How many surprises are there in the southernmost part of Yunnan?

In the south of the colorful clouds , the Yunnan scenery with folded mountains and rivers was created.

In the south of Yunnan, the Banna style of Dai water village was born.

What kind of unique charm does the south of Banna present?

Tropical rainforest in Mengla | Photographer @纪涵

It’s Mengla .

Mengla is the southernmost county in Xishuangbanna, Yunnan. It is connected to Laos and Myanmar by mountains and rivers. The border line is 740.8 kilometers long, the longest among the 129 counties and cities in Yunnan.

Geographical location and topographical diagram of Mengla County | Map by @Zheng Yi/Planet Research Institute

The Nanla River and the Luosuo River meander through the area, nourishing nearly 80% of the tropical rainforests in Xishuangbanna.

Nanla River in the rainforest | Photographer @查玮

Among the 4,023 peaks and 51 plains covering more than 1,000 mu, 26 ethnic groups live in harmony with each other in peace and tranquility.

Villages between the mountains and plains of Mengla | Photographer @薛云

This area of ​​mountains and waters is the home of Asian elephants.

Here you can also find the world-famous Xishuangbanna Tropical Botanical Garden of the Chinese Academy of Sciences , the Parashorea chinensis , and Pu'er tea , among other unique landscapes and past events.

Xishuangbanna Tropical Botanical Garden of the Chinese Academy of Sciences is the botanical garden with the largest number of outdoor plants and plants displayed to the public in the world. It has collected more than 12,000 living plants. It is not only a scientific research unit of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, but also a national 5A-level scenic spot. The picture shows the Victoria amazonica and palm landscape in the garden | Photographer @万霜降

The magical nature, unique history and colorful culture come together to create the unique charm of Mengla.

And it was the south of Mengla that made all this possible.

01

Southern Rainforest

Mengla is located in the southernmost corner of Yunnan. Its unique geographical location first created the "special" tropical rainforest .

Mengla is located near the south of the Tropic of Cancer, and its annual average temperature and rainfall are lower than those of the tropical rainforest areas near the equator. In other areas at the same latitude, the vegetation types are mostly savannah or desert, but here there are dense tropical rainforests. How did Mengla do it?

Please watch in horizontal mode , the dense tropical rainforest landscape in Mengla | Photographer @李植森

The answer is fog .

The fog in the valley not only improves the water and heat conditions here, but also helps vegetation absorb nutrients, so fog has become the key to the formation of tropical rainforests in Mengla. And the fog is closely related to the geographical location here.

Thick fog in the valley of Mengla area | Photographer @陈燕

About 2.6 million years ago , with the rapid uplift of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, the mountain range pattern in southern Yunnan was basically formed, the modern East Asian monsoon climate began to appear, and the tropical monsoon climate of Xishuangbanna was also formed.

On this basis, the tall mountains north of Banna blocked the dry and cold air flow from the south, while retaining the warm and humid air flow from the south, forming a humid and hot weak wind area in Banna with relatively stable air flow.

The tall Ailao Mountains in northern Xishuangbanna | Photographer @邓喜平

On clear nights, the temperature near the ground drops faster than at high altitudes. Under stable airflow conditions, an inversion layer with warm air above and cold air below is easily formed. The lush vegetation and abundant rivers provide sufficient water vapor for the cold air below, and fog is formed when the water vapor condenses.

Xishuangbanna is a famous foggy area, and Mengla County is the worst. Nearly one-third of the days in the year are foggy, and more than 80% of them are concentrated in the dry season.

Schematic diagram of fog formation in the rainforest valley in Mengla area | Map by Zheng Borong/Planet Research Institute

Due to the characteristics of tropical monsoon climate, more than 80% of the annual rainfall in Mengla is concentrated in the rainy season, and the rainfall and temperature in the dry season cannot meet the needs of tropical rain forests. However, fog has good heat preservation and moisturizing effects, which just solves this problem and breeds tropical rain forests in Mengla that should not exist.

The vast tropical rainforest has made this place a home for a variety of creatures. The diversity of species has brought about fierce competition for survival. In order to occupy a place in the rainforest, various creatures have used various tricks.

Please watch in horizontal mode , Mengla rainforest filled with morning mist | Photographer @薛云

Sunlight is an important resource that affects the life and death of rainforest plants. In order to obtain sufficient light, growing taller than humans is the most direct and effective method. The Parashorea chinensis is a leader in this regard.

