Jingdong Yi Autonomous County (景东彝族自治县; pinyin: Jǐngdōng yízú Zìzhìxiàn) is an autonomous county under the jurisdiction of Pu’er Prefecture, Yunnan Province, China. The general layout is on a symmetric basis. Woods in the Confucian temple are serene and majestic, just like those in the hometown of Mr. Confucius. The architectures in the temple include Panchi Pool (Panchi, a pool in front of a school in ancient China, thus Panchi refers to school of Confucianism in ancient times), Bell Tower, Lingxing Gate, Dachen Gate and Dachen Hall, all artistic, exquisite and classic.

The History of Yi People

Some scholars believe that the Yi are descended from the ancient Qiang people of today’s western China, who are also said to be the ancestors of the Tibetan, Naxi and Qiang peoples. They migrated from southeastern Tibet through Sichuan and into the Yunnan Province, where their largest populations can be found today. They practice a form of animism, led by a shaman priest known as the Bimaw. They still retain a few ancient religious texts written in their unique pictographic script. Their religion also contains many elements of Daoism and Buddhism. Many of the Yi in Liangshan and northwestern Yunnan practiced a complicated form of slavery. People were split into the nuohuo or Black Yi (nobles), qunuo or White Yi (commoners), and slaves. White Yi were free and could own property and slaves but were in a way tied to a lord. Other ethnic groups were held as slaves.

Legend

Most Yi believe they have the same ancestor, ꀉꁌꅋꃅ or ꀉꁌꐧꃅ (Axpu Ddutmu or Axpu Jjutmu). It is said that Apu Dumu married three wives and had six sons: each of the wives bore two sons. In the legend, the oldest two sons leading their tribes conquered other aborigines of Yunnan and began to reside in most territory of Yunnan. The youngest two sons led their tribes eastwards and were defeated by Han, before finally making western Guizhou their home and creating the largest quantity of Yi script documents. The other two sons led their tribes across the Jinsha River and dwelled in Liangshan. This group had close intermarriage with the local.

Clubs & Bars & KTVs

Striving Music Bar(奋斗音乐酒吧)

Address: No.83 of TianhuaRoad, Jingdong Yi Autonomous County(景东彝族自治县天华路83号)

On the Way Music Bar(在路上音乐酒吧)

Address: No.66 of TianhuaRoad, Jingdong Yi Autonomous County(景东彝族自治县天华路66号)

Four Seasons’ Bar(春夏秋冬)

Address: No.46 of Lingyun Road, Jingdong Yi Autonomous County(景东彝族自治县凌云路46)

Tanghui KTV(堂会KTV)

Address: In the Intersection of Delong Road and Lingyun Road, Jingdong Yi Autonomous County(景东彝族自治县德龙路与凌云路交叉口)

Tel: 13759002323

Xingyi KTV(兴义KTV)

Address: No.46 of Lingyun Road, Jingdong Yi Autonomous County(景东彝族自治县凌云路46)

Tel: 13508799721

Coffee & Tea & Ice Cream

One Sky Coffee House(一片天咖啡屋)

Address: No.31 of Ruiping Road, Jingdong Yi Autonomous County(景东彝族自治县瑞屏路31)

 Tianyu House(甜雨小屋)

Address: Lingyun Road, Jingdong Yi Autonomous County(景东彝族自治县凌云路)

Dihao Leisure House(帝豪休闲屋)

Address: Tianhua Road, Jingdong Yi Autonomous County(景东彝族自治县天华路)

Xiaocao Tea House(小草茶室)

Address: No.26 of Manwan Road, Manwan Town, Jingdong Yi Autonomous County(景东彝族自治县漫湾镇漫湾路26号)

Wutuobang Ice Cream(乌托邦冷饮店)

Address: Agricultural Market, Jingdong Yi Autonomous County(景东彝族自治县农贸市场)

The Torch Festival of Yi People

The Torch Festival or Fire Festival (Chinese: 火把节; pinyin: Huǒbǎ Jié) is one of the main holidays of the Yi people of southwest China, and is also celebrated by other ethnic groups of the region. It is celebrated on the 24th or 25th day of the sixth month of the Yi calendar, corresponding to August in the Gregorian calendar. It commemorates the legendary wrestler Atilaba, who drove away a plague of locusts using torches made from pine trees. Since 1993, the government of the Liangshan Yi Autonomous Prefecture in Sichuan has sponsored a modernised celebration of the festival, featuring wrestling, horse racing, dance shows, and a beauty contest. Different groups set the festival at different time.

