The second leg of the journey ended on December 17 and flew to Kunming from Lijiang at noon for a slight rest and adjustment. The third leg of the journey will gather at the Wyndham Hotel in Kunming on the 18th. On the morning of the 19th, we will visit Jiuxiang Scenic Area and head to Poole. On the 20th, we visited Puerxiping National Forest Park and the Wild Elephant Valley in Jinghong Prefecture. On the afternoon of the 21st, we visited the Xishuangbanna Tropical Botanical Garden of the Chinese Academy of Sciences. On the 22nd, we visited the Mengle Dafo Temple and the beautiful Dai Village. We flew to Kunming in the evening and delivered off on the 23rd., end the entire journey.

Jiuxiang Scenic Area has continuous peaks and ridges, with large height differences between peaks and valleys. It has a variety of hydrological geological wonders such as stromatolites, inverted tooth stones, biological karst, side stone lake groups, underground square halls, dark canyons, fish back stones, curved stones, vortex caves, etc. Wonders of karst caves, mainly include Yincui Gorge, Horrifying Gorge, Lion Hall, Male and Female Flying Waterfall, Kanda and other scenic spots. Lion Hall is the prototype of the suspended palace of the TV series "Myth". Due to the COVID-19 epidemic, elevators and cruise ships have been suspended. I visited during the Spring Festival in 2019, and this time I took it as a mountaineering exercise to accompany my wife on the tour again.

We ate at Yiliang at noon and tasted Yiliang Roast Duck. In the afternoon, we drove straight to Puer. The journey lasted 600 kilometers. We checked into Pullman Yue Hotel at 10 p.m. On the 20th, we will visit two scenic spots, Puerrhinoping National Forest Park and Xishuangbanna Wild Elephant Valley, all day long. We will have jazz-style meals at noon and enjoy the same food with Asian wild elephants in the evening, i.e. elephant meals, and stay at the Ramada Hotel in Xishuangbanna Jiaying.

Xiniuping National Forest Park, Wild Elephant Valley and Xishuangbanna Tropical Botanical Garden have both similarities and obvious differences. Pu 'er Xiniuping National Forest Park, located in the transition area between tropics and subtropics, has a forest coverage rate of 94.5%. It has a pleasant climate without scorching heat in summer and severe cold in winter. There are strange landscapes such as plant strangulation, rattan entanglement, old stem biochemistry and fruit bearing, as well as national rare plants such as Alsophila spinulosa, Cycdodendron, Macrophyllum macrophylla, and Black Dalbergia. This was an interesting trip. We followed the tour route, hiking and listening to the introduction of the local guide.

The most attractive tourists in the scenic area are baby fish and wild rhinos, macaques, red pandas and peacocks, which are of great ornamental value. The baby fish in the stream has a smooth body, a big head and small eyes, serrated teeth, and a long tail trailing behind it. It cries like a child's crying. They have strict requirements on geological topography and water quality conditions, and have strong regeneration, self-repair and hunger tolerance capabilities. It is said that baby fish can survive for three years without eating. They are rare amphibians unique to our country.

The largest animal in the scenic area is a rhinoceros. Under the hillside and next to the plank road, there are several white rhinoceros. Some sleep quietly, some stand like plastic, with round and thick bodies, smooth skin, big heads and small eyes, short legs and thin tails. The ears are shaped like pipes and can rotate, and the hearing is sensitive. The two horns grow on the nose. They look naive, but in fact they are fierce. When they get angry, even nearby trees and plants cannot escape bad luck. It is said that even large land animals such as lions and tigers have to escape. They have to escape. White rhinos grow near the Tropic of Cancer, where dry and wet are clearly defined, food is abundant, and the environment is beautiful, similar to Poole on the Tropic of Cancer.

Among these rare animals, the red panda is the cutest. Many people play and take photos as if they are their own pets. Red pandas are mainly distributed on both sides of the Himalayas, especially along the border between Yunnan and Myanmar. They are animals between the Ursiidae and the Huanidae. They are gentle in character and lie down day and night. They have a cat face and a bear body. The whole body is reddish brown. The limbs are brown-black, the hair is long and fluffy, the face is round with white markings, the lips, ears and cheeks are white, and the eyes are bright. They are also called red panda and red panda. The most beautiful one is a fluffy long tail with brown and white nine-section ring patterns. It is very lovable, giving rise to the nickname Nine-Section Wolf.

The Wild Elephant Valley is a bridge between people and wild elephants. It is located in the river valley 40 kilometers northeast of Xishuangbanna. It is lush and lush. There are nearly 300 Asian wild elephants living here, in groups of three to five, sometimes playing by the river, sometimes walking slowly in the dense forest. Following the path of wild elephants, a high-altitude plank road meanders out from the depths of the dense forest. Walking into the scenic spot, first follow the plank road, go deep into the heart of the valley and rainforest, look for wild elephants, and feel the breath of the original ecological rainforest. Go straight to the end of the plank road, go back and forth for a few kilometers, and return to the Elephant School at 4 p.m. to watch the elephant performance.

