Xishuangbanna

Walk Manhena Old Village in Jinghong. The inner old village has traditional stilt houses, golden Dai wells, wall murals, small food shops, homestays and heritage experience halls. Walk it slowly, and ask before entering a courtyard.

Go to the morning market. It is a working food market, and you can order and pay at the stalls without booking a market package.

Look at the tea hills on the roads west of Jinghong. Menghai is known for Pu'er tea making. Look at the terraces from the road, or choose a tasting table in town.

The forest around Xishuangbanna is an official nature reserve, not an amusement park. Visit only the areas the reserve opens to visitors.

The best-known event is the Dai New Year water-splashing festival, around Qingming. Its date moves each year, so confirm the exact dates for your travel year before you book.

Jinghong. Its courtyards and morning markets are on the same streets. Spend the nights there instead of packing a distant rainforest park and a Menghai tea factory into one rushed day trip.

Pay by phone: set up Alipay before you travel.

At the water-splashing festival, sprinkle water only lightly on the shoulders and back of elders as a sign of respect. Younger people splash freely in the open streets.

Treat Xishuangbanna as a separate region. It is not an extra stop on the Lijiang or Kunming routes.

Harbin. A winter contrast: warmth in Xishuangbanna and ice and snow in Harbin. You can pair a cold region with a warm one.