Yingjiang County

Yingjiang County: A major access on the southern silk road

Yingjiang is located at southwest frontier of China and western end of the Hengduan Mountain Range. It is a county subordinated to Dehong Dai and Jingpo Autonomous Prefecture. There is neither severe cold in winter nor intense heat in summer, but agreeable sunshine, mild wind, moderate humidity, beautiful flowers, and fragrant fruits. Embraced by the green mountains, lots of alluvial river basins lie in the district and the largest and prettiest of them is the Yingjiang Basin, one of the eight biggest basins in Yunnan. The county is traversed by the Great Yingjiang River, the beautiful and majestic scenic attraction at the national level, hence its name.

Long before, Yingjiang had served as the important passageway on the ancient Southern Silk Road, which connected China with South Asia and India-Pakistan Subcontinent. It was Ailao County under Yongchang Prefecture in the Eastern Han Dynasty (25-220AD) (having jurisdiction over Dehong District). In the Ming Dynasty, the central government assigned Magistrate Ganya and Deputy Magistrate Zhanda to govern the two banks of the Great Yingjiang River. In 1958, the State Council approved the combination of the original Yingjiang and Lianshan counties into the present Yingjiang County. The county adjoins Myanmar to the west and people of the same nationality live in both countries, who have dealt with each other in a friendly term for centuries and carried out trade frequently. In early 1990s, Yingjiang was approved to be a provincial-level port (grade two at the national level) by the People’s Government of Yunnan Province.

For centuries, people of Han, Dai, Jingpo, Lisu, De'ang and Achang have lived in this piece of rich land prosperously. They nourished a special and colorful national culture of them. Here, visitors can witness the thousand-year-old but still unfailing Dai Opera, the breathtaking "Guangbang" Drum Dance, the lyrical "Wenbeng" Greeting Melody, and the boisterous Three-string Dance. In addition, there are several national festivals such as the Water-splashing Festival, Munao Zongge Festival and Kuoshi Festival that are like many bunches of blooming flowers and cups of intoxicating wine.