Mangshi

Mangshi is a town under the jurisdiction of Luxi, which is the capital of the Deihong Dai & Jingpo Nationalities autonomous Prefecture. In Manshi, you will find are the language, the costumes and the living customs are more like those in Burma, laos or Thailand.

The scenic spots to see in Mangshi are temples of Hinayana Buddhism, like Wuyun Temple, Foguang Temple, Temple in a Banyan tree and Sati Temple. The other spots include Sanxian natural cave, hot spring and mangjiu dam.

The Bodhi Monastery and The Minority Cultural Palace

Mangshi is the countryseat of Luxi County and also the prefectural seat of Dehong Prefecture. Mangshi means "the Town of Daybreak". The name originated from the story that Sakyamuni got to Mangshi just as day broke. The town has an area of 10 square kilometers and a population of 60,000. Mangshi is a newly developing border town, will prosperous business and booming trading.

The monastery is situated in the middle section of Xinan Road, Mangshi. It is said to have been built in the early Qing Dynasty. The monastery got its name because there was a bodhi tree in front of the monastery when it was built. The original monastery was destroyed in a war. Later repeated reconstructions and repeated destructions happened. The existing monastery was built in 1978. The roof is of a Han style, but the architecture as a whole and especially the balustrade and railing are of a Dai style.

The monastery is a Southern Buddhist monastery well known in Southeast Asia and the Dai areas of Yunnan. After Liberation, the Chinese Association of Buddhism carried a very big statue of Sakyamuni with bare feet to this monastery from Beijing. In 1956, it took a tooth of Sakyamuni there for people to worship, which made the monastery even more popular. The monastery is now where the prefectural association of Buddhism lies and is ranked as a provincial point of interest.

The Minority Cultural Palace is located in the southern section of the Youth Street, Mangshi. It covers an area of 150 square kilometers. The splendid palace, hidden among oil palm trees and bamboo trees, has distinctive ethnic features. To its north there is "the Pavilion of the White Dragon", which is the symbol of the Dai's Water Splashing Festival. The Cultural Palace was built in 1988 by the people of Dehong in memory of Premier Zhou.