Jinghong

Introduction

Minority Women Hanging out at the Motorbike shop

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Jinghong (景洪) is the capital of Xishuangbanna and a major centre for tourism. Most of the tourism in this area is focused around the natural beauty of area, including amazing wildlife like wild elephants, and the diversity of the different minority groups. Xishuangbanna has also been traditionally considered one of the edges of the Chinese world and part of the Golden Triangle opium world. This rarely visited part of China is truly stunning and worth the trip and Jinghong is the jumping point.

Sights and Activities

Jinghong Botanical Gardens

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• Tropical Flowers and Plants Garden (热带花卉园 ,redai huahuiyuan ) is a botanical garden on the western edge of town at 28 Jinghong Xilu (景洪西路28号). The RMB 40 entrance is well worth it and different gardens with the rain forest area is a great green space to get lost in. There are also a zip line located in the park that can be rode for some extra rmb

Events and Festivals

• Dai Water Splashing Festival is the big event in this area. The Dai people are realitives of the Thai and this is their new year celebration. It is usually held in mid April, remember Jinghong fills up for this festival and all prices will be higher. Local performers do the dances for tourists every night of the week though in the local concert hall.

Getting There

The local ride, rural China style

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By Plane

Xishuangbanna Gasa Airport (IATA: JHG, ICAO: ZPJH) is a small airport located just outside of town. It has direct flights to most cities in Yunnan although the majority of flights will connect in Kunming. Remember to bring food with you because the options in the airport are terrible and delays are common.

By Bus

Bus is your best option for getting in and town. The main bus station is centrally located and easy to get to.

Eat

Locate on manting lu (曼听路) there are several restaurants serving local Chinese food, Thai food and western food for good prices.

Sleep

Budget

Located on manting lu (曼听路) there are several cheaper hotels

• Dai Building hotel (Daijia Huayuan Xiaolou) Phone: 216 2592, 57 manting lu (曼听路57号). The place is a bit basic and a little dirty, although it has charm because of the little bamboo huts. If looking for a cheap and unique place to stay this is it.

Keep Connected

Phone

See also International Telephone Calls

Post

China Post (中国邮政) is the official postal service of the People's Republic of China, operated by the State Postal Bureau of the People's Republic of China (website in Chinese only), and has more details about price to send letters, postcards and parcels, both domestically as well as internationally. The Chinese postal service is very good. Remember that in more remote places usually only one post office in a city can handle sending international boxes or letters. Also many times it might be worth having the name of the country you are trying to send to in Chinese characters. Post offices have a striking green logo and can easily be found everywhere in the cities. They are mostly open every day (including weekends!) from 8:00am to 6:00pm, though small offices might have shorter opening times, while the bigger ones in central and touristic areas are sometimes open during evenings as well.