From Deqin's 6,740 meter Meili Mountain and Tibetan hamlets to Xishuangbanna's endless terrace fields, jungles, and ethnic melting pot, Yunnan's topographical and cultural diversity simply doesn't stop. While it is officially known as the Xishuangbanna Dai Minority Autonomous Prefecture, the area amazingly includes 10,000 or more members from 9 of China's 56 recognized ethnic minorities! The Dai only represent about one-third of the roughly one million inhabitants while the Yi, Hani, Lahu, and Bulang are also well represented. Sharing a border with Laos and Myanmar, Xishuangbanna is China's definitive answer to Southeast Asian culture, climate, and society. The area experiences a heavy rainy season from June to August similar to SE Asia. Its minorities also practice Theravada Buddhism, the predominant Buddhist tradition in SE Asia, but different from the rest of Han China which subscribes to the Mahayana school. The word Xishuangbanna (pronounced shee-shuang-bahn-nah) actually comes from the Thai word Sipsongpanna which means 12,000 rice fields. The Chinese generally call the region by its abbreviated nickname, Banna.

Jinghong, the capital, is a laidback palm-tree lined city set along the Mekong River that retains a laidback, tropical feel despite the inevitable modern expansions. However, Banna's true allure naturally lies outside the city. Endless rubber tree forests, low lying tropical terraced valleys, and thick jungles shrouding a wealth of biodiversity only begin to paint a picture of the region. Xishuangbanna is the only place in China where it is possible, albeit extremely rarely, to witness a wild elephant. Hiking or biking are perfect options for exploring Banna, especially because the region's low altitude and warm weather makes these activities less stressful than the high mountainous regions of Sichuan and Yunnan. Besides the scenery the myriad ethnic minorities exist in a near utopian society where each bend in the road or mountain pass leads to a village of a different group. While Dai are the most prevalent communities, it is no surprise to come across four or five different minority villages in just a day's hike or ride. In some places villagers will even explain how they are actually a sub-group of one of China's 56 minorities such as the Akha who insist they are different from the Aini, within whom they are classified. 

Activities in Xishuangbanna include:

Staying in a tree-house in a nature reserve to observe elephants as they rise for breakfast

Mountain and road biking through jungles and rubber forests

Hiking or trekking along the borders of Myanmar and Laos 

Visiting tea plantations with hundreds of years of history and learning about the tea production process 

Overnight stays in minority village homes