China Expat is a cultural and literary forum for expatriates interested in China and has been published by Asia Briefing Ltd since 2001. The sites resident China culture writers have included such expatriate luminaries as 
Xishuangbanna – China’s Rainforest
It’s rare that we give China short shrift; we leave that to the hordes. But some time ago we did a hatchet job on the city of Jinghong. To bury that hatchet, a glimpse of Xishuangbanna, the forgotten autonomous prefecture, which shares a thousand kilometers of breathtaking border with Myanmar and Laos, Jinghong its necessarily grimy heart.
It’s the Lancang River on this side of the border, but one thing that doesn’t change about the Mekong is its primal allure, no matter how we sully it.
And its shores are no place for nice species. This Strangler tree starts out in another tree’s branches, grows its roots downward, and then smothers its host, leaving a hollow core of its victim inside.
Humans have little to fear, of course. The people of Xishuangbanna revere all types of banyan.
This grove is actually one massive banyan, 900 years old and covering 120 square meters.
Not your everyday Chinese temples, the Menfeilong village dagobas were designed by Indian monks and built in 1204 CE.
Speaking of monks, those must be some extra-tall ones. The Jingzhen Octagonal Pavilion out in Mengzhe is 21 meters high, and ten meters in diameter.
These dagoba guardian dragons look like they just flew in from Thailand, evidence of the pan-Asian influence in this once integral, now remote corner of the world.
It’s not uncommon at all to stumble across a waterfall like this one, hidden in a deep forest clearing.
The Dai people worship water and like to keep their dagobas near it.
During the Dai’s Guanmen Festival, one may neither marry nor build, and must strive to live a life as pure as the Buddha’s.
A monk in Xishuangbanna finds himself not at the margins of society, but rather its peace-loving center.
Now that’s some commitment to learning Hinayana Buddhist scripture.
Thingyan, Songkran, Poshui Jie, whatever you call it, it’s the world’s biggest water fight, undertaken yearly to show love and blessings.
The men of Xishuangbanna’s Yao tribe show their love by biting the hand of their intended.
Once bitten, the Yao women are twice shy.
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It is a great article, I like it very much, it shows to me many unfamilar informations about Xishuangbanna and the culture and lives there.
Also the pictures are beatiful, I would like to save some for to introduce them to others,as a chinese, we all interested in going to visit Xishuangbanna and other places in Yunnan like Dali, Kunming,Diqing,etc.
And I have some travel related tours, if you are interested in taking some tour to Xishuangbanna or other places.Please see Xishuangbanna tours at
http://www.visitourchina.com/city/xishuangbanna_tours.htm
Nobody seems to know how I comes or goes.
Wonders never cease in China.
We really should strive to protect our rainforests. Without it there would be no source of good water for drinking. Ecological balance would also be ruined.
Thanks for the many beautiful pictures here. They are refreshing.