The Yi or Lolo people are an ethnic group in China, Vietnam, and Thailand. Numbering 8 million, they are the seventh largest of the 55 ethnic minority groups officially recognized by the People’s Republic of China. They live primarily in rural areas of Sichuan, Yunnan, Guizhou, and Guangxi, usually in mountainous regions. As of 1999, there were 3,300 “Lô Lô” people living in Hà Giang, Cao Bằng, and Lào Cai provinces in northeastern Vietnam. The Yi speak various Loloish languages, Sino-Tibetan languages closely related to Burmese. The prestige variety is Nuosu, which is written in the Yi script.

The Culture of Yi People

The Yi play a number of traditional musical instruments, including large plucked and bowed string instruments, as well as wind instruments called bawu (巴乌) and mabu (马布). The Yi also play the hulu sheng, though unlike other minority groups in Yunnan, the Yi do not play the hulu sheng for courtship or love songs (aiqing). The kouxian, a small four-pronged instrument similar to the Jew’s harp, is another commonly found instrument among the Liangshan Yi. Kouxian songs are most often improvised and are supposed to reflect the mood of the player or the surrounding environment. Kouxian songs can also occasionally function in the aiqing form. Yi dance is perhaps the most commonly recognized form of musical performance, as it is often performed during publicly sponsored holidays and/or festival events. Yi people’s son’s given name is patronymic, based on the last one or two syllable of father’s name.

A Brief History of Dai People

The origin of the Dai ethnic family goes back to the ancient Baiyue (alternatively, Bai Yue, or Hundred Yue) people, a tribe of ancient ethnic groups. The term “Yue” has historically been used in a broad-stroke manner by the ancient Chinese to refer to any number of larger to smaller ethnic groups that do not necessarily belong in the same ethnic “pot”, much like the ancient Greeks used the term “Keltai” (corresponding to the present-day English-language term “Celt”) to refer, in broad-brush strokes, to certain peoples of present-day Europe, stretching from France through Germany and on to the British Isles.

The Baiyue include the Dong, though this group insists that it is a separate ethnic entity. In fact, scholars believe that the original Yue folk who branched out along a northerly route that would lead them into present-day China (a similar group, forebears of the present-day Tai (alternatively “Thai”) folk of Thailand, branched southward) are in fact forebears to the Han Chinese – indeed, the Cantonese language is also called the Yue language (to read more about this interesting migration theory, which relates the Dong, the Yue, and the ancestors of the Han together, click here).

The earliest Dai peoples of China were separated into three different groups, corresponding to three kingdoms: the Mong Loong Kingdom (Kingdom of Uncle), situated in the southern Yellow River region; the Mong Pa Kingdom (Kingdom of Auntie), in present-day Sichuan Province; and the Mong Yio Kingdom (Kingdom of the Yue/ Yi peoples), east of the Yangtze River. With plentiful rainfall and fertile land, the areas that these three Dai groups inhabited was quasi-subtropical, and thus suitable for the planting of Dai crops that today would be called cash crops. According to ancient Chinese documents, the Dai had a fairly well-developed system of agriculture, and a part of their crops were sold, or bartered, for other commodities. The Dai are believed by scholars to be one of the first ethnic groups to employ oxen to till the land.

