西双版纳傣族自治州

Why this place

Xishuangbanna is the tropical tip of Yunnan, on the Mekong and the Myanmar and Laos borders, and it is culturally Dai rather than Chinese: Theravada Buddhist temples, stilt houses, water-splashing festivals and a genuinely Southeast Asian food culture. The rainforest here is the last tropical forest in China.

What to see

• Jinghong's Dai temples and the Mekong riverfront
• The Menglun tropical botanical garden — the largest in China, with rainforest canopy walks
• The Dai villages of Ganlanba, with stilt houses and rice fields
• The Wild Elephant Valley, for the last wild Asian elephants in China
• The Water-Splashing Festival in mid-April — the Dai new year, and a national event

What to eat

• Dai cooking: sour and grilled, with banana-leaf steaming, pineapple rice and 'zhutong' bamboo rice
• Tropical fruit: durian, mangosteen, rambutan and mango — the only place in China that grows them at scale
• Pu'er tea from the surrounding mountains

How to plan

Three days: Jinghong and the temples, the botanical garden, a Dai village and the elephant valley.

Best time

November–April (dry and pleasant); April for the Water-Splashing Festival; the wet season is June–September

Practical tips

• The Water-Splashing Festival means everyone gets soaked — protect your phone and expect to enjoy it