They stand out in the rainforest and are one of the tallest tree species in China, usually more than 60 meters high, and the tallest even exceeds 80 meters, which is equivalent to more than 20 floors high.

In the Wangtianshu scenic area of ​​Bubang, people built an aerial walkway on the Wangtianshu (Parashorea chinensis) | Photographer @查玮

In addition to the parashorea chinensis, there are also "tall trees" over 30 meters tall in the rain forest, such as the four-digit tree . In order to support the huge trunk, some of them extend a board-wall-like structure at the bottom, which is the buttress root .

In the rain forest of Mengla, some buttress roots can be more than 10 meters wide and high, like a natural wall in the rain forest, which is particularly spectacular.

The huge buttress roots of Tetrameles nudiflora | Photographer @李植森

The support solutions for giant trees in the rainforest include not only buttress roots, but also aerial roots of fig plants.

Before it touches the ground, it can directly absorb moisture from the air, and once it penetrates deep into the soil, it has the dual functions of absorbing nutrients and supporting the tree. As the aerial roots continue to increase and thicken, you can also see the unique landscape of a single tree forming a forest .

Banyan tree (Ficus microcarpa) forest landscape | Photographer @刘剑伟

Not only can Ficus plants grow into a forest on their own, some of their members are also ruthless " killers ".

Their seeds will germinate on other tall trees, and then grow a large number of aerial roots along the host's trunk, tightly entwining the host and eventually strangling it, thereby gaining more survival resources for themselves.

The host that the fig plant is wrapped around has long since rotted and disappeared, but the hollow part of the fig plant still allows us to see what the host once looked like | Photographer @李贞泰

In addition, in order to obtain more living space and attract more pollinating insects to reproduce offspring, the worry-free flower chooses to take a different approach. It can grow flowers directly from the stems, forming a unique landscape of flowers growing on old stems .

Saraca sp. | Photographer @杨云

Tropical rainforests are not the only type of forest in Mengla.

In Menglun and Guanlei areas, tropical monsoon forests still grow on limestone mountains below 1,000 meters above sea level, covering the steep stone forests and forming a unique green stone forest landscape.

Green Stone Forest Landscape | Photographer @Sun Yingshun

Mengla’s diverse forests are home to more than 6,000 species of rare and exotic animals, including the 2021 “Animal of the Year” – the Asian elephant .

The Mengla and Shangyong nature reserves here are one of the main distribution areas of wild Asian elephants in China. In 2018, researchers monitored 74 wild Asian elephants in the two reserves, accounting for nearly a quarter of the total number of wild Asian elephants in the country.

Asian elephant (Elephas maximus) | Photographer @Luo Aidong, Xishuangbanna National Nature Reserve

The jungles of Mengla are home to not only the Asian elephant, but also the Dwayne Johnson of cattle, the white-lipped buffalo . They can reach 2 meters in shoulder height and weigh more than 1 ton. The dense forests of Mengla are one of the only remaining areas where they are found in China.

White-lipped bison (Bos frontalis) | Photographer @Luo Aidong, Xishuangbanna National Nature Reserve

In addition, there is the world's smallest even-toed ungulate animal - the mouse deer . Adult mouse deer are only half a meter long and mainly feed on flowers and fruits on the forest floor. Males have a pair of sharp fangs for fighting. Mengla is the only home of mouse deer in China.

Mouse deer (Tragulus kanchil) | Photographer @Luo Aidong, Xishuangbanna National Nature Reserve

There are also white-cheeked gibbons , the high-altitude acrobats in the forest. They are critically endangered species in the IUCN Red List and one of the rarest primates in China. Mengla is one of the few places in China where they can still be seen.

White-cheeked gibbon (Nomascus leucogenys) | Photographer @张程皓

Before humans set foot here, Mengla became a unique rainforest secret place because of the south, giving birth to colorful biological wonders.

02

Nanzu Paradise

With the arrival of humans, Mengla became a peaceful and tolerant place far away from wars and conflicts, accepting people from all over the world to settle here, colliding with colorful national cultures and shaping the unique Mengla character.

As early as the Neolithic Age , there were ancestors living in Mengla. Around the 5th century BC , the ancient Yue people formed a tribal alliance state in the southwest - the Ailao Kingdom , and the history of regime rotation in Mengla began.

