Rainforest Elephant Water Festival: Guess This Southern City Where People Wear Short Sleeves in Winter!
A couple of days ago, heavy snow fell in the Jiangsu and Zhejiang regions. Many photography enthusiasts flocked to the shores of West Lake to capture the picturesque scene of the "Melting Snow at Broken Bridge." Compared to the gentle charm of the south, northerners are quite active in the cold weather. In recent years, activities like sledding and spinning ice tops have begun to fade away, but the intangible cultural heritage of snowball fights continues to be passed down. This reflects the attitude of northerners toward the harsh winter: rather than merely enduring it, they choose to enjoy it.
While people from south to north were both shivering in the cold wind and seeking joy, Xishuangbanna in Yunnan presented a completely different scene.
On December 1, 2022, an aerial photo captured the daytime snowscape of Yanggongdi at Hangzhou's West Lake.
Can you imagine spending the winter in just a short-sleeved shirt and a sun hat? Can you imagine lush greenery and fragrant fruits even during the coldest days of winter? Not only that, but this place also holds a unique vitality.
The forest coverage rate here is as high as 88%, and 756 species of wild animals thrive here, accounting for one-quarter of the country's total wildlife species. Towering trees spread complex root networks, gibbons leap through the canopy of the rainforest like an aerial garden, disturbing the colorful hornbills resting on the branches...
In the depths of winter, we don’t need to envy the Amazon in South America or the Congo Basin in Africa, because China has its own tropical paradise—Xishuangbanna.
The Mengle Grand Buddha Temple overlooks Jinghong City.
Xishuangbanna: A Tropical Eden Where All Things Grow
Every winter, "spending the winter in Xishuangbanna" becomes a hot search term on major search engines. In recent years, as more and more people have become familiar with this hidden gem in Yunnan, Xishuangbanna has even replaced Sanya as a new destination for northerners seeking to escape the cold.
The Lancang River, which flows from the mountains,
is known as the Mekong River in its lower reaches.
While Harbin’s Ice and Snow World is undoubtedly beautiful, compared to staying in a heated room with a 60°C temperature difference from the outside or sliding on ice in thick down jackets, strolling along the banks of the Lancang River with a juicy mango in hand and feeling the warm river breeze is a more delightful experience.
The reason for Xishuangbanna’s uniqueness lies hidden in the towering peaks of the Yunnan-Guizhou Plateau.
The Ailao Mountains are the guardians of this blessed land of Xishuangbanna. Stretching northwest to southeast, these mountains block the last of the cold waves from the north in winter, trapping the warm, moist air from the Indian Ocean over southern Yunnan. This creates the region’s unique climate, maintaining high temperatures and humidity. Less than 1,000 kilometers from Xishuangbanna, Cherrapunji has become one of the wettest places on Earth for similar reasons.
Xishuangbanna is also a valley of the Lancang River. Its enclosed terrain forms a local microclimate characterized by high humidity and heat, giving rise to the Xishuangbanna tropical rainforest.
The Xishuangbanna You Didn’t Know
On our blue planet, almost all tropical rainforests are distributed between 10° north and south of the equator. Xishuangbanna Dai Autonomous Prefecture, located at 22° north latitude, is a selfless gift from nature.
Ancient trees towering into the clouds in the primeval forest.
Tropical rainforests are home to approximately half of the world’s species. Xishuangbanna is lush with trees and exceptionally rich in flora and fauna. Sky-reaching trees tower into the clouds, banyan trees form forests on their own, wild fungi are countless, and unique species such as wild mouse-deer as big as rabbits and snakes smaller than loaches thrive here.
Most people have seen lotus flowers, but you may not have seen a lotus leaf strong enough to support a person. In Xishuangbanna, there is a giant water lily known as the "Victoria amazonica," whose leaves can hold an adult male weighing nearly 150 pounds.
The lush Chinese Academy of Sciences Botanical Garden.
Xishuangbanna’s rich flora and fauna have long been integrated into the local ethnic culture, elevated to cultural symbols—such as the elephant, symbolizing strength, and the peacock, representing auspiciousness and wisdom.
Last year, a herd of elephants migrating north from Xishuangbanna captured widespread public attention. They journeyed together, young and old, traversing the rugged mountains of southern and central Yunnan, ventured to the outskirts of Kunming, and eventually returned to Xishuangbanna.
Image/Yunnan Provincial Department of Culture and Tourism
After all, Xishuangbanna’s humidity and climate offer the most suitable tropical paradise for wild elephants.
