Yunnan Travel Notes: The strong Dai flavor is coming

First, let’s make up for the video from the day of the big boiling pot. I would like to suggest to you again that when you come to Yunnan, the most worthwhile place to visit is not Dali, Lijiang, but Tengchong. This misty border town will allow you to see the most authentic and beautiful Yunnan.

We set off before ten o'clock this morning, which was the earliest time we set out in this month. I must thank Brother Yin and his family. The three of us were much more efficient during the two days with their family, especially the time to get up was shortened from one hour to ten minutes.

These two pictures were taken next to a gas station. I don’t know what the lady was fishing in the water.

Today's road conditions are particularly good. I have never walked on such a straight road since I came out of Chengdu, and my speed has increased to an average of fifty or sixty yards per hour.

Driving on this road, looking at the yellowing fields on both sides, the passing trees, the gray mountain peaks in the distance, and the light blue sky, all made me feel that this was the road I had walked for three years. The county road in Laotai Township. My old leaders and colleagues, how are you?

I saw a very distinctive "De'ang Drum Village" on the roadside. After entering, I realized that the foundation of this village was very weak before. Later, the local government funded the new construction and built it into a charming village featuring the De'ang water drum.

The water drum is a very representative item in the traditional culture of the Deang people. The De'ang water drum is usually played during important festivals and when distinguished guests are welcomed. Before playing the water drum, water must be poured into the drum. As the drummer beats rhythmically, the sound of the drum gradually spreads, and the sound of the water drum is deep and distant.

At around 12 noon, we arrived in Yingjiang County, which belongs to Dehong Dai and Jingpo Autonomous Prefecture in Yunnan Province. It is called "Mengla" in Dai language. Ethnic minorities here account for 60%, and the locals speak many languages, which are basically incomprehensible to us.

It took me less than half an hour to finish lunch with the breeder, which was not very efficient.

Next to the parking lot is a large business district, selling very unique things.

How could such a big ice cream machine escape Brother Chen's eyes? It just tasted far worse than the ones I had when I was a kid.

The items sold in the "Lao Myanmar Supermarket" are all things we don't recognize, such as this one, which seems to be meat. We asked the boss, but his broken Mandarin still made us confused.

And this wooden stake, who knows what it is used for.

There are also Dai costumes

A variety of moisturizers and soaps written in Burmese

Guess what this dark thing is!

Dai bamboo tube rice.

From November to February every year, it is the harvest season for the fragrant bamboo of the Dai people. It is also a good time to eat fragrant bamboo rice. This kind of fragrant bamboo glutinous rice has a soft and delicate texture, and is wrapped in a layer of white bamboo pulp. The rice tastes not only of the fragrance of bamboo, but also of baked food.

"Wow, look, people here still post this when they get married! Come on, let's see how to write it, and let's post one too!" The breeder pulled me and ran towards this "marriage book".

He squinted and watched excitedly for a long time before realizing that it was actually an advertisement. He rolled his eyes in anger! Hahaha, the tricks here are so deep that even our sharp-eyed breeders can fall into it.

The temperature here is a little higher than that in Tengchong. The sky is high and the air is cool, which is perfect for walking children.

The cute white elephant in front of Yinghu Park said, "Mom, look. The elephant, can he spray water?"

"Little fish, big fish, come and eat!"

The fish here are really fat. The fattest fish weighs at least five or six kilograms. In the eyes of the breeders, they are just tumbling fish heads with chopped pepper and braised fish...

After coming out of the park, we were going to take a ride to Yunyan Pagoda. I have to complain about the taxis here. The whole journey is less than three kilometers. We were almost at the destination before the driver asked us to pay 15 yuan to Yunyan Pagoda. The breeder refused. Seeing that we were not on the road, the driver turned around and took us back to Yinghu Park. This round trip was more than four kilometers, and the driver didn’t make any money, and we all wasted time. We had to use Didi to reach our destination, which cost eight yuan.

I just want to say something to the driver, please calculate your own costs when you cheat tourists. Are you taking us for free in this round and round?

Fortunately, we finally saw the beautiful Yunyan Pagoda, which made us forget all the previous unhappiness.

Yunyan Pagoda is also called Manmengding Pagoda. "Yunyan" is a Dai language, which means an auspicious, joyful and desirable place. It is one of the most important pagodas in Theravada Buddhism in Yunnan. The pagoda was built in 1947 and took 8 years to complete. Although it is a modern product, it has a strong ancient style and is listed as a key cultural relic protection unit in Yunnan Province.

It was first built in 1947 and was funded by Si Hongsheng, the chieftain of Yingjiang Zanda. The purpose was to protect Guangzhen from water monsters, eliminate floods, eradicate military disasters and plagues, and enable the people to live and work in peace and contentment. Due to war, plague and other reasons, it was not completed until 1955. It integrates Buddhist culture and Dai traditional architecture, with scattered heights and majestic momentum.

In front of the tower stand two "Gado", a strange beast in Burmese legend.

There are also forty small towers around the tower, all of which are conical in shape, with metal domes at the ends and metal sheets hanging on them, which make a tinkling sound in the breeze.

Yunyan Tower is surrounded by these beautiful flowers.

On the way home while walking, I came across a vegetable I had never seen before. It was called a gourd. I forgot about it. It seems that the pregnancy stupidity of me, an old aunt born in the 90s, is not over yet.

The breeder bought beans and tomatoes. It seems that there will be some food for tomorrow, hahaha!

"Mom, don't leave, wait for me, I want to play with this!"

A peacock building can be said to be very Dai-style.

The most popular self-service fast food restaurants on the roadside here are many people eating, and the prices are affordable, with an average serving of about seven or eight yuan.