|
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.
|