China has about 300 wild Asian elephants, with approximately 250 distributed in Xishuangbanna. Contrary to expectations, most wild elephants do not stay in the nature reserves designated for them. These reserves are often dense forests, while elephants prefer open areas at the forest edges. They are frequently seen in Pu’er tea mountains, rubber plantations, farmlands, and even villagers’ settlements.
Wild Asian elephants living in the tropical rainforest.
Photo by Xiong Wang, provided by SEE Foundation
In contrast to the mighty elephants, another iconic animal of Xishuangbanna embodies grace and beauty.
In the childhood memory “Journey to the West II,” Jin Qiaoqiao’s portrayal of the Peacock Princess—elegant, expressive, and captivating—made many viewers momentarily forget the perils of Lion Camel Ridge. The melody of the Hulusi flute, the peacock dance, and the lush green backdrop easily evoke images of Yunnan’s green kingdom.
In Xishuangbanna, everyone can recount the gripping love story of the Peacock Princess. According to the Dai folk narrative “Zhao Shutun,” a Dai prince fell in love with the beautiful Peacock Princess. When she faced danger, she transformed into a peacock and flew away after a dance, eventually reuniting with the prince. This legend is the origin of the peacock dance.
Elephants and peacocks represent the dual aspects of strength and gentleness in Xishuangbanna, symbolizing its mild living environment and rich ecological resources.
The warm climate and abundant flora and fauna make Xishuangbanna a rare secret garden in China during the harsh winter.
“Xishuang” means twelve in Dai language, “ban” means thousand, and “na” is a unit of land tax. Thus, Xishuangbanna can be literally translated as “twelve thousand fields.”
For most people, understanding Xishuangbanna—and indeed all of Yunnan—is inseparable from the Water-Splashing Festival, a grand ethnic celebration.
The vibrant Water-Splashing Festival is both a blessing and a carnival.
Every mid-April, ethnic groups like the Dai, De’ang, and Blang in Xishuangbanna celebrate their most important festival—the Water-Splashing Festival. People bathe, change into clean clothes, and take to the streets to splash water on each other. Locals believe that the more water one is splashed with, the happier they will be in the coming year. Thus, the usually calm and gentle people of Xishuangbanna become exceptionally wild during this time.
Especially in Jinghong, the capital of Xishuangbanna, the streets empty during the festival as everyone gathers in squares, splashing water with copper bowls, basins, and even buckets. In recent years, water guns and pumps have added a modern twist to the traditional festivities.
Whether through traditional water-splashing rituals or trendy water gun battles, the core remains Xishuangbanna’s diverse ethnic culture.
Historically, Xishuangbanna was a vital source of population and taxes for southwestern minority regimes like the Ailao and Dali kingdoms. Ethnic groups such as the Yi, Bai, Hani, and Lahu have lived here for generations. In 1180, the first Dai king,帕雅真, established the Jinglong Golden Palace Kingdom centered in Xishuangbanna, spanning southern Yunnan and northern Indochina. Later, it submitted to the Yuan Dynasty and became the Cheli Pacification Commission during the Yuan and Ming dynasties, formally incorporating Xishuangbanna into Chinese territory.
The fact that it attracts various ethnic groups to settle here shows that Xishuangbanna is indeed a treasure land. On the Yunnan-Guizhou Plateau, where flat land is scarce, mountains connected to mountains are the norm, and flat farmland is the rarest resource. Xishuangbanna is said to have 1,200 such flat fields, making it naturally one of Yunnan's most affluent regions.
In the Yunnan dialect, the small plains between mountains are called "bazi." Like the oases in Xinjiang, Yunnan's bazi are the primary hubs for agriculture and population. While most bazi were formed by crustal movements or water erosion, the main reason Xishuangbanna became a fertile plain is the Lancang River.
The Lancang River originates from the Tanggula Mountains in Qinghai Province. It rushes down from the Tibetan Plateau and gradually slows upon reaching the Yunnan-Guizhou Plateau, forming the Xishuangbanna valley plain. It then flows out of China, becoming the Mekong River, which nourishes half of the Southeast Asian countries. This river breathes life and vitality into this diverse rainforest habitat.
After visiting Xishuangbanna, Prince Bamoe, the former Prime Minister of Thailand, wrote in his travelogue: "I have been to many places and once thought Europe's Danube and Rhine were the world's most beautiful rivers, but the Lancang River in Xishuangbanna is no less magnificent."
Indeed, the Lancang River in Xishuangbanna is neither as turbulent as its upstream sections nor as muddy as the downstream Mekong. The emerald-green Lancang River flows gently through Jinghong, the capital of Xishuangbanna, giving the city a tranquil and peaceful charm.
