History of Xishuangbanna

Basic information: Xishuangbanna is located at the southern end of Yunnan Province in China, connected by mountains and rivers with Laos and Myanmar, and close to Thailand and Vietnam. It has a land area of ??nearly 20,000 square kilometers and a national border of 966 kilometers. She is beautiful, rich and magical, like a bright pearl embedded in the southwestern border of the motherland. The Lancang River runs through the north and south. It is called the Mekong River after it exits the country. It flows through the five countries of Myanmar, Laos, Thailand, Cambodia, and Vietnam and flows into the Pacific Ocean. It is known as the "Danube River of the East." Therefore, Xishuangbanna is an important passage and base for Southeast Asia and South Asia. , is also a window for Yunnan to open up to the outside world. Xishuangbanna governs Jinghong City, Menghai County, Mengla County and 11 state-owned farms, with a total population of nearly 840,000. It is home to 13 ethnic minorities including Dai, Hani, Lahu, Brown, and Jinuo, accounting for 74% of the state's population. . For a long time, they have lived and multiplied on this land and made their own contributions to developing the territory of the motherland and creating the long history and splendid culture of the motherland. Xishuangbanna is located on the northern edge of the tropics south of the Tropic of Cancer, with a tropical monsoon climate that is warm, sunny, humid and rainy all year round. It is the only oasis in the Tropic of Cancer desert belt on earth, and is the most complete and typical tropical rainforest ecosystem in China. , the largest area, and also a rare animal and plant gene bank on the earth today, and is known as a natural wonder of the earth. There are 3.6 million acres of national nature reserves within the territory, and there are still 700,000 acres of well-preserved virgin forest. There are about 5,000 species of seed plants and ferns growing on this land, accounting for 1/6 of the country; 539 species of terrestrial vertebrates, accounting for 75% of the country; 429 species of birds, accounting for 36% of the country; There are 47 species of amphibians and 68 species of reptiles, accounting for more than 20% of the country's total; 100 species of fish. Among them, the Asian elephant, vulture, white-bellied woodpecker and Indochinese tiger are world protected animals. Therefore, Xishuangbanna enjoys the reputation of "Kingdom of Plants", "Kingdom of Animals" and "Kingdom of Medicine" at home and abroad. A national nature reserve was established in 1986; it was admitted as a member of the Biosphere Reserve Network by UNESCO in 1993; and was announced by the State Council as the country's first ecological state with natural ecological balance in 1995. Historical evolution: "Xishuangbanna" in Dai language is literally translated as "twelve thousand fields", which actually refers to twelve administrative regions. The Dai people say that Xishuangbanna was called "Mengba Naxi" in ancient times, which means "a magical and beautiful ideal land".

On January 23, 1953, the Xishuangbanna Dai Autonomous Region was established, and the People's Government of the autonomous region was stationed in Jinghong, Che County. The four counties of Che (based in Jinghong), Zhenyue (based in Yiwu), Fohai (based in Menghai), and Nanqiao (based in Menzhe) in Simao Prefecture, and the two counties of Meng'a and Mengwang in Ningjiang County, Puwen District in Simao County and Zhengdong Township in Jiangcheng County are included in the Xishuangbanna Dai Autonomous Region.

In 1954, Jinghong, Che County, the seat of the Xishuangbanna Dai Autonomous Region People's Government, was changed to Yunjinghong. The four counties of Cheche, Zhenyue, Fohai and Nanqiao were abolished and reorganized into Banna Jinghong, Banna Menghai, Banna Mengwang, Banna Yiwu, Banna Mengpeng, Banna Menghun, Banna Mengzhe, Banna Mengyang and Banna Mengla. , Banna Menglong, Banna Meng'a, Banna Mandun and other 12 Bannas (all equivalent to district level), as well as the Gelang and Hani Autonomous Regions, Yiwu Yao Autonomous Region and Brown Mountain Area.

The Xishuangbanna Dai Autonomous Prefecture was established in 1957, and the Autonomous Prefecture People's Committee was stationed in Jinghong. It has jurisdiction over Banna Jinghong (Zhuyun Jinghong, renamed from the original Najinghong, Banna Menglong, Banna Mengyang and Banna Mengwang's Mengxing, Mengwang, and Zhengdong), Banna Yiwu (Zhuyiwu, changed from the original Na Yiwu, Yiwu Yao Autonomous Region and Banna Yiwu were re-established in Yibang), Banna Mengla (in Mengla, re-established from the original Na Mengla, Banna Mengpeng), Banna Menghai (in Menghai, from the original Na Menghai , Banna Menghun, Banna Meng'a, Gelang and Hani Autonomous Regions and Brown Mountain Area were reestablished), Banna Mengzhe (reestablished in Mengzhe, reestablished from the original Mengzhe, Banna Mandun) and other 5 Bannas.

In 1958, Banna Jinghong, Banna Yiwu, Banna Mengla, Banna Menghai, and Banna Mengzhe were changed to Jinghong County, Yiwu County, Mengla County, Menghai County, and Mengzhe County respectively.

