Dehong

Dehong Dai Nationality and Jingpo Nationality Autonomous Prefecture is situated in the western part of Yunnan Province.

With two cities (Ruili City and Wanding City) and four counties (Luxi County, Longchuan County, Ying jiang County and Lianghe County) under its jurisdiction, it has a total area of 11,526 square kilometers and a population of 952 thousand people. More than half of the local people belong to Dai, Jingpo, Achang , Lisu and Deang nationalities.

Da Yingjiang River
Waterfall in Yingjiang County RuiliJiang River and Da YingJiang River scenic spots are within the limits of the Deihong Prefecture, which have a humid and hot rain forest climate typical to the low - Latitudes subtropical areas.

Da Yingjiang River located in the Yingjiang County, one of the counties being subordinate to the Dehong prefecture. The most exciting tour in Yingjiang is to take a boat on the Da Yingjiang river. You can marvel at the forests and the subtropical scenery.

Mangshi
Mangshi is the capital of Dehong Dai and Jingpo Autonomous Prefecture, a place of mysterious Buddhist temples and gold pagodas, homeland of the peacock and " sea of songs and dances ", a pearl on Yunnan's western border.

Mangshi is Dehong's air link with the outside world. If you fly in from Kunming there are minibuses funning direct from the airport to Ruili and most people take this option. But Mangshi has a casual southeast Asian feel to it and there are a few sights in and around the town that make dallying here a day or so worthwhile.

The Kunming - Wanding road, more familiarly known to most people, especially Americans of World War II, as the Burma road, connects Kunming with Burma. It is the only route you can take to Ruili, Wanding and into Myanmar.

Ruili
Capital of the subtropical frontier county of Ruili, Ruili Town lies on the east bank of the golden Ruili River, Whence comes her name. People call Ruili "the foggy town". In winter, she wakes up under a blanket of fog. In the afternoon, when the sun had burned away the fog, the streets swarmed with women in their bright parasols held over their heads. At a local market along the main street, Dai women offer slices of watermelon for sale and colorful silks and yarns.

Ruili is without a doubt one of the more interesting towns in southwestern China. It's just a few kilometers from Myanmar and it has a real border-town feel. There's a great mix of Han Chinese, minorities and ubiquitous Burmese traders hawking jade, and travelers tend to linger longer than they intended, just for the atmosphere.

Comparing with the rest of China, Ruili seems unrestricted, like people get away with a lot more here. At first sight it doesn't seem like much (and the place is getting dustier with all the new construction work) but it's worth spending a couple of days here.

Ruili is a beautiful land covered by green subtropical rain forest, dotted with big Banyan trees, each one looking like a forest. Buddhist temples can be seen everywhere in this city. The most famous temple is Jiele Golden Temple composed of 17 a ring - shaped towers. The main tower is 36 meters high, surrounded by 16 other smaller towers.

Wanding
Located in China's southwestern frontier province of Yunnan, close by the River Wanding, Whose name in the Dai language means "the sun shining overhead ", she covers an area of 34 square miles. Nestling within a stone's - throw of Burma, This mountain trade mecca of 84,000 people is China's youngest city.

She came into being in 1932, putting down roots in an ancient spot of earth trod by Kublai Khan's rampaging Mongol warriors and crossed by the old spice and tea caravans. But it was not until 53 years later that she was formally established as a municipality and opened to westerners.

And it was here that the China section of the historic Burma Road to Kunming, the only passage of access to the outer world during World War II, began at the bridge over the Wanding River connecting China with Burma.