The bronze finger guard in the picture is one of a large number of bronze artifacts from the Ailao period unearthed in Baoshan City, Yunnan Province. Their discovery means that the Baoshan area is likely to be the center of Ailao civilization | Photographer @脉影 / Map @郑伯蓉 / Planet Research Institute

About 400 years later , with the defeat of the Ailao Kingdom and its submission to the Han Dynasty, Mengla became part of the Chinese civilization. But for a long time, it was sparsely populated and rarely developed.

This situation did not change until the Tang Dynasty. Piloge, the third generation leader of the Mengshe tribe in the Erhai area of ​​Dali, unified other tribes and established the Nanzhao Kingdom , and the Mengla area belonged to the Liyun City under it.

A stone sculpture of the family portrait of Xinuluo, the first leader of the Mengshe tribe in Jianchuan, Dali. Xinuluo is often regarded as the first king of the Nanzhao Kingdom . Source: Visual China

The rise of commerce made Liyun City an important border town, and the local population increased significantly. After that, as the region developed further, people from surrounding areas moved in one after another, which also became a major source of the Mengla Dai people .

During the Qing Dynasty, the Dai people in Mengla had another major population increase. In 1895, the Qing government ceded Mengwu and Wude, two areas east of Mengla, to French Vietnam at that time, and the Dai people in the two areas immediately moved to Mengla.

Dai girl | Photographer @查玮

These two sources have laid the foundation for the size of the Dai people, who account for nearly 1/3 of Mengla's population. The Dai people have also become one of the ethnic groups with the most profound influence on Mengla. They have witnessed the historical changes of Mengla, and Mengla has also shaped the unique culture of the Dai people.

The Dai people in Mengla call themselves Dai Le (lè) , and they mainly live in areas close to water sources such as plains and river valleys. Since these areas are prone to floods during the rainy season, in order to prevent their houses from being flooded, the Dai ancestors used tall wooden piles to suspend their houses in the air, forming a unique stilt-style dwelling .

Stilt houses are a product of environmental influences and are not unique to the Dai people. The Yao people in the Sharen Village of Mengla Yao District in the picture below also live in stilt houses | Photographer @李植森

Water not only affects the Dai people's architecture, but also their eating habits.

The Dai people, who live by the water, mainly cultivate paddy fields and are one of the earliest ethnic groups in China to grow rice. Therefore, rice occupies a major position in the Dai diet. They use rice as a raw material to develop more than 40 kinds of special staple foods, such as hand-pulled rice, Haonuosuo, Haoji, rice noodles, etc.

Hao Nuo Suo | Photographer @查玮

Nan not only made the Dai people migrate to Mengla, but also had a profound impact on their culture and beliefs.

During the Tang and Song dynasties , Theravada Buddhism was introduced into China from Southeast Asia via the Mengla region. Because of the admiration of the royal family and nobles, it quickly became the universal belief of the Dai people, and eye-catching temples were built in almost every village.

Dai monks in front of a Buddhist temple | Photographer @薛云

Theravada Buddhism not only brought religious beliefs to the Dai people, but also prompted them to develop their own Dai language by combining the Pali and Burmese languages ​​in the scriptures.

They recorded historical legends in Tai Lue script on the leaves of the local palm tree, and thus the Palm Leaf Sutra came into being.

The palm leaf scriptures are a cultural treasure of the Dai people | Photographer @查玮

The Water-Splashing Festival is another great gift from Theravada Buddhism to the Dai people.

It is also called the Buddha Bathing Festival. It is a festival to celebrate the Dai New Year and is held in mid-April every year. On this day, people bathe the Buddha statues, pray for peace, and splash water on each other to show blessings. In addition, there are many activities on this day, such as dragon boat racing and releasing Kongming lanterns. It is also one of the first batch of national intangible cultural heritage.

People splash water on each other to express their blessings during the Water Splashing Festival | Photographer @查玮

During the Tang and Song dynasties , not only the Dai people experienced great changes, but the Hani people also migrated south from the Red River area to Mengla. Today, there are more than 60,000 Hani compatriots living here.

Traditionally, the Hani people usually live in mountainous areas, living in low-rise houses called " Yongao " built on the slopes. As economic conditions continue to improve and inter-ethnic exchanges become more frequent, the Hani people have also begun to live in Dai-style stilt houses or reinforced concrete Han-style buildings.

Hani women's national costumes | Photographer @查玮

Not only in architecture, the different ethnic groups in Mengla also communicate and integrate in terms of language and customs. Everyone speaks each other's language, celebrates each other's festivals, and wears each other's clothes, presenting a scene of harmony and tolerance.