The Elephant School near the south gate of the scenic spot holds elephant performances at fixed times every day. The huge venue is full of tourists. Elephants are huge, heavy, and walk slowly, but when interacting with staff, they can almost do anything about raising flags, dancing, football, and painting. Three girls were selected from the audience for the pageant. Through selection, the elephant put a wreath on the champion's head with its trunk, kissed everyone on the cheek, and awarded them souvenirs. It was wonderful and amused the audience.

Xishuangbanna is located in the southwest border of my country. It is an area near the Tropic of Cancer where a large area of tropical rainforest is still preserved. The Tropical Botanical Garden is located in Menglun Town, Mengla County. It is divided into two parts: the East District and the West District. The East District is a large area of original tropical rainforest, and most areas are paved with scenic trails, suitable for walking; the West District is the main attraction, including more than 20 special botanical parks. The one that is deeply loved by tourists is the Strange Flowers Garden. Ahua of the Hani ethnic group is a dedicated tour guide. He led us to explain while traveling, and gained a different experience and feeling in the rainforest.

Limited by time, we mainly visited Palm Garden, Cycades Garden, National Tree Garden, Famous Tree Garden and Strange Flowers Garden. The Palm Garden collects and preserves more than 460 palm plants from tropical regions at home and abroad, making it one of the parks with the largest collections of palm species in the world. These palm plants are in a variety of shapes and become important symbols of tropical rainforests. Cycads are a group of ancient plants. Almost all species are listed as key protected plants in China and around the world, and are called living fossils.

Many countries in the world have their own national trees and flowers. The national trees and flowers are often symbols of a country's national spirit and culture, reflecting a nation's world outlook, values and aesthetics. The National Tree National Garden, built to welcome the 99 Kunming World Expo, has introduced and cultivated 52 species of national trees and national flowers from 64 countries on six continents including Asia, Africa and Europe. Various national trees and national flowers such as Myanmar dragon boat flower and Laos frangipani gather together and bloom all year round.

In the Celebrity Famous Tree Garden, there are Xiyuan Notes showing the history of the Botanical Garden, a group of carved stone trees commemorating the founder, Professor Cai Xitao, and famous trees planted by dozens of national leaders and international celebrities, such as the acacia tree planted by Jiang Zemin, the ironwood planted by Li Peng, the hanging leaf fig planted by Li Ruihuan, the Wangtian tree planted by Prince Philip of the United Kingdom, the ebony tree planted by the Prince of Akishomiya and his wife of Japan, and the dragon blood tree planted by Professor Cai Xitao, etc. There are also traveler plantains, arrowhead trees, dioecious thousand-year-old iron trees, etc. in the garden.

The Strange Flowers and Flowers Garden covers a small area. More than 300 ornamental plants have been introduced and cultivated, such as dancing grass that dances to songs, mysterious fruits that turn sour to sweetness, colorful golden banyan trees with different leaf shapes, mountain nails that look like eagle claws, as well as banana, leaf flowers, Buddha belly trees, jackfruit and Thai crocus flowers. When you are in the garden, the strange flowers and flowers compete for beauty and are always undefeated, making people intoxicated.

Xishuangbanna, the ancient Dai language is "Mengbalanaxi", which means "ideal and magical paradise". It is famous for its beautiful tropical rainforests and ethnic customs. It is a shining pearl inlaid in the southern border of the motherland. The main ethnic group in Xishuangbanna is the Dai. She has a long history and has created a splendid culture in her long life. She is especially famous for her Dai calendar, Dai script and colorful folk literature and art. The third leg of the itinerary includes Mengle Dafo Temple, Dai Garden, Manzhang Village, Dai Peacock Banquet and a large-scale tourist song and dance evening "Paranasi".

The 21st is the winter solstice, and there is a custom in Guangdong that "winter is greater than spring". We communicated with Ah Hua in advance and declined the arrangements for a peacock banquet and a song and dance party. After checking in at the Pullman Sunac Resort, we took the hotel shuttle bus to Wanda Plaza, found a restaurant to sit down, ordered a pork belly chicken, a dumpling, and 2 or 3 stir-fried dishes, bought a bottle of 225 white wine, and spent the Winter Solstice Festival, which is important to Cantonese people in a leisurely and leisurely manner as usual.

Mengle Dafo Temple was built on the original site of the ancient Dai Dynasty royal temple. It was built along Nanlian Mountain, with a drop of 122.8 meters and more than 3000 steps. Entering the scenic spot, first take a battery car to the mountaintop platform. Looking up, you can have a panoramic view of Xishuangbanna. Then go down the stairs and admire Buddhist architecture and art all the way to the exit of the scenic area.