The forebears of the present-day Dai Ethnic Minority of China first organized themselves into a semi-unified political organization – the “Shan Guo” – during the Qin (BCE 221-207) and Han (BCE 206 – CE 220) Dynasties period. In BCE 109, Emperor Wu Di of the Western Han (BCE 206 – CE 009) Dynasty set up the prefecture of Yizhou (alternatively Yi Zhou, “Yi” being a variant of “Yue”, and “Zhou” (alternatively “Zhao”) meaning state, or prefecture) as a special area to house the Yue people in southwestern China, corresponding to present-day Guizhou, Sichuan and Yunnan Provinces.

Present-Day Dai People

The Dai Language and Writing System: The language of the Dai belongs to the Zhuang-Dai branch of the Zhuang-Dong group of Chinese-Tibetan Phylum, or family of languages. The Dai have their own special writing system, which is written in an alphabetic, as opposed to a character, script. There are five different branches of this writing system spread throughout the various Dai communities in China. Among these, the most common are the Daikou and the Daina writing systems, which are also known as the Xinshuangbanna and the Dehong writing systems, respectively.

Clubs & Bars & KTVs

Nuoyafangzhou(诺亚方舟)

Address: No.1-9 of Bailong Road, Jinggu Dai and Yi Autonomous County(景谷傣族彝族自治县白龙路1-9)

Qingsong Club(青松会所)

Address: Yongping Town, Jinggu Dai and Yi Autonomous County(景谷傣族彝族自治县永平镇)

Maichao KTV(麦潮KTV)

Address: Jinxing Strict, Jinggu Dai and Yi Autonomous County(景谷傣族彝族自治县金星小区)

Jinye KTV(金夜KTV)

Address: Yongping Town, Jinggu Dai and Yi Autonomous County(景谷傣族彝族自治县永平镇)

Dingxin Leisure Club(鼎鑫娱乐会所)

Address: Pu’er Prefecture, Jinggu Dai and Yi Autonomous County(普洱市景谷傣族彝族自治县)

Coffee & Tea & Ice Cream

Weimeisi Coffee(味美思咖啡)

Address:  No.117 of Wenming Road, Jinggu Dai and Yi Autonomous County(景谷傣族彝族自治县文明路117)

Haowang Tea House(豪旺茶楼)

Address: No.72 of Zhengxing Road, Jinggu Dai and Yi Autonomous County(景谷傣族彝族自治县正兴路72)

Jinhua Tea House(金花茶社)

Address: Pu’er Prefecture, Jinggu Dai and Yi Autonomous County(普洱市景谷傣族彝族自治县)

Tel: 5911268668

Xiangqingyuan Tea House(乡情园茶室)

Address: Near the National Road 323, Jinggu Dai and Yi Autonomous County(普洱市景谷傣族彝族自治县323国道附近)

Water Splashing Festival

The Water Festival is the New Year’s celebrations that take place in Southeast Asian countries such as Myanmar, Cambodia, Laos, and Thailand as well as Yunnan, China. It is called the ‘Water Festival’ by Westerners because people splash / pour water at one another as part of the cleansing ritual to welcome the new year. Traditionally people gently sprinkled water on one another as a sign of respect, but as the new year falls during the hottest month in South East Asia, many people end up dousing strangers and passersby in vehicles in boisterous celebration. The act of pouring water is also a show of blessings and good wishes. It is believed that on this Water Festival, everything old must be thrown away, or it will bring the owner bad luck.

In Yunnan (China), the Water Splashing Festival is celebrated by the Dai ethnic group which is one of the 55 ethnic minorities in China. The whole celebration usually starts on the 13th of April and takes 3–7 days. On the first day of the festival Dai people race dragon boats and light fireworks (made of bamboo) for good luck in the coming years. The second day, Dai people get together to dance, and pour water on others because they believe that pouring water on others can help remove bad luck and bring out happiness. Finally, on the last day of the festival, young generations will get together to exchange gifts and date their mates. The Water Splashing Festival is one of the most influential ethnic festivals in Yunnan area. It attracts thousands of tourists every year from all over China. The huge tourist industry contributes greatly to the development of the area.

