Manting Park

Chinese Name: 曼听公园 (Man Ting Gong Yuan)
Location: No.35 Manting Road, Jinghong City, Xishuangbanna Dai Autonomous Prefecture, Yunnan Province 
Ticket: Entrance ticket cny40.00
Estimated tour time: 1-2 hours
Recommended time to visit: all year round
Nearby attractions: Xishuangbanna Tropical Flower Garden, Xishuangbanna National Customs Garden, Grand Gold Pogoda, Mengle Buddist Temple, etc.

Manting Park is located in the southeast of Jinghong City, the capital of Xishuangbanna Dai Autonomous Prefecture, Yunnan Province, about 2 kilometers away from the city. Located in the triangle of Lancang River and Liusha River, it covers an area of more than 26 hectares. There are more than 500 well preserved ancient India ironwoods and other vegetation, hills and rivers in the park, as well as cultural landscapes with strong ethnic characteristics. It is a natural village style park which used to be the imperial garden of the Dai King and has a history of more than 1300 years. The scenic spot embodies the three main themes of Dai royal culture, Buddhism culture and Dai folk culture. Manting Park is the oldest park in Xishuangbanna. The Dai people used to call it Chunhuan which means Garden of Soul. Legend has it that when a Dai Princess came to visit, the beautiful scenery here attracted the soul of the Princess, so it got its name. Manting Park is the carrier of Dai culture. It is the main venue to hold grand ceremonies of Dai nationality. It was listed as a national 4-A scenic spot in the year of 2009.

The main entrance is located in the south of the park. There are six scenic spots: National Culture Square, Lianas Area, Royal orchid Garden, Free Life Lake, Buddhist Culture Area and Tree Planting Memorial Area. The famous Xishuangbanna General Buddhist Temple in Southeast Asia is located in the Buddhist Cultural Area.

In the park, there are natural landscapes, artificially bred exotic heterogeneous flowers as well as garden buildings. Visitors can enjoy the natural scenery of primitive simplicity and appreciate the cultural landscape with strong national characteristics.

Some historically meaningful attractions can also been seen in the park. As soon as visitors enter it, a bronze statue comes into view. It depicts the former Chinese Premier Zhou Enlai, who once joyfully spent the Water-Splashing Festival with the Dai people. The statue commemorates that unforgettable day. To the left of the statue is the second historical attraction: two dodhi trees planted by the princess of Thailand symbolize the friendship between Thailand and China.

Manting Park is a place where visitors not only enjoy the scenes but also the traditional culture of the Dai. Buildings, such as the pavilions, possess the distinguished architectural features of the Dai. In its back, there is a temple called Jiebajie in Dai language. It is the most important place for Buddhists in Xishuangbanna to worship Buddhas. Some other various kinds of entertainments are available too, for example, the peacock park where peacocks strut and the elephant park where elephants do acrobatics. As a former royal park, its natural beauty is fascinating with the hard work of the gardeners. The green trees provide visitors cool shade to have a rest. Next to the park is a traditional village of the Dai where visitors could enjoy Dai Cuisine and get to know their tradition and custom.

In the Manting Park, there are Mangtin Village, Manlongkuang Village. In the Yunjinghong city, there is a peacock lake. You can go boating, see wild bear, wild boar, boa, peacock and a variety of birds. It is open to visitors during the day.

The highlight of the Manting Park is the ethnic performance and bonfire party in the evening. The performance “Night of the Lancang River and Mekong River” combines the cultural characteristics of the six Lancang-Mekong River countries, including China, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam. Including folk customs performance of the six ethnic minorities living in Xishuangbanna: Dai, Jinuo, Bulang, Lahu, Yao, Hani. The whole party is a collection of ethnic customs, exotic scenery, humorous interactive scene in one. It shows the audience a multi-cultural Xishuangbanna. After the performance, dance around the bonfire and revel with the girls and boys of the ethnic minorities in Xishuangbanna to feel the enthusiasm and unrestrained of the ethnic minorities. Performance time: 7:00 p.m.- 9:00 p.m. Ticket price: RMB280 / person, VIP ticket: RMB380 / person, VIP ticket of VIP building: RMB480/ person.