35 living collections
Of tropical plants.
Liuxingy — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Yumeto — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Liuxingy — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Yumeto — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Liuxingy — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Liuxingy — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Colin W — CC BY-SA 3.0 · Liuxingy — CC BY-SA 4.0
A vast botanical garden rich in tropical plants, founded by the Chinese Academy of Sciences in 1959 at Menglun in the far south of Yunnan, on the edge of the tropics near the borders with Laos and Myanmar, and covering 1,125 hectares. The garden keeps more than 13,000 species of tropical plants in 35 living collections drawn from more than 300 plant families, and visitors wander among them on shady paths between ponds and towering trees. It is divided into western and eastern sections linked by electric cars, and it is also a major research centre for tropical forest ecology and biodiversity conservation. Tickets cost CNY 80, or CNY 40 concession, and the electric cars CNY 50 for each section or CNY 100 for the whole garden, running from 8:00 to 18:00, per the garden's official site. The drive from Jinghong takes about an hour and a half, so allow a full day, and carry an umbrella, as rain comes suddenly in the forest.
Of tropical plants.
By electric car.
For tropical forests.
Menglun Town, Mengla County, Xishuangbanna, Yunnan
Most of a day: the garden is large, with western and eastern sections linked by electric cars at CNY 100 for the whole garden, and the drive from Jinghong takes about an hour and a half, per visitor guides.
Dai and other southern cooking uses a lot of pork, so always ask about ingredients, and look in Jinghong for Lanzhou-style noodle shops run by Hui Muslims under the halal sign.