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Ruili City, Border Trade Street
and Jiegao Border Trade Port
Ruili city is situated on the Ruili River
in the southwestern part of Dehong Prefectures. "Ruili"
means "auspicious" and "beautiful".
It is the biggest land port in our country with an area
of 174.6 square kilometers. It borders on Burma in the southeast,
southwest and northwest, with fields of both countries interlocking
each other. There are 54 boundary tablets and 28 passageways
to Burma along the 114-kilometer boundary line. The whole
area is characterized by "One Basin, Two Countries
and Three Towns". Beautiful scenery, rich ethnic cultures,
prosperous border trade streets, China-Burma Street, peaceful
and mysterious border areas and exotic cultures form spectacular
pictures. Ruili is an important passageway connecting China
and the Southeast Asian countries. It is also a national
port town open to other countries and leads to Mujie, a
national port of Burma. It is a convenient and economical
international passageway.
Ruili Border Trade Street is located at the
northwestern end of the town. It came into use on May 1,
1989. The street covers an area of 32,000 square meters,
and there are 6 gardens in the center of the street.
"Jiegao" is a Dai word, meaning
"the old town". It is said that Sinan King of
Luchuan built his capital here in the late Yuan Dynasty
or the early Ming Dynasty. Thus the town got such a name.
During the Anti-Japanese War, Jiegao was a very prosperous
town. American planes frequently came here, carrying military
supplies. It lies 4 kilometers away from Ruili, and is the
only part of Ruili Town on the southeastern bank of the
Ruili River, known as "shatoujiao" or "Tianyahaijiao"
in the southwest of China.
In 1987 Jiegao became an important port where
bilateral trade could be done. In 1991, "Jiegao Border
Trade Economic Zone" was set up. China and Burma have
built China-Burma Street, which is now filled with stores
and shops. Since 1992 the imports and exports from Jiegao
have accounted for 50% to 60% of the total imports and exports
of the border trade of the province, and over 30% of the
imports and exports of the border trade from the inland
ports throughout the country. Jiegao Bridge across the Ruili
River links Ruili with Jiegao. The bridge is now the longest
road bridge in Yunnan and on the boundary line in the Southwest
of China. In a word, the booming Jiegao has become a newly-
developing business town and border resort with typical
ethnic features and modern facilities.
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