Dai Ethnic Group

The Dai (alternatively, Tai) are one of the 56 official ethnic minorities in China, whose ethnic majority are of course the Han Chinese. The Dai Ethnic Group comprises several smaller ethnic groups living mainly in the Xishuangbanna Dai Autonomous Prefecture and in the Dehong Dai and Jingpo Autonomous Prefecture, both of which prefectures are located in the southern part of Yunnan Province, though smaller pockets of Dai live in and around the Yunnan cities of Xinping and Yuanjiang, as well as in other autonomous counties in Yunnan Province. In all there are roughly 1.2 million Dai living in China. However, the Dai of China belong to a larger family of Dai/ Tai ethnic groups that also exist in neighboring Burma, Laos, Thailand, and Vietnam.

Present-day Dai peoples call themselves, besides Dai, which means freedom – and which is the consensus designation that the Dai have themselves chosen after their liberation by the PRC – also Daile, Daiya, Daina, and Dai Beng, as well as other local designations depending on the enclave. During the Tang (CE 618-907) and Song (CE 960-1279) Dynasties, they were often referred to as the “olden Teeth” and “blackened Teeth” peoples, as a result of the Dai tradition of blackening one’s teeth by chewing betel nuts. Blackened teeth in women, especially was considered a mark of beauty, or at least of modesty, and it seems that the betel nut juice prevented cavities (it should also be mentioned that Japanese women in the 16th century followed the same practice for roughly the same reasons).

Dai Cultural Identity

The Dai enjoy a rich and colorful culture, the Bai Yue culture, whose designation today is shortened to Bai Ye to distinguish it from the original anthropological culture of the ancient Bai folk. The ancient Bai Yue culture was in the forefront of social development in many respects when the Dai first began to organize themselves into communities in China. The Dai also have their own calendar, they have books in Dai script for calculating solar and lunar eclipses, and their historical documents span a rich variety of literary works, from poetry and fables to ancient stories and legends.

The Bei Ye Culture

Bei Ye Culture is a general term for the social and cultural history of the Dai people. Bai Ye cultural artifacts and traditions include original scripture etched onto the leaves of the pattra tree (a tropical plant native to the Dai homelands), Dai scripture copied onto cotton paper, and “song” (“chanting” may be the better term) books, as well as a plethora of lesser cultural traditions that are handed down generation after generation, and thus every Dai individual is a walking preserve of Dai culture. The Bei Ye Culture became known especially for the scriptures that were etched onto the leaves of the pattra tree.

Bei Ye scriptures, as indicated, are preserved on two different media: the leaf of the patta tree and paper made of cotton. The former is called “Tanlan” in the language of the Dai, while the latter is called “Bogalesha”. The Bei Ye culture has developed over time from its origins as a collection of primitive ethnic and religious practices that have been combined with the influences of neighboring cultures, primarily the Han Chinese culture, but also Indian Buddhist culture (the Dai practice a form of Buddhism that differs from the Chinese-influenced Indian Buddhism of the mainstream Han Chinese).

Though they live in separate countries, and in some cases miles apart, the Dai of China, the Lao of Laos, the Shan of Myanmar, and the Thai of Thailand all have evolved from the same ethnic origins – they all share the same Bai Ye culture particular to Southeast Asia.

The Dai Calendar

The Dai have their own calendar, which is still in use today. The Dai calendar is unusual, compared to the Han Chinese lunar calendar, in that the former incorporates elements of both the solar and the lunar calendars. Borrowing from the Han Chinese Taoist tradition, the Dai use the method of Heavenly Stems and the Terrestrial Branches to record days and years in their “hybrid” calendar (this is a reference to the Taoist sexagenary cycle, or a cyclical system of 60 combinations of the two basic cycles: the 10 Heavenly Stems and the 12 Earthly Branches). The Dai have chosen to not only employ much of the Han Chinese calendar terminology, they have also preserved the Han Chinese pronunication of this terminology.

A year is divided into twelve months in the Dai calendar, while some months are called “single” months and others are called “double” months. There are thirty days in a “single” Dai month, and twenty nine days in a “double” Dai month. A year is also composed of three seasons: the Cold Season, which runs from January to April; the Hot Season, which runs from May to August; and the Rainy Season, which runs from September to December. To further account for the irregularities of the earth’s orbit, so as to make the Dai calendar fit the actual time trajectory of the earth’s orbit, there are seven leap years to every span of nineteen years.

