Self-driving tour in Yunnan, arrived at Mengjinglai, the first village on the China-Myanmar border!

I have been traveling in Jinghong City, Xishuangbanna for more than two months. Today I plan to go back, and I placed a ride-sharing order as usual. I planned to go to Jingmai Mountain, then to Lincang, and then to Tengchong, and then continue to go up. As a result, I received an order from Mengzhe Town, and I took it because it seemed to be heading towards Jingmai Mountain.

It is about 70 kilometers from Jinghong to Mengzhe Town. Half of it is on the highway, and the other half is on national and provincial roads. It is quite easy to walk. It took more than an hour to drop the passengers off. I found a place called Jingzhen Octagonal Pavilion and the Lost Buddhist Kingdom nearby, all in the same place, so I walked back a few kilometers and went to check in again.

There is a parking lot at the entrance, which is free but not very big. There is a Buddhist temple up a flight of stairs next to the parking lot. The Jingzhen Octagonal Pavilion is inside the temple. It looks pretty good and seems very old.

There are children taking classes in the Buddhist temple. I don’t know what they are chanting, but the monks chant a sentence and the children follow. I watch for a while and get a feel for what Buddhism is all about.

After visiting the Jingzhen Octagonal Pavilion, we were ready to continue to Jingmai Mountain, but found that it was a bit far and would take another two or three hours. However, we saw that the Mengjinglai Scenic Area, the first village between China and Myanmar, was not far away and could be reached in an hour, so we drove to Mengjinglai.

The road is quite easy to walk on, most of it is downhill, and we arrived quickly. We arrived at the gate at 6pm and found a free parking lot right at the door. I will go in and visit tomorrow. There is only a river between here and Myanmar, and a few kilometers away is the Daluo Port on the China-Myanmar border.

There aren't many people parking here at night, but there are a few Sichuan-brand cars with their lights on and people chatting loudly, it's so noisy, just like being in a teahouse!

Post by NoahSutherland | Feb 5, 2025