The serene Lancang River is the mother river of five Southeast Asian countries.
Backed by the Yunnan-Guizhou region, Xishuangbanna is a beautiful gateway and bridgehead for China towards Southeast Asia.
Many have seen the prosperity of Southeast Asia's floating markets in films and TV shows. On the Lancang River in Xishuangbanna, there is an equally bustling "Lancang River Six-Nation Floating Market." Moreover, due to the development of riverside cities, Xishuangbanna's floating market is even more dazzling with neon lights.
When night falls, Jinghong begins to showcase its charm. Behind the landmark Jinghong Great Golden Pagoda, the Gaozhuang Starlight Night Market, with its distinct Dai ethnic style, is truly dazzling. The roadside stalls are brightly lit, and neon signs glow with vibrant colors, reflected by the gently flowing Lancang River, making it resemble an eternal southern city that never sleeps.
Hiding novel flavors you've never experienced before
The waters of the Lancang River not only bless the creatures along its banks but also bring abundance to Xishuangbanna. Rare tropical crops and unique Yunnan flavors can only be found here.
At fruit stalls in Xishuangbanna,
Photo by Ye Zi, Image from Tuchong Creativity
As China's only inland tropical rainforest climate zone, Xishuangbanna provides the nation with a wealth of tropical fruits. High sweetness and high moisture are common traits of most tropical fruits. Fruits like mangoes, lychees, pineapples, and rambutans are available year-round in Xishuangbanna. Beyond these well-known fruits, there are also plantains, papayas, dragon fruit, tamarinds, and many other tropical fruits most people have never heard of. Even in the coldest winter months, Xishuangbanna offers the sweetness of midsummer.
However, the local palate in Xishuangbanna leans towards stronger flavors of sourness and spiciness. Mangoes mixed with chili powder, lemongrass-grilled fish, pickled sour meat—these might seem intimidating to those unfamiliar with them, but locals consider them the most common and delicious delicacies.
"Chong" is the Dai people's unique way of preparing food. Ingredients are pounded in a stone mortar or bamboo tube and then mixed with seasonings like lemon, chili peppers, and herbs. In Dai cuisine in Xishuangbanna, everything from cold noodles and papaya to eggs and chicken feet—anything nature provides—can be "chonged."
The pounding process breaks down the ingredients, allowing every part to fully absorb the seasonings. As the pestle moves up and down, the sourness of lemon, the spiciness of chili peppers, and the natural aroma of the food blend together, creating a mouthwatering mix of sour, spicy, sweet, and fragrant flavors.
At the Starlight Night Market, you can taste the most authentic local snacks.
Xishuangbanna is taking over the dining tables of China's middle class.
The Pu'er tea produced in neighboring Pu'er City is highly praised by tea enthusiasts in China. Xishuangbanna itself is also home to six famous tea mountains renowned both domestically and internationally. However, in recent years, another of the world's three major beverages—coffee—has become more competitive in Xishuangbanna.
China is the world's fastest-growing coffee consumption market. With the advent of the era of globalization, an increasing number of Chinese people have developed the habit of drinking coffee. However, coffee is a tropical crop, and its cultivation process has nearly苛刻 requirements for sunlight, precipitation, and temperature. In China, only southern Yunnan has a truly suitable environment for coffee cultivation. It can be said that Xishuangbanna has driven the development of China's coffee industry.
Similarly, avocados, popular in North America, have captivated countless fitness enthusiasts through American films, TV shows, the Super Bowl, and other media. Everyone is curious about the taste of this uniquely shaped fruit. In the early days, if an avocado was to make its way to China, it had to cross the entire Pacific Ocean, and the high shipping costs were prohibitive. Today, avocados have been introduced to southern Yunnan, which has a climate similar to their Latin American place of origin. They have taken root in places like Xishuangbanna and Pu'er, becoming another unique product of "Yunnan flavor."
Avocado, the favorite of the Aztecs.
Photo/Sean, Image/Figure Insect · Creativity
The significance of Xishuangbanna to China is not just as a massive agricultural production base or a popular tourist destination. Here, there is a vast sky, ethereal and clear; a lush rainforest, full of vitality; a gentle river, nourishing all things; and a group of enthusiastic people, harmonious and united.
The immense richness of historical context, natural resources, and ethnic culture makes it difficult to summarize the full picture of this fertile land in just a sentence or two. This treasure hidden among the mountains requires no excessive praise. Its own vibrant colors and vitality are our most precious wealth.
Unsourced images in the article | Visual China Group