According to ancient Dai documents, there are four epochs, termed “Saha”, in Dai history. The fourth epoch is the current one, or the “Zhujiang Saha”, which began in the year CE 647, circa, in Western calendar terms, and was announced by a Dai religious leader by the name of Payazhula.

Zhenyuan Yi, Hani and Lahu Autonomous County (镇沅彝族哈尼族拉祜族自治县) is an autonomous county under the jurisdiction of Pu’er Prefecture, Yunnan Province, China. Zhenyuan is famous for the ancient tea tree in Qianjiazhai. Qianjiazhai is in the north of Zhenyuan County, where the altitude ranges from 2,000 to 3,137 meters above the sea level. It includes Qianjiazhai Village, Wanhe River, Zhedong and Enle-Shuitang travel route, covering 44 sq km. Major tourist sights feature primeval forests, ancient tea trees, waterfalls, springs, exotic plants (such as rhododendron), and ethnic customs. In the tea bushes, a striking view is a 18.5-meter-tall, 2.82-meter-round wild tea tree; it is believed to be 2,700 years old.

Lahu History

The Lahu originally came from Tibet. They migrated first to southern China and then began migrating to Burma during the 19th Century. Fearful of persecution by the Burmese government, many Lahu continued to migrate further southwards into Siam.There are now Lahu people living in Myanmar, China and Laos as well as more than 73,000 in Thailand.

The Lahu is a very fractured tribe, and there are at least six distinct sub-groups; the Red, Yellow, Black, White Lahu, the Lahu Sheleh and the Lahu Haega. Of these groups, the Black Lahu makes up about 80% of the population. In Thailand, however, the majority of the population is Red Lahu.

The History of Yi People

Some scholars believe that the Yi are descended from the ancient Qiang people of today’s western China, who are also said to be the ancestors of the Tibetan, Naxi and Qiang peoples. They migrated from southeastern Tibet through Sichuan and into the Yunnan Province, where their largest populations can be found today.

They practice a form of animism, led by a shaman priest known as the Bimaw. They still retain a few ancient religious texts written in their unique pictographic script. Their religion also contains many elements of Daoism and Buddhism.

Many of the Yi in Liangshan and northwestern Yunnan practiced a complicated form of slavery. People were split into the nuohuo or Black Yi (nobles), qunuo or White Yi (commoners), and slaves. White Yi were free and could own property and slaves but were in a way tied to a lord. Other ethnic groups were held as slaves.

Clubs & Bars & KTVs

Yinhe Entertainment(银河娱乐)

Address: Zhetie Road, Zhenyuan Yi, Hani and Lahu Autonomous County, Pu’er Prefecture (普洱市镇沅彝族哈尼族拉祜族自治县者铁路)

Tel: 15198315515

Ruige Entertainment(瑞格娱乐)

Address: Lvhai Road, Zhenyuan Yi, Hani and Lahu Autonomous County (镇沅彝族哈尼族拉祜族自治县绿海路)

Small Wine Bar(小酒馆)

Address: Zhenyuan Yi, Hani and Lahu Autonomous County (镇沅彝族哈尼族拉祜族自治县)

Baolongdidu Discount KTV(宝龙帝都KTV量贩)

Address: Near the Enshui Road, Zhenyuan Yi, Hani and Lahu Autonomous County (镇沅彝族哈尼族拉祜族自治县恩水路附近)

Changhong KTV(昌宏KTV)

Address: Near the Enshui Road, Zhenyuan Yi, Hani and Lahu Autonomous County (镇沅彝族哈尼族拉祜族自治县恩水路附近)

Coffee & Tea & Ice Cream

Xianpei Coffee(鲜焙咖啡)

Address: Address: Near the Enshui Road, Zhenyuan Yi, Hani and Lahu Autonomous County (镇沅彝族哈尼族拉祜族自治县恩水路附近)

