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Located on the banks of the Lancang (Mekong) River in the Southernmost part of Yunnan Province, bordering on Myanmar (Burma) and Laos, is the Xishuangbanna Dai Autonomous Prefecture. The Lancang River links it to the countries in Southeast Asia, including Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam. Xishuangbanna covers a total area of 19,185 sq km, and is home to 13 ethnic national minorities groups, such as the Han, Dai, Hani, Blang, Lahu, Jino, Yao and Yi. The capital is Jinghong. The name Xishuangbanna comes from the Dai language, and can be found in the historical records of the 16th century. "Xishuang" means 12 and "Banna" means 1,000 mu (67 ha) of farmland; so "Xishuangbanna" signifies 12 administrative units.
Xishuangbanna has a tropical rain forest climate, With abundant sunshine, plentiful rain and frequent dense fog. It has a reputation for beautiful subtropical scenery and unique folk-culture attractions. It also enjoys great fame as "the kingdom of plants and animals," because of its rich resources of flora and fauna.
Special places of interest in Xishuangbanna include Ganlanba, Menglun and Wild Elephant Valley. Visitors are welcome to view natural scenery of the tropical rain forest and chat with the local people in their bamboo houses. Here you may exprience exotic and colorful cultures against a backdrop of lush scenery.
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