Xishuangbanna Dai Autonomous Prefecture

Xishuangbanna Prefecture
—  Autonomous prefecture  —
Chinese transcription(s)
- Characters	西双版纳傣族自治州
- Pinyin	Xīshuāngbǎnnà dǎizú Zìzhìzhōu
Location of Xishuangbanna Prefecture within Yunnan province of China
Xishuangbanna Prefecture Location within China
Coordinates: 22°00′N 100°48′E / 22°N 100.8°E / 22; 100.8
Country	China
Province	Yunnan
GB/T 2260 CODE[1]	532800
Admin HQ	Jinghong
Admin units	List Jinghong Menghai Mengla
Area
- Total	19,700 km2 (7,606.2 sq mi)
Population
- Total	993,397
- Density	50.4/km2 (130.6/sq mi)
Time zone	China Standard Time (UTC+8)
Postal code	666100[2]
Area code(s)	0691[2]
Website	xsbn.gov.cn
1Yunnan Statistics Bureau [1] 2Yunnan Portal [2]

Xishuangbanna (or Sipsongpanna, Chinese: 西双版纳傣族自治州; pinyin: Xīshuāngbǎnnà dǎizú Zìzhìzhōu) is an autonomous prefecture in Yunnan Province, China. The capital city is Jinghong, the largest settlement in the area and one that straddles the Lancang River.

Name

The native name Sípsɔ́ng literally means "twelve". Pǎnnǎ literally means "thousand rice fields (千亩)". So Sípsɔ́ŋpǎnnǎ="twelve thousand rice fields".

Administrative subdivisions

Xishuangbanna governs one county-level city and two counties.

• County-level city: Jinghong
• Counties: Menghai County, Mengla County

Geography

The prefecture has an area of 19,700 km². Xishuangbanna is the home of the Dai people. The region sits at a lower altitude than most of Yunnan, and has a tropical climate. It is fast becoming a sought after tourist destination.

Biodiversity

Passiflora xishuangbannaensis

Xishuangbanna harbors much of the biodiversity of Yunnan Province, which harbors much of the biodiversity of China. Its tropical climate and its remoteness until recent times accounts for this. In addition to an abundance of plants, Xishuangbanna is home to the last few Asian elephants still in China; the species roamed over a large part of the country even as late as a few hundred years ago. The elephants are protected in a reserve, but the plant diversity is threatened by, and has for five decades been threatened by, the proliferation of rubber plantations which completely destroy the rainforest and replace it with a monoculture of trees originally from Brazil.^[3]

Passiflora xishuangbannaensis is a recently discovered passionflower species that is endemic to Xishuangbanna.

Demographics

With censuses in the year 2000 Xishuangbanna had 993,397 inhabitants with a population density of 50.43 inhabitants per km².

Ethnic groups

The Blang village of Manpo.

Ethnic groups in Xishuangbanna, 2000 census

Culture

The Six famous tea mountains region (六大茶山; pinyin: Liù Dà Chá Shān; literally, "Six major tea mountain") located in the prefecture produce some of the most highly regarded Pu-erh tea in the 20th century.

Xishuangbanna is rich in nature, historical and cultural resources, noted for its folklore, rain forests, rare plants and wildlife. Its major tourist attractions include Menglun Tropical Botanical Garden, Manfeilong Pagodas (Tanuozhuanglong), Jingzhen Pavilion, Wild Elephant Gully, Dai people's village at Ganlanba.

The well-known traditional festival is the ethnic Dai's Water-Splashing Festival. It lasts for three days from April 13 to 15. Besides the water festival event it also consists of some other events such as Dragon boat races, firing of indigenous missiles, flying Kongming Lamps.

Transport

Since the opening of the Xishuangbanna Gasa Airport (formerly "Jinghong International Airport") in 1990, traveling to Xishuangbanna by air has become more popular and convenient and there are daily flights connecting Xishuangbanna with Kunming City. The area also has air connections with Dali, Chengdu and Bangkok. The Xishuangbanna Airport is 6 km south of Jinghong City.

There are also bus routes to places all over Yunnan and neighboring provinces.

See also

• Xishuangbanna Tropical Botanical Garden

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Xishuangbanna Dai Autonomous Prefecture

• Xishuangbanna Prefecture government website
• Xishuangbanna-Jinghong city government website
• Xishuangbanna-Mengbalanaxi
• Xishuangbanna Daily
• Xishuangbanna Biodiversity Centre and Guide
• Xishuangbanna Tropical Botanical Garden
• Xishuangbanna guide and photos

Coordinates: 22°00′N 100°48′E / 22°N 100.8°E / 22; 100.8