Bangdu Tea House(邦都茶庄)

Address: Renmin Road, Enle Town, Zhenyuan Yi, Hani and Lahu Autonomous County (镇沅彝族哈尼族拉祜族自治县恩乐镇人民路)

Wuyi Tea House(五一茶庄)

Address: Lvhai Road, Zhenyuan Yi, Hani and Lahu Autonomous County (镇沅彝族哈尼族拉祜族自治县绿海路)

Jvyouyuan Tea House(聚友缘茶坊)

Address: Lvhai Road, Zhenyuan Yi, Hani and Lahu Autonomous County (镇沅彝族哈尼族拉祜族自治县绿海路)

The Festivals of Lahu People

The main festivals of the Lahu people include the Lahukuo Festival, the Torch Festival, the New Rice Festival, and the Duane Festival, etc. The Lahukuo Festival is the New Year Festival of the Lahu people. It is divided into large year (Women’s Festival) and small year (Men’s Festival) and is the most ceremonious and important festival of the Lahu people. The Women’s Festival spans four days, from the first to the fourth day of the lunar New Year and the Men’s Festival lasts three days, beginning in the ninth day of the lunar New Year.

The Culture of Hani People 

Hani houses are usually two or three stories high, built with bamboo, mud, stone and wood. The traditional clothing of the Hani is made with dark blue fabric. The men dress in short jackets and in long wide pants. They also wear white or black turbans. The women dress depending on which clan they belong to. There is no gender difference in the clothing of children under the age of seven. Hani are known for their vocal polyphonic singing. Eight-part polyphony was recorded in the 1990s. They play traditional musical instruments, end-blown flute labi (俄比). and three-stringed plucked lute lahe. Part of thousand years old culture are terraced fields.

The Culture of Lahu People

Lahu communities are very gender equitable, and the men are often described as caring and considerate. Although there are differences in their responsibilities of the sexes, both men and women contribute to the household work and share their meals and food together. Lahu men also have a reputation for being excellent hunters, and hunting, rather than farming is how most Lahu traditionally earned their living. Nowadays, Lahu people often work as hired laborers for other tribal groups. This is perhaps the reason why many from other tribes, especially the Akha, can also speak and understand the Lahu language. Within the Lahu tribe itself there are many sub-divisions. Of all the tribes, the Lahu have had the least success in maintaining a uniform tribal culture as it has migrated south from China into Myanmar, Thailand and Laos. The migration route and history of each sub-group is reflected in their language and their dress, as well as strongly influencing their religious beliefs, cultural celebrations and other festivals.

Menglian Dai, Lahu and Va Autonomous County (孟连傣族拉祜族佤族自治县; pinyin: Mènglián dǎizú lāhùzú wǎzú Zìzhìxiàn) is an autonomous county under the jurisdiction of Pu’er Prefecture, Yunnan Province, China. Menglian County boders Lancang County in the east, Ximeng Va Autonomous County north, and Burma west and south. Its border line is 133.399 km. As of 2012, Menglian county administers 3 countrysides, 3 towns, an area of 1893.42 square kilometers; registered population of 127,870 people. Multiple ethnic groups promote the diverse and long-standing history here.

The History of Dai People

The ancestors of the current Dai minority in China first appeared as a political group during the Qin and Han dynasties, between about 221 BC and 220 AD. The first Dai prefecture was set up by Emperor Wu Di in 109 BC, during the Western Han Dynasty. Located in Southwest China, this special area corresponded to the current Yunnan, Guizhou and Sichuan provinces. It provided an excellent climate for agriculture, encouraging the Dai to develop new techniques, such as the use of oxen for tilling.

The History of Lahu People

Legend says that the forbears of the Lahu people, who were hunters, began migrating southward to lush grassland which they discovered while pursuing a red deer. Some scholars hold that during the Western Han Dynasty more than 2,000 years ago, the “Kunmings,” the nomadic tribe pasturing in the Erhai area in western Yunnan, might be the forbears of certain ethnic groups, including the Lahus. Then, the “Kunming” people still lived in a primitive society “without common rulers.” They belonged to different clans engaged in hunting. The Lahu people once were known for their skill at hunting tigers. They roved over the lush slopes of the towering Ailao and Wuliang mountains.

