Welcome to Xishuangbanna, let me take you to explore the scenery of Xishuangbanna
3 days 2 nights in-depth travel guide to Xishuangbanna, with a budget controlled within 3000 RMB per person, taking you into China’s only tropical rainforest border town to experience Dai culture, tropical plants, water splashing festivities, and wild elephant traces!
Destination: Yunnan · Xishuangbanna Dai Autonomous Prefecture (mainly Jinghong City)
Duration: 3 days 2 nights
Total budget: 3000 RMB per person (including round-trip airfare)
Theme: Tropical rainforest + Dai ethnic style + wild elephant habitat 🎯
Keywords: Chinese Academy of Sciences Botanical Garden, Wild Elephant Valley, Gozhuang Night Market, Golden Pagoda, Water Splashing Festival experience, Dai cuisine
✅ Best travel season: December - April next year (dry season, warm and comfortable climate, avoid muddy rainy season)
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🎒 Preparation before travel
- Sunscreen, sunglasses, sun hat (strong UV rays)
- Mosquito repellent, lightweight long sleeves (mosquito and sun protection)
- Slippers/sandals (convenient for temple visits and water splashing activities)
- Download “Gaode Map” or “Baidu Map” in advance (some areas have weak signals)
- During Water Splashing Festival (mid-April), book accommodation 1 month in advance!
🗓 Itinerary (classic route: Jinghong + Menglun + Wild Elephant Valley)
✅ Day 1: Arrival in Jinghong + Gozhuang Night Market & Golden Pagoda
Morning: Arrive at Xishuangbanna Gasa International Airport
- Recommended flight (example from Chengdu):
- Round-trip economy class about 1200 RMB (discount if booked 2 weeks in advance)
- Flight time about 1.5 hours
- Taxi from airport to Gozhuang Xishuangjing: about 30 RMB (20 minutes)
🏨 Accommodation recommendation (1st night): Characteristic guesthouse in Gozhuang (with pool, Dai-style decoration)
- Recommended: Mekong Jinglan Hotel / Huajiantang Zanha / or boutique homestay about 400 RMB/night × 2 nights = 800 RMB
Noon: Lunch recommendation: Manfeilong Roast Chicken (Gozhuang branch)
- Must order: Lemongrass roast chicken, pineapple rice, Dai-style cold rice noodles
- Per person ≈ 60 RMB
Afternoon: Golden Pagoda Temple (free)
- Iconic building of Gozhuang, golden pagoda solemn and sacred
- Can climb the pagoda to overlook Jinghong City and Lancang River
- Dress code: no short skirts or tank tops, shoes must be removed inside the hall
➡️ Nearby check-in: Six Nations Water Market (free to view outside, boat ride experience 100 RMB/person, optional)
Evening: Starlight Night Market + Mekong River · Six Nations Style Street (must visit!)
- China’s largest tropical night market, colorful lanterns, ethnic costumes, handicrafts in abundance
- Must experience:
- Wear Dai costumes for photos (rental about 50-80 RMB/set, including makeup)
- Take “Mirror of the Sky” reflection photos
- Buy tropical fruits: mango, jackfruit, durian, mangosteen (priced by weight, cheap)
🍽 Dinner: Night market snacks street food
- Recommended:
- Grilled enoki mushrooms (15 RMB)
- Grilled pork belly skewers (3 RMB/skewer)
- Lao iced coffee (12 RMB)
- Fruit salad (20 RMB/bowl)
- Per person ≈ 70 RMB
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✅ Day 2: Chinese Academy of Sciences Xishuangbanna Tropical Botanical Garden (highlight!)
