Damenglong Scenic Area in Jinghong City

The sleepy town of Damenglong is located about 60km south of Jinghong, the capital of the Xishuangbanna autonomous region. Via the recently finished new road, Damenglong can now be reached within an hour from Jinghong. There is not much to see in Damenglong itself.

The main attraction of Damenglong is the “Manfeilong” or “White Bamboo Shoot” Pagoda reportedly dating back to the early 13th century. The Manfeilong Pagoda is located approximately 3km north of Damenglong on a hill and is almost entirely surrounded by rubber tree plantations. There is another Pagoda right above the town which offers nice views of the Damenglong at the surroundings.

(Damenglong, Xishuangbanna, Manfeilong Pagoda oder White Bamboo Shot Pagoda: 21°35'03"N/100°41'14"E)

Of all the cities in Xishuangbanna I went to, Damenglong gave me the best reception.  Easily visited as a daytrip from Jinghong (the local hub), I decided to drive down one day with no better plans than to have a look around.

Temples, awesome little kids, statues, and general photogenic randomness ensued.  These are some of my favorite pictures from the day.

These kids started out quite camera-shy, but very friendly.

The longer I stayed around, and especially as I started showing them the pictures, the more excited they got.

The size of the group seemed to continuously grow as well.

Until finally, a Chinese couple showed up and distracted the attention of most of the group, at least for a little while.

Different temple. No kids, but still good atmosphere.

That bike was the best purchase I could have made at the time. Same temple as the last picture, but this one at the bottm of the rather tall hill.