In the 8th century, after the rise of the Nanzhao regime in Yunnan, the Lahu people were compelled to move south. By no later than the beginning of the 18th century they already had settled in their present-day places. Influenced by the feudal production methods of neighboring Han and Dai peoples, they turned to agriculture. With economic development, they gradually passed into a feudal system, and their life style and customs were more or less influenced by the Hans and Dais.

The History of Wa People

According to Sir George Scott in the Wa origin myths the first Wa originated from two female ancestors Ya Htawm and Ya Htai who spent their early phase as tadpoles (rairoh) in a lake known as Nawng Hkaeo. Very little is known about the early history of the Wa. What is known is mostly made up of local legends telling that in the distant past the historical Wa States and all the territories of eastern Shan State, as well as large swathes of the adjacent areas of present-day China had belonged to the Wa. In the area of the former Kengtung State the Wa were displaced around 1229 and were later defeated by King Mangrai. At the time of British rule in Burma the Tai Yai people were the majority of the population in Kengtung state with other groups such as Akha and Lahu, forming sizeable communities. The Wa now form a minority of only about 10% in Kengtung District despite having been the original inhabitants.

Clubs & Bars & KTVs

Gediao Music Bar(格调音乐酒吧)

Address: Lianhua Road, Menglian Dai, Lahu and Va Autonomous County (孟连傣族拉祜族佤族自治县莲花路)

Linxian KTV(林先KTV)

Address: Highway 309, Menglian Dai, Lahu and Va Autonomous County(孟连傣族拉祜族佤族自治县309省道)

Xuanye KTV(炫夜KTV)

Address: Jinta Road, Menglian Dai, Lahu and Va Autonomous County (孟连傣族拉祜族佤族自治县金塔路)

Daiyu KTV(傣玉KTV)

Address: Menglian Dai, Lahu and Va Autonomous County (孟连傣族拉祜族佤族自治县)

Menglian Tasting Theme Music Bar(孟连品味主题音乐酒吧)

Address: Baixiang Street, Menglian Dai, Lahu and Va Autonomous County (孟连傣族拉祜族佤族自治县白象街)

Coffee & Tea & Ice Cream

Xinshiji Cake House(新世纪饼屋)

Address: Haiguan Road, Menglian Dai, Lahu and Va Autonomous County (孟连傣族拉祜族佤族自治县海关路)

Bingyishuang Cold Store(冰怡爽冷饮店)

Address: Jinta Road, Menglian Dai, Lahu and Va Autonomous County (孟连傣族拉祜族佤族自治县金塔路)

Zhiyin Tea House(知音茶室)

Address: Haiguan Road, Menglian Dai, Lahu and Va Autonomous County (孟连傣族拉祜族佤族自治县海关路)

The Water Splashing Festival

The Water Splashing Festival falls during the New Year of the Dai Calendar. It is sometimes called Shanghan or Jingbimai (both variants meaning “New Year”), but it is more commonly called Hounan (“Water Splashing Festival”) in the Dai language. The Water Splashing Festival is not only the first Buddhist festival of a new year, but also the most important festival observed by the Dai. 

The Dragon Homage Festival

The Dai pay yearly homage to the dragon, who is seen as a deity with the power to bless or punish mankind, especially as regards the yearly harvest. This Dragon Homage Festival is held at a date determined by the Dai calendar, which means that it often falls in January of the Western calendar, and thus also occurs close to the traditional Chinese Spring Festival. During the Dragon Homage Festival, a monk from the village temple organizes the collection of food and clothing to be offered to the Dragon God.

Every Dai, without regard to income or social standing, is encouraged to make such an offering to the Dragon God, though one of course offers gifts commensurate with one’s wealth. For example, rich families might offer items in gold or silver, including coins. All offerings are dropped off at the temple, where they are preserved in an appropriate “Dragon Palace” until the highlight ceremony of the Dragon Homage Festival, at which time the “Dragon Palace” is placed on a bamboo raft and allowed to drift away down the Menglong River, while the people pray and chant Buddhist scripture.