Despite this, the ethnic groups in Mengla still retain their own unique aspects. The Buguo and Paijiao people of the Hani ethnic group are special ethnic minority branches in the Mengla area. Although they belong to the Hani ethnic group, they have their own unique origins and customs.

The special horn-shaped headdress is the origin of the name " Paijiao People " | Photographer @李植森

In addition, the Kemu people among the Bulang ethnic group are also a special ethnic group in Mengla.

According to local elders, the Kemu people came to Mengla before the Dai people and are one of the oldest ethnic groups here.

" Tongxin Wine " is a special drinking custom of the Kemu people | Photographer @张晓岚

During the Ming and Qing dynasties , there were constant conflicts in the southwest region, and residents of various ethnic groups in these areas, such as the Yao, Yi, Zhuang , and Miao, fled southwards.

Because of the south, Mengla became their ideal refuge.

Schematic diagram of the historical migration of ethnic minorities living in Mengla area | Map by Zheng Yi/Planet Research Institute

During the same period, many Han people also came to Mengla area, but they did not come to escape, but to the famous product here - Pu'er tea .

Tea farmers are picking Pu'er tea | Photographer @查玮

Mengla is one of the origins of Pu'er tea. "Mengla" means " tea-producing place " in Dai language.

The tea culture here has a long history. As early as the Han Dynasty, there were records of tea planting and drinking in the area. In the Qing Dynasty, Mengla's tea mountains became famous for producing tribute tea for the imperial court. Five of the six traditional Pu'er tea mountains are located here.

Tea merchants in Yiwu | Photographer @李植森

The ancient Tea-Horse Road started from here, and tea merchants opened businesses and built shops here. Pu'er tea brought prosperity to the business and also made Mengla develop rapidly.

Yiwu's Shiping Guild Hall was once an important post station on the Ancient Tea Horse Road. Now, Pu'er tea is drying in front of the renovated guild hall | Photographer @李植森

After the founding of New China , Nanrang Mengla became the destination of large teams supporting the border areas, and as a result, more ethnic groups came here.

Since human beings set foot on it, Mengla has become the homeland of 26 ethnic groups . The multi-ethnic groups have brought rich history, colliding with brilliant culture and shaping Mengla's inclusive character.

03

South Border

Entering a new era of rapid development, the south has become Mengla's locational advantage , which has transformed Mengla into the southern border of the country, shouldering an unprecedented important mission.

At the beginning of the founding of the People's Republic of China , there was a lot of work to be done. A plant raw material became an indispensable resource in the development of Mengla, and that was rubber . Rubber is the main raw material for the production of tires and other materials, and is an important strategic resource for the country. However, natural rubber is not native to China, so before the 1960s, China's rubber raw materials were completely dependent on imports.

The rubber tree is leaking rubber liquid | Photographer @查玮

In the 1960s , in order to cope with the "rubber blockade" of Western countries, China began to try to plant rubber trees. Because of its unique climate and environment, Mengla also joined the ranks of saving the country and gradually developed into the largest rubber planting county in the country.

Half a century later, nearly one-fifth of the land in Mengla is planted with rubber trees, and more than 60% of farmers' income comes from rubber. Rubber has surpassed Pu'er tea and become the pillar industry of Mengla. In addition to tea and rubber, Mengla also has a large amount of sugarcane, rice, vegetables and fruits, which together support Mengla's special role as a frontier agricultural county .

Please watch in horizontal mode. Shangyong Moxie Village in Mengla is a natural village surrounded by farmland and forests. It is not only a home for humans, but also a paradise for animals. | Photographer @李植森

Mengla is not only an important production area for agricultural products such as natural rubber in China, but also an important distribution area for rare wild animals such as Asian elephants. Therefore, both industry and ecology are the foundation of Mengla, and neither is dispensable.

Mengla is also well aware of this. For this reason, hunting was banned in the whole county in 1997 , natural forest protection projects were launched in Mengla in 1998 , and state-owned forest farms stopped timber harvesting and marketing. In 2006 , Mengla took the lead in establishing the China-Laos Asian Elephant Cross-Border Protection Area in the country. In 2014 , the construction of ecological rubber plantations and ecological tea plantations began here, and a three-dimensional artificial ecosystem with " caps on the top of the mountain, forests on the valleys and steep slopes, belts in the middle, shrubs (grasses) under the forest, and poultry under the shrubs " was constructed. While ensuring the prosperity of mankind, it also shows friendliness to the ecology and nature.