In 1959, Yiwu County was abolished and merged into Mengla County; Mengzhe County was abolished and merged into Menghai County. Xishuangbanna Dai Autonomous Prefecture governs 3 counties.

In December 1993, Jinghong County was abolished and Jinghong City was established. Xishuangbanna Dai Autonomous Prefecture governs 1 city and 2 counties.

In 2000, according to the fifth national census data: the total population of Xishuangbanna Dai Autonomous Prefecture was 993,397; Jinghong City 443,672 people, Menghai County 314,068 people, and Mengla County 235,657 people.

On September 30, 2004, the "Reply on the Adjustment of the Administrative Divisions of Some Townships in Xishuangbanna Prefecture" (Yunzhengfu [2004] No. 95): ① Cancel Xiaojie Township and Menglong Town in Jinghong City, Menglong Town was merged and established, and the town government was located in the original Menglong Town Government; ② Jinghong Town, Jinghong City, was abolished and the five original village committees of Naban, Mandian, Mansha, Manmai and Mangobo were placed under It is under the jurisdiction of Gasa Town, and the two village committees of Manwai and Mangolong are placed under the jurisdiction of Yunjinghong Sub-district Office; ③ The Xidinghani Township and Badahani Bulang Township in Menghai County were abolished and merged to establish Xidinghani Township The township government of the Bulang ethnic group is located in the original seat of the Hani ethnic township government in Xiding; ④ The Yiwu Township of Mengla County and the Manla Yi and Yao Township were abolished and merged to establish Yiwu Township, and the township government was located in the original seat of the Yiwu Township government; ⑤ The Mengla County was abolished Mengpeng Town and Mengrun Hani Township in the county were merged to form Mengpeng Town, and the town government was located in the original Mengpeng Town Government. In 2004, according to the "Notice of Xishuangbanna Prefecture on Adjusting the Administrative Divisions of Some Townships and Towns in the Prefecture" of the Prefecture People's Government: Jinghong City abolished Xiaojie Township and Jinghong Town, and the administrative area under the original jurisdiction of Xiaojie Township was placed under the jurisdiction of Menglong Town. The five village committees of Naban, Mandian, Mansha, Manmai and Mangobo in Jinghong Town are placed under the jurisdiction of Gasa Town, and the two village committees of Manwai and Mangolong are placed under the jurisdiction of Yunjinghong Sub-district. Under the jurisdiction of the Department; Menghai County abolished Xiding Hani Township and Badahani Bulang Township, and merged them to establish Xiding Hani Bulang Township. The newly established Xiding Hani Bulang Township governs the administrative areas of the original Xiding Hani Township and Badahani Bulang Township. The affiliation remains unchanged. The township government is located in the original Xiding Hani Township government; Mengla County cancels Manla Yi and Yao Township and Menrun Hani Township, the administrative area formerly under the jurisdiction of Manla Yi and Yao Township was placed under the jurisdiction of Yiwu Township, and the administrative area formerly under the jurisdiction of Mengrun Hani Township was placed under the jurisdiction of Mengpeng Town.

As of 2006, Xishuangbanna Prefecture governs 1 county-level city, 2 counties, 1 street, 18 towns, 6 townships, 7 ethnic townships, 24 neighborhood committees, and 218 village committees. .

"The best in China" discovered in Xishuangbanna: Forestry science and technology personnel from Yunnan Province recently discovered an ancient tree with a height of more than 30 meters in the Xishuangbanna Nature Reserve. It was identified by Tao Guoda, a classification expert at the Xishuangbanna Tropical Botanical Garden of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and others. The scientific name of the big banyan tree is "Ficus hairy pillow" and the scientific name of the giant vine is "Panhuifeng". Both are the largest known plants in China.

According to Feng Zhizhou, a senior engineer at the Yunnan Academy of Forestry Sciences, the two big trees are not far apart. Among them, the big banyan tree has a chest circumference of 12.6 meters, a height of 30 meters, and is at least more than 200 years old. The giant vine is also thirty meters high and has a diameter at breast height of forty-eight centimeters. The ancient vine is twisted together with another thick white-headed tree and a large banyan tree with many aerial roots about 20 meters above the ground. These aerial roots are hanging, while crown ferns, orchids, etc. are attached to the ancient vine. A variety of plants form a unique landscape of "ancient vines climbing banyan trees and three trees growing all over the place". "Panthous hook wind" mainly grows in the tropical rain forests of southern China, and its diameter at breast height generally does not exceed 20 centimeters. This century-old plant discovered in the Xishuangbanna Tropical Rainforest Valley is truly rare.

Feng Zhizhou said that according to records in "Hainan Flora", "In 1958, the South China Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences learned that this plant was used by local people in Pubei County, Guangdong as a special treatment for snakebites. As medicine, the investigating scientists also chewed the stems of this plant with their mouths and fed the juice to snakes. The snakes died about eight minutes later, so it has the value of further research in medicine."

Feng Zhizhou explained that banyan trees can also strangle other trees. Like this huge banyan tree, roots sprouted from the branches of the tree that had been strangled, forming a root network tightly along the trunk. Tightly surround the original attached tree roots until the original tree is strangled and replaced.