Menglian Dai, Lahu and Va Autonomous County (孟连傣族拉祜族佤族自治县; pinyin: Mènglián dǎizú lāhùzú wǎzú Zìzhìxiàn) is an autonomous county under the jurisdiction of Pu’er Prefecture, Yunnan Province, China. Menglian County boders Lancang County in the east, Ximeng Va Autonomous County north, and Burma west and south. Its border line is 133.399 km. As of 2012, Menglian county administers 3 countrysides, 3 towns, an area of 1893.42 square kilometers; registered population of 127,870 people. 

Dai Cultural Identity

The Dai enjoy a rich and colorful culture, the Bai Yue culture, whose designation today is shortened to Bai Ye to distinguish it from the original anthropological culture of the ancient Bai folk. The ancient Bai Yue culture was in the forefront of social development in many respects when the Dai first began to organize themselves into communities in China. The Dai also have their own calendar, they have books in Dai script for calculating solar and lunar eclipses, and their historical documents span a rich variety of literary works, from poetry and fables to ancient stories and legends.

The Bei Ye Culture

Bei Ye Culture is a general term for the social and cultural history of the Dai people. Bai Ye cultural artifacts and traditions include original scripture etched onto the leaves of the pattra tree (a tropical plant native to the Dai homelands), Dai scripture copied onto cotton paper, and “song” (“chanting” may be the better term) books, as well as a plethora of lesser cultural traditions that are handed down generation after generation, and thus every Dai individual is a walking preserve of Dai culture. The Bei Ye Culture became known especially for the scriptures that were etched onto the leaves of the pattra tree.

Bei Ye scriptures, as indicated, are preserved on two different media: the leaf of the patta tree and paper made of cotton. The former is called “Tanlan” in the language of the Dai, while the latter is called “Bogalesha”. The Bei Ye culture has developed over time from its origins as a collection of primitive ethnic and religious practices that have been combined with the influences of neighboring cultures, primarily the Han Chinese culture, but also Indian Buddhist culture (the Dai practice a form of Buddhism that differs from the Chinese-influenced Indian Buddhism of the mainstream Han Chinese).

Though they live in separate countries, and in some cases miles apart, the Dai of China, the Lao of Laos, the Shan of Myanmar, and the Thai of Thailand all have evolved from the same ethnic origins – they all share the same Bai Ye culture particular to Southeast Asia.

The Dai Calendar

The Dai have their own calendar, which is still in use today. The Dai calendar is unusual, compared to the Han Chinese lunar calendar, in that the former incorporates elements of both the solar and the lunar calendars. Borrowing from the Han Chinese Taoist tradition, the Dai use the method of Heavenly Stems and the Terrestrial Branches to record days and years in their “hybrid” calendar (this is a reference to the Taoist sexagenary cycle, or a cyclical system of 60 combinations of the two basic cycles: the 10 Heavenly Stems and the 12 Earthly Branches). The Dai have chosen to not only employ much of the Han Chinese calendar terminology, they have also preserved the Han Chinese pronunication of this terminology.

A year is divided into twelve months in the Dai calendar, while some months are called “single” months and others are called “double” months. There are thirty days in a “single” Dai month, and twenty nine days in a “double” Dai month. A year is also composed of three seasons: the Cold Season, which runs from January to April; the Hot Season, which runs from May to August; and the Rainy Season, which runs from September to December. To further account for the irregularities of the earth’s orbit, so as to make the Dai calendar fit the actual time trajectory of the earth’s orbit, there are seven leap years to every span of nineteen years. According to ancient Dai documents, there are four epochs, termed “Saha”, in Dai history. The fourth epoch is the current one, or the “Zhujiang Saha”, which began in the year CE 647, circa, in Western calendar terms, and was announced by a Dai religious leader by the name of Payazhula.