Manfeilong Pagoda

Located in Manfeilong Village, Menglong Town, it was established during the Song Dynasty. There is a Pagoda Festival every December, when Dai villagers will come to the White Pagoda to worship, hold various ceremonies, sing and dance. If you want to experience folk customs, you can come during the Pagoda Festival. There is another black tower located in Qilong Village, Menglong Town, only one or two kilometers away from Manfeilong. There are many places specializing in making Dai pottery in Manfeilong Village, where you can make pottery with Dai villagers for free. There is also a market in the town, where you can eat authentic Dai specialties. If you want to experience ethnic customs, it is still worth coming. For transportation, you can go to Jinghong Bus Station to take a bus, the fare is only 19 yuan, and there are special buses from Jinghong to Menglong Town every day, which takes about two hours to get there. If you go, remember to do nucleic acid in advance, because there will be border inspections halfway and you need to check the nucleic acid test results.

Manfeilong Pagoda is located on the back mountain of Manfeilong Village in Damenglong, Xishuangbanna Dai Autonomous Prefecture. It is named after its location and is also called Feilong White Pagoda. Manfeilong Pagoda was built during the Qianlong period of the Qing Dynasty (1736-1795) and consists of nine white Manfeilong pagodas. Located in Mangge Buddhist Temple on the other side of the Lancang River in Jinghong, it is a Buddhist temple with a unique architectural style and charming outlines. "Ta Nuozhuanglong" in Dai language means big-headed bamboo shoot tower. The diameter is 8.6 meters. The main tower is 16.29 meters high and is surrounded by 8 side towers to form a mother-child tower group. The appearance is like bamboo shoots emerging from the ground after rain, with staggered and orderly appearance. The tower group has beautiful shapes and unique styles. The tower is a brick and stone structure with an octagonal Xumi pedestal as the base. The outermost circle on the pedestal is 8 niches, with Buddha statues in the niches. The middle circle is 8 small towers, arranged in 8 corners, surrounding the main tower. The main tower is in the middle, with a height of 16.3 meters; the small tower is 9.1 meters high, both are solid. On the native rock under the niche facing south, there is an ankle imprint, which is said to be the footprint of Sakyamuni, so this tower was built.

Across the stream from Manfeilong Village, there are more than 200 stone steps. On the left is the vast primeval forest, and on the right is the lush rubber forest. The tower group is built on the top of the mountain, with a total of 9 towers. The tower base is in the shape of a multi-petal plum blossom, with a circumference of 42.6 meters. The main tower is 16.29 meters high, surrounded by 8 small towers distributed in 8 corners. Each small tower is 9.1 meters high, and the tower body is in the shape of a multi-layered gourd. A mother tower and 8 sub-towers, at first glance, look like a bunch of strong and upright bamboos, or like thick bamboo shoots rising from the ground, magnificent and spectacular.

It's really a long way to go. The white pagoda is a bit like the Jiele Shwedagon Pagoda I saw the day before, but this one was built in the 565th year of the Dai calendar (1204), and is more than 800 years old. The base of the pagoda is an octagonal Sumeru pedestal, with 8 niches in the outermost circle, with Buddha statues in the niches. The middle circle is 8 small pagodas, arranged in 8 corners, surrounding the main pagoda. The main pagoda is in the center, with a total height of 16.3 meters; the small pagodas are 9.1 meters high, both of which are solid. On the native rock under the niche facing south, there is an imprint of a human ankle, which is said to be the footprint of Sakyamuni. This pagoda was built for this reason. No one really comes here, it's very quiet, we took a look around, the garden keeper charged us 10 yuan for a ticket, it is said that the tour guide takes tourists to Manting Park in the city to see the replica

When you reach the top of the low mountain, you will see a vast expanse of plain land. In the center stands a large, ancient and solemn Dai-style bamboo shoot tower, which is grayish white due to the baptism of wind and rain. It is one of the symbols of Xishuangbanna - the Manfeilong White Tower. In the middle is the tallest bamboo shoot tower (as the name suggests, it looks like a bamboo shoot), and around it are a circle of shorter bamboo shoot towers. The lines are round and smooth, classical and elegant, which is a typical Dai tower shape. There is also a standing golden Dai Buddha statue and a Dai-style white elephant nearby, both of which are guarded by mythical beasts (a mixture of lions, tigers, dogs, cats, etc.).