All day: Chinese Academy of Sciences Xishuangbanna Tropical Botanical Garden (5A scenic spot)
- Location: Menglun Town, about 1 hour drive from Jinghong
- Ticket: 80 RMB (half price for students)
- Electric cart ticket: 50 RMB (strongly recommended, the garden is huge and walking is tiring)
🚌 Transportation:
- Option ①: Take intercity bus from Jinghong South Station [Jinghong → Menglun], ticket 25 RMB, taxi to garden entrance about 10 RMB
- Option ②: Round-trip car rental about 300 RMB (suitable for 2-3 people carpooling)
🌿 Highlights (recommended route):
- Victoria lotus pond (can sit on leaves in summer, great for photos)
- Exotic flower garden (dancing grass, mimosa, strangler fig)
- Banyan tree garden, palm garden, bamboo garden
- Southern medicine garden (see blood poison tree, dragon blood tree)
- Hundred Flowers Valley (lake view + suspension bridge, perfect photo spot)
🍱 Lunch: Simple meal inside the garden or bring your own food ≈ 50 RMB
Afternoon: Return to Jinghong
- Suggest leaving the garden before 16:00 to avoid tight evening bus schedules
- Rest or continue shopping at Gozhuang night market
🍽 Dinner: Nang Princess Southeast Asian Restaurant (popular spot)
- Recommended: Tom Yum soup, lemongrass ribs, Lao sticky rice
- Per person ≈ 90 RMB
Accommodation: Continue staying in Gozhuang (2nd night)
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✅ Day 3: Wild Elephant Valley + Return or Manting Park in-depth
🌟 Morning option 1 (recommended): Wild Elephant Valley exploration
- Ticket: 65 RMB + Sky Corridor 40 RMB (recommended)
- Transport: Taxi about 60 RMB (30 minutes) or carpool 30 RMB/person
- Playtime: 3 hours
🐘 Highlights:
- Walk the “High-altitude Elephant Viewing Walkway” to see traces of wild Asian elephants (may see if lucky)
- Watch elephant performances (controversial, recommended to watch rationally)
- Participate in elephant feeding interaction (50 RMB/person)
- Bird park and butterfly park suitable for families
🌟 Morning option 2 (for culture lovers): Manting Park + Grand Buddha Temple
- Ticket: 40 RMB (including electric cart)
- Manting Park was the Dai king’s royal garden, very beautiful scenery
- Grand Buddha Temple: the most sacred Buddhist temple in Xishuangbanna, magnificent and golden
- Can watch “Dai ethnic song and dance performance” (every night at 18:00, extra charge)
Noon: Last meal before checkout recommendation: Xiaoshi Dai Restaurant or Xiangban Dai Courtyard
- Must order: Pounded chicken feet, fried beef skin, lemongrass grilled fish
- Per person ≈ 60 RMB
Afternoon: Return according to flight time
- Depart from Gozhuang to airport 2 hours in advance
- Can buy souvenirs at the airport:
- Xiaomofang chili sauce (30 RMB/bottle)
- Pu’er tea samples (within 50 RMB)
- Tropical dried fruits (dried mango, banana chips)
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Total budget breakdown (per person)
| Item | Estimated cost
Round-trip airfare (from Chengdu/Chongqing/Kunming) | 1200 RMB
Accommodation (2 nights, boutique guesthouse in Gozhuang) | 800 RMB
City transportation (taxi + bus) | 200 RMB
Meals (3 days, including specialty meals) | 450 RMB
Attraction tickets
- Tropical Botanical Garden | 80 RMB
- Electric cart | 50 RMB
- Wild Elephant Valley | 65 RMB
- Sky Corridor | 40 RMB
- Or Manting Park | 40 RMB
Dai costume experience + snacks + souvenirs | 200 RMB
Total | ≈ 2985 RMB
✅ Balance 15 RMB, just enough to buy a bottle of mineral water for the trip home!
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1. Clothing advice:
- Short sleeves + sun protection clothes during the day, light jacket for cool evenings
- Cover shoulders and knees when entering temples, a shawl is very practical
2. Food reminders:
- Dai cuisine is sour and spicy, those with weak stomachs should be cautious with pounded dishes
- Drink more coconut water and lemon water to replenish electrolytes
3. Pitfall warnings:
- Don’t trust “low-price one-day wild elephant tours” (mostly shopping traps)
- Night market bargaining tips: fruits are priced by weight, confirm price before taking
- “Floating lantern” activity is voluntary, usually 30 RMB/lantern
4. Safety tips:
- Do not pick plants randomly in the rainforest (some are poisonous)
- Respect local beliefs when taking photos, do not photograph monks
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🌟 Blogger’s must-try TOP5
1. Wear a Dai long skirt at Starlight Night Market, carry a water lantern to make a wish—dream back to the Lancang Kingdom thousands of years ago
2. Stand on a Victoria lotus leaf for photos (summer only)—it really can hold a person!
3. Walk the Wild Elephant Valley sky corridor at dawn, listen to rainforest birdsong—like being in the world of “Avatar”
4. Take a bite of the sour and spicy pounded chicken feet, instantly fall in love with Dai flavor, the more you eat the more addictive
5. Sit by the Mekong River at night, watch the Six Nations lights reflected on the water—romance of seeing three countries at once
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Want wilder? → Replace with [Jino Mountain hiking + Jino ethnic village visit]
Want family-friendly? → Add [Xishuangbanna Tropical Flower Garden + Zoo]
Want to relax at a hotel? → Stay one night at [Anantara/Intercontinental Resort] to enjoy the pool and jungle spa (budget extra)
If you like this 3 days 2 nights tropical style guide to Xishuangbanna, feel free to save + share! I am your travel blogger, taking you into China’s “Amazon,” to meet elephants, rainforests, and smiling Dai people. I’m here to customize your private trip! Wish you a pleasant journey, heading south towards sunshine, forest, and freedom!