Endless rubber forest | Photographer @陈燕

Entering the 21st century , Mengla began to shine relying on its unique geographical location in the southernmost part of Yunnan.

With its back to the southwest and facing Southeast Asia, it has been the southern border of various regimes since ancient times. It has close exchanges with Southeast Asia and has long played a special role as a communication channel . Today, it has become a tall and majestic national port , and Mengla has rapidly grown into an important bridge between China and Southeast Asia.

Three-dimensional transportation planning map of Mengla County | Map by @Zheng Yi/Planet Research Institute

On land , Mengla welcomed the Mohan Port , a national first-class land port leading to Laos, in 1992.

From here, you can reach many neighboring cities such as Chiang Khong in Thailand, Luang Prabang in Laos and Dien Bien Phu in Vietnam within 300 kilometers. This is the most convenient land route to Laos and other Southeast Asian countries.

In addition, the Mengman Port Industrial Zone, which mainly processes rubber and agricultural and sideline products, is also becoming more mature. Multiple ports and channels together constitute the important role of Mengla as the "land gate of the country".

Mohan Port surrounded by green forests | Photographer @博涵

On the water , in 2001, Mengla’s national waterway port, Guanlei Port, welcomed the first batch of merchant ships. This was their first stop along the Mekong River into the country.

The Lancang River rushes down from the Tanggula Mountains, flows out of the country through Mengla, and is later renamed the Mekong River. The Lancang-Mekong River waterway is now an important waterway for trade between China and Southeast Asian countries. It is busy with shipping and is known as the "Danube of the East".

Please watch in horizontal mode. There are neatly arranged cargo ships from various countries docked at Guanlei Port in China | Photographer @博涵

With both land and water traffic, the port is becoming increasingly busy, and the number of people crossing the border, the number of vehicles and ships is increasing rapidly, which has put higher demands on Mengla's transportation.

Today, based on multiple transit channels such as Mengman, Manzhuang and Xinmin, the Kunming-Mandalay Highway (Kunming-Mandalay International Corridor) and the China-Laos Railway (Pan-Asia Railway Central Line) are progressing in parallel, and the border expressway and Mengyuan Airport are also being built in full swing. Mengla is getting closer and closer to its important position as a " transportation hub ".

Kunming-Bangkok Highway and China-Laos Railway go hand in hand | Photographer @Dan Luo

In 2015, the State Council approved the establishment of the Mengla (Mohan) Key Development and Opening Pilot Zone in Mengla. A year later, the China-Laos Mohan-Mohan Economic Cooperation Zone was established .

The establishment of the " two districts " has made Mengla deliver a good report card. In 2019, Mengla County was lifted out of poverty. In 2020, the county's GDP exceeded 10 billion, with an average annual growth of 8%, making Mengla one of the fastest growing counties and cities in the country. In 2021, Mengla County's GDP grew by 9%, ranking first among all counties and cities in Xishuangbanna.

In 2022, Kunming officially took over the management of Mohan, which further promoted the economic take-off of Mengla. The county's GDP increased by 4.6% over the previous year.

The Laman Expressway connecting Mengla and Mengman is the first local expressway in Xishuangbanna | Photographer @查蔚

Today, people are attracted to this pure green land. The lush rainforest, colorful culture, dreamy starry sky and fireflies, as well as the gushing new opportunities, will all work together to create a " City without Worries ".

Fireflies under the starry sky of Mengla | Photographer @李贞泰

Because of the south, Mengla has nurtured unique natural wonders; because of the south, Mengla has gathered colorful cultural history; because of the south, Mengla has created new development opportunities. A colorful and inclusive Mengla is growing in changes and rising in opportunities.

Worry-free Mengla is the surprise that the southernmost part of Caiyun gives you.

Please watch in horizontal mode , Mengla County is surrounded by green mountains and clear waters | Photographer @查蔚

- This article was created by the team -

Written by Xu Kai & He Huizhong

Editor | Mirror

Image | Xie Yuhan & Long Shijie

Map | Zheng Yi

Design | Zheng Borong

Proofreading | Zhang Zhao & Ding Hao & Chen Zhihao

Cover Photographer | Chen Yan & Zha Wei

This article is provided by

Yunnan Haicheng Holding Group & Planet Research Institute

Co-production

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