To immerse myself in a deep tour of Yunnan, I discovered a treasure of a hotel next to the Gasa Starlight Night Market in Xishuangbanna that has Dai-Thai customs engraved into every detail—the Xishuangbanna Jinghong Hepu Liyue Resort Hotel. It's like a three-dimensional regional culture manual, giving me both the comfort of home and the surprise of discovery as I explore southern Yunnan.
Xishuangbanna Jinghong Hepu Liyue Resort Hotel (Gasa Starlight Night Market Branch)
The hotel's location can be called the "golden coordinate" for in-depth travel. A 5-minute walk will take you into the lively atmosphere of the Starlight Night Market. In the evening, you can walk through the streets full of lanterns, watch Dai girls taking pictures by the Lancang River, and turn around to dive into the night market to taste freshly baked tilapia and drink a cup of Paoluoda. Departing from the hotel during the day, you can reach the Chinese Academy of Sciences Botanical Garden in half an hour by chartered car to see the Victoria water lilies holding up the morning light. It is a 20-minute drive to Manting Park, where you can experience the interweaving of history and nature in the Dai King's Royal Garden. Every morning, set off from the hotel with a hand-drawn map prepared by the front desk to start an unknown in-depth exploration.
The moment I pushed open the wooden door of the hotel, I felt as if I had broken into a hidden manor in Southeast Asia. The Dai bamboo building elements in the atrium complement the Thai-style pointed roof eaves. Water lilies lie quietly in the pond, and banana leaves rustle in the morning breeze. The waiter in a tube skirt handed me a warm lemongrass towel and whispered, "Every carved wooden board in the hotel is an old object collected from the old Dai villages." When checking in, the lady at the front desk circled a few niche temples that only locals know about in my itinerary book with a marker. This "deep travel surprise" from the hotel made me look forward to the next journey even more.
The courtyard view room where I stayed was like a secret space surrounded by green plants. Pushing open the balcony door, I was greeted by a bougainvillea waterfall. Dai brocade pillows were placed under the rattan chandelier, and even the tea set was a handmade peacock blue pottery cup. Smart toilets, thermostatic showers and other modern facilities are hidden in bamboo cabinets, and the integration of tradition and modernity is seamless. The best thing was that before going to bed, I found a plate of passion fruit preserves made by the hotel at the end of the bed. Later, I learned that this was a "good night surprise" specially prepared by the butler after seeing me buy passion fruit at the night market.
Waking up to the chirping of birds every morning, going to the restaurant for a "Yunnan-flavored breakfast date" is the most anticipated thing. The freshly boiled purple rice pineapple rice in the open kitchen is steaming, and the millet spicy dipping sauce made by the Dai aunt on the spot makes people swallow their saliva. I always like to hold a pottery bowl filled with mushroom and chicken soup rice noodles and sit at the bamboo table by the pool, watching the koi swim by my feet and listening to the waiter explain that "the lemongrass in the pineapple rice is freshly picked from the backyard." Isn't such a breakfast full of regional flavor an important part of in-depth travel?
After returning from the Wild Elephant Valley in the afternoon, the most pleasant thing is to soak in the hotel's outdoor swimming pool. The shadows of the palm trees by the pool sway on the water. Order a glass of the hotel's special "Lancang River Sunset" (Jino Mountain coffee beans + lime juice), listen to the Dai love songs coming from afar, and let the sun tan your skin into a healthy wheat color. If you don't want to go out, you can also browse the entire set of "Chinese Yunnan Ethnic Minority Costume Atlas" in the book bar, or learn how to make a dish of Dai-flavored cold papaya salad with the housekeeper—this kind of experience that allows you to touch the regional culture without leaving your home is the essence of in-depth travel.
On the night before leaving, the housekeeper sent a handmade sachet wrapped in banana leaves, filled with lemongrass and mint dried in the hotel garden. She said: "I hope this sachet will allow you to remember the taste of Xishuangbanna." In fact, without the sachet, this hotel hidden next to the Gasa Night Market has woven the wind of Yunnan, the rain of Yunnan, and the gentleness of Yunnan into every traveler's memory of in-depth travel. If you also want to find a "travel lodging origin" in Xishuangbanna that can both take root in the city's fireworks and immerse yourself in the regional culture, this place will definitely not disappoint you.
Post by emilyfirefly | May 11, 2025
