

Manting Park in Xishuangbana - once the Dai Kingdom's Imperial Garden, features Buddhist temples, Zhongfo Si & the Dai culture show.  

6) Xishuangbana Tropical Flowers & Plants Garden - a beautiful, 80-hectare garden of tropical & exotic flowers & about 1,000 species of ornamental plants. free admission for Senior above 70+, took a Didi cab (CNY16) from Manting Garden > Tropical Flowers / Plants Garden (2nd visit). Flowers in full bloom, signalling the arrival of Spring soon ! 

7) Special Tourist Bus Stand in front of Tropical Flowers & Plants Garden (08.00 > 17.30), this tourist line bus route covers 3 - 4 touristy places in Jinghong City. Took a Didi cab (CNY20) from Tropical Flowers / Plants Garden > Dafosi Temple (3rd visit). 

8) Mengle Grand Buddha Temple (Dafosi), Jinghong City, Xishuangbana, Yunnan - this temple was reconstructed on the original site of the the royal temple "Jingpiao Buddhist Temple" in the Dai Kingdom (1180 - 1950), Jingpiao Buddhist Temple was originally built in the Ming Dynasty (1368 > 1644) by a Dai King named Bolong in remembrance of his princess called Nansha Weibian who died of illness. 

I made a solo visit (my 3 other travel buddies did not join me) by taking a buggy ride (CNY40, one way) uphill to the Nanlian Mountain Peak Park & visited the Zhuangkal Great Golden Pagoda (Elephant Heart Theatre) & Mecha Elephant - Barry; from the mirror stand viewpoint, one could have a panoramic view of Jinghong City & the tall Auspicious Buddha Statute, I took a downhill walk passing a Holy Bodhi tree, Mengle Grand Buddha Temple, Dharma Propagating Square, Seven sacred elephant sculptures, Peacock Screen ....... if you have the time & enjoy hiking, you could walk your way up to the Nanlian Mountain Peak Park but to do this walk, I suggest you bring along a few muesli / energy bars & drinking water - when the going gets tough, the tough gets going !  

8) Buggy ride from the Front Entrance going uphill to Dafosi Temple, a distance of about 2.5km. 

9) DiDi cab ride (CNY15) from Dafosi Temple > Hotel for a short rest before re-grouping & meet again in the evening to visit Gaozhuang Xishuangjing Scenic Area & Starlight Night Market, another highlight of today's visit ! 

10) Didi cab ride (CNY19) from our hotel > Gaozhuang Xishuangjing Scenic Area, Jinghong City

10) Xishuangbana City Tourist Transportation Centre, Xinghong City - this centre is the pick up & meeting point for tourists interested in undertaking day tour packages of your choice in Xishunagbana !  Inquire & pick as much info as possible in this centre so that you could make a decision whether to join a day tour package (be prepared to pay more) or relying on public transport to get to various tourist places. My group of 4 chose to use DiDi cabs to move around places - economical & time saving ! 

11) Walkabout in the main street near Gaozhuang Xishuangjing Scenic Area. 

12) Tropical Fruit Stalls - you will go bananas seeing an array of tropical fruit on sale here, durians, papaya, mangoes, jackfruit, coconuts, dragon fruit, water melons, funny looking thorny fruit & some fruit unknown to me ! 

13) Gaozhuang Xishuangjing Scenic Area, Jinghong City - a must visit when in Jinghong City, Xishuangbana, the best tourist attraction, seeing is believing, a very vibrant place & plenty of good vibes, the night is always young as soon as you step into the Scenic Area !   

14) The Starlight Night Market, Gaozhuang, Jinghong City, Xishuangbana, Yunnan - if you are a glutton, this is the right place for you - Food Glorious Food ! Come with an empty stomach, all the food here looked very tempting to sample & eat ! 

15) Lakeside Scenery - Gaozhuang Xishuangjing Scenic Area - awesome & simply beautiful for an evening walk ! 

16) Didi cab ride (CNY20) from Gaozhuang Xishuangjing Scenic Area > Hotel (mission accomplished, a great outcome); as for food,  I savoured a soya noodle soup (CNY12), my simple dinner of the night at a noodle stall nearby my hotel !