Mengle Dafo Temple has multiple eaves and multiple slopes with flat tiles. The roof slope is formed by three layers stacked on top of each other. The central hall is high, with both sides decreasing and staggered rises and falls. The tiles on the main ridge of the roof are flame-shaped, and the image of a phoenix stands at the front end of the ridge, which is unique in style. Most of the statues of Sakyamuni carved on the Buddha seat are sitting Buddhas. The Buddha has strange ears, large and wide, thin figure, clear eyebrows, and kneepads with his hands, revealing a mysterious atmosphere and arousing curiosity about the history of the Dai people.

The Dai people in Xishuangbanna believe in Southern Buddhism. Buddhist temples are spread all over the villages. Almost every village has one temple or two villages has one temple. On important festivals such as the Water-Splashing Festival, Dai people go to the Buddhist temples to worship Buddha. When boys are seven or eight years old, they must go to the temple to live as monks. They will learn scriptures and read there, and return home after three or five years. Only men who have been monks can win the favor of girls. To the Han people, this is simply unbelievable. With questions, we visited Dai Garden and Manzhang Village.

The Dai village is located in the Xishuangbanna Dai Garden Scenic Area, 28 kilometers away from the prefecture capital of Jinghong City. There are five Dai villages in the scenic area: Manjiang, Manchunman, Manting, Manzha and Manga. We came to a village living next to a mountain. Rubber trees were planted all over the mountain. They were said to have been planted by Shanghai educated youth. Shao Duoliyan, who received us, looked like a fair lady. In fact, she was in her 40s and her son had already married. She led us around the village for a week before sitting down at her house, listening to her introduction to the local customs and silver products of the Dai people, while drinking tea, tasting wine, and scraping.

I have read from some books before that after Dai people get married, the husband and his wife have to live in their parents-in-law's home for a period of time, usually three years, which is called "living with the wife." After the three-year period, with the consent of the wife's family, the man can bring his wife back to his home. Both men and women have equal status in the family. Now Shao Duoliyan says that the Dai people value daughters over boys. They are happy to have a daughter, but raising a son is a loss of money. She also cited the fact that her son gave away hundreds of rubber trees when he got married as an example. I have not carefully examined the scientific basis for these claims, but comparing the actual living conditions of Dai men and Mosuo men, there seems to be some similarities.

If Manda Village is a village in the Dai Garden Scenic Area and the introduction of Shaoduoli is to pave the way for the sale of silver jewelry, Manzhang Village is a natural village with Dai as the main ethnic group. Manzhang is Dai language, meaning elephant. According to historical records, Manzhang's village name has been used for more than 500 years, and the village has a history of at least 800 years. Precisely because of its long history, Manzhang Village has many handicraft techniques that have been passed down to this day. The original slow-wheel pottery making, the ancient and exquisite handmade papermaking, the profound and pious production of palmleaf sutra, and the items are all immortal inheritances of intangible culture.

Manzhang Village has beautiful mountains and rivers, shaded by green trees. It is completely black and flat tiles, a two-story penthouse with raised corners. It forms an independent courtyard. Flowers and fruits are planted in the courtyard. There are banana leaf "rocking fans" and green bamboos set off, fruit trees shade, and flowers embellished. After the opening of tourism, although there are some restaurants, shops and experience in handmade papermaking, pottery and weaving, the folk customs are simple and there is no forced consumption. Strolling at the end of the village, relaxing and undisturbed, is the real enjoyment.

Looking back at the three 26-day itineraries, I am afraid that only the morning of the 21st is the darkest moment. Half a day was wasted in the Jade Culture Exhibition Hall. From the departure of Kunming on the 19th to the sunset car jade shop on the 21st, the tour guide brainwashed and shopped all the way, borrowing the name of Buddha to rise to the level of stimulating economic development. He thought he could speak well, but in fact he quoted it out of context and full of loopholes. Not only did he not give rise to the desire to buy, but there was a lot of complaints. Despite the man-to-man tactics used in the jade shop, the team of 20 only bought more than 4000 yuan. Six female tourists from Henan entered the jade shop and left quietly, preferring to buy it in other stores, becoming a laughing stock.

(Winter Travel Yunnan Diary 14 2020.11.28 - 12.23 Tour 1.16 was written in Zhuhai)

(Xiniuping National Forest Park)

(White rhinoceros)

(Red muntjac)

(Little Panda)

(Brown forest owl)

(Green Peacock)

(Parrot)

(Photo taken in Jiaoguatang Wetland)

(Wild Elephant Valley)

(Elephant Museum)

(Elephant painting)

(Rest time)

(Alsophila chinensis)

(Buddha's belly tree)

(Bougainvillea)

(hua)

(Manga Village)

(Typical Dai folk house)

(Mengle Pagoda)

(Statue of Sakyamuni)

(Mengle Dafo Temple)

(Residential buildings in Manzhang Village)

(Manzhang Village Handcraft Experience House)

(Manzhang Village Water Pavilion)

(Dai folk houses shaded by green trees)

(Like autumn)