Xishuangbanna 西双版纳
—  Autonomous prefecture  —
西双版纳傣族自治州
Location of Xishuangbanna Prefecture within Yunnan province of China
Xishuangbanna 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 (7,600 sq mi)
Population
• Total	993,397
• Density	50/km2 (130/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 Dai Autonomous Prefecture
Chinese name
Simplified Chinese	西双版纳傣族自治州
Traditional Chinese	西雙版納傣族自治州
Transcriptions Mandarin - Hanyu Pinyin Xīshuāngbǎnnà dǎizú Zìzhìzhōu Cantonese (Yue) - Jyutping saai1 soeng1 baan2 naap6
Former Chinese names
Simplified Chinese	1. 车里 2. 允景洪
Traditional Chinese	1. 車里 2. 允景洪
Transcriptions Mandarin - Hanyu Pinyin 1. Chēlǐ 2. Yǔnjǐnghóng
Thai name
Thai	สิบสองพันนา or สิบสองปันนา ([sìpsɔ̌ːŋpānnāː])
Tai Lü name
Tai Lü	([sípsɔ́ŋpǎnnǎː])
Hani name
Hani	Xisual banaq
Akha name
Akha	Sǐsǎwpâna

Xishuangbanna (or Sipsongpanna, Tai Lü: [tsɯ˧˥tsɯ˧˥tsəu˧ pʰaː˥˩saː˥tai˥˩ sip˥sɔŋ˥ pan˥˩naː˥˩]; Chinese: 西双版纳傣族自治州) is an autonomous prefecture in Yunnan Province, China. The capital city is Jinghong, the largest settlement in the area and one that straddles the Mekong River, called the Lancang River in Chinese.

^[3]

Etymology[link]

Sipsongpanna (cognate to Thai: สิบสองพันนา) meaning "twelve thousand rice fields" is a Tai Lü compound consisting of sipsong "twelve", pan "thousand" and na "rice field". Sipsong derives from Chinese 十 (ten) and 雙 (pair).

Administrative subdivisions[link]

Xishuangbanna governs one county-level city and two counties.

Map
#	Name	Hanzi	Hanyu Pinyin	Population (2003 est.)	Area (km²)	Density (/km²)
1	Jinghong City	景洪市	Jǐnghóng Shì	370,000	7,133	52
2	Menghai County	勐海县	Měnghǎi Xiàn	300,000	5,511	54
3	Mengla County	勐腊县	Měnglà Xiàn	200,000	7,056	28

Geography[link]

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[link]

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.^[4]

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

Demographics[link]

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

In the early 1950s, the Han population of Sipsongpanna was less than 10% of the total; today the Han population may soon overtake the local Dai people.^[3] Most of the businesses had been bought by the Han, and commercial signs, which were earlier Tai/Chinese bilingual, are now almost solely in Chinese. However, the Dai villagers have also prospered as landlords, often renting out their livestock quarters to Han migrants as the area undergoes rapid urbanization.

Ethnic groups[link]

The Blang village of Manpo.

Ethnic groups in Xishuangbanna, 2000 census

Culture[link]

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[link]

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.

In October 2010, plans were announced for a 530 km railway linking Xishuangbanna to Vientiane in Laos;^[5] connections to Thailand are also possible.^[6]

History[link]

In the 12th century, a Tai Lue kingdom was established in this area. In Chinese historical records during the Yuan, Ming and Qing Dynasties, the area is known as Cheli Commandery (車里宣慰使司) and the local leaders are recognized as tusi. Many of the leaders adopted the Chinese family name Dao (刀).^[7] PRC established the Xishuangbanna Dai Autonomous Region in 1953 and ended the tusi system. The area was renamed an autonomous prefecture in 1955. Shao Cunxin (召存信, 1922-), former head of the Chieftan's outer council (1944-1950) and chief of Meng Peng (1938-1950), was the chief of the autonomous prefecture from 1955 to 1992.

See also[link]

• Xishuangbanna Tropical Botanical Garden

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Xishuangbanna Dai Autonomous Prefecture

• Xishuangbanna Prefecture government website
• Xishuangbanna-Jinghong city government website
• Xishuangbanna-Mengbalanaxi
• Xishuangbanna Daily
• Xishuangbanna travel information
• 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