Day 8 – Ruili – Tengchong (B,L)
Your day will start with a trip to the Jiele Golden Pagoda (located 7km from Ruili), the main Buddhist building of the area which has been destroyed and rebuilt on numerous occasions. The most recent reincarnation is the most faithful to the original style of the building, and is of typical Burmese design (and of that of part of South East Asia) with a central pagoda (40m high) and 16 smaller pagodas around it.
Visit to neighbouring villages, populated in the majority by people of the Dai Minority (who number around 1.2 million, the lion’s share of whom live in the Xishuangbanna region, close to the borders with both Burma and Laos). The Dai are part of the Thai linguistic family, practice the same type of Buddhism as their Thai cousins, and like them celebrate the Water Festival (amongst other festivals).
Note: The Water Festival lasts around three days and takes place in mid-April.
You will start in Nongan, known for its “Golden Duck Pagoda”, so named, according to the legend, thanks to the timely arrival of two ducks who saved this marshy region… You will pass through the villages of Jiexiang and Nongdao, overflowing with small markets, temples (notably the Denghanong sanctuary), and stupas. You will then arrive at Jiedong, the home of the Hansha Temple, made of bamboo boards, built on stilts, and known for the huge Buddha statue located in its centre.
On to Tengchong, located less than 300km away, taking four or five hours not including stops. This superb road follows a tropical path, surround by green mountains and bordered by palm trees, banyan trees, bamboo, rubber trees and sugarcane. The first stop is in the neighbouring district of Longchuan, one of the main centres of the small Jingpo minority (numbering less than 150,000 people, the majority of whom are found in Myanmar where they are known by the name of “Katchin”) and the Achang (less than 50,000 people), known amongst other things for their ability in the art of cutlery making (the husa knives are famous in the region).
The next stop is at Yingjiang where you will visit the Yunyan Pagoda, built to appease water demons and combat plague. Finally, you will stop in Lianghe, full of beautiful wooden houses and where you will visit the Former Residence of Tusi, a high ranking civil servant from times gone by.
At the end of the day you will arrive in Tengchong, a part of the old “Southern Silk Road”, where the most traded commodity was Burmese jade. The British even built a consulate here to try to extend their influence over the bordering Myanmar. Tengchong was also a strategically important place during the Second World War, and the WWII Cemetery located here commemorates the battles that took place between American and Chinese forces and the Japanese Army. Settling-in at the hotel.
Night in Tengchong or in the neighbouring village of Heshun, depending on the category of hotel you have chosen.