Menghai County Overview
1. Basic Information
● Chinese Name: 勐海县
● Area: 5,511 square kilometers
● Population: 331850(2010)
● Zip code: 666200
● Dialing code: (+86) 0691
2. Location
Menghai county is located in west of Xishuangbanna Dai Autonomous Prefecture, bordering Myanmar in the west and south, Jinghong City in the east, Puer city in the northeast, Lancang County in the northwest, with national boundary of 146.556 kilometers, crossing between east longitude of 99 ° 56-100 ° 41, north latitude of 21 ° 28-22 °.
3. Administrative Division
Menghai County has jurisdiction over 6 towns(Menghai Town(勐海镇), Daluo Town(打洛镇), Menghun Town(勐混镇), Mengzhe Town(勐遮镇), Mengman Town(勐满镇), Meng'a Town(勐阿镇)), 5 townships(Mengsong Township(勐宋乡), Mengwang Township(勐往乡), Gelanghe Hani Ethnic Towship(格朗和哈尼族乡), Bulang Mountain Bulang Ethnic Township(布朗山布朗族乡), Xiding Hani Ethnic Bulang Ethnic Township(西定哈尼族布朗族乡)), 4 neighborhood committees, 85 village committees, 888 villages, 973 groups of villagers.
4. Ethnic People
In Menghai county, there are 24 ethnic minorities including Dai, Hani, Lahu, Bulang, Yi, Hui, Wa, Bai, Miao, Zhuang, Jingpo, etc, among which Dai, Hani, Lahu and Bulang are the four major local minorities. In 2007, Dai people accounted for 38.67% of the whole population, Hani 20.87%, Lahu 13.13%, and Bulang 10.76%. Menghai County has the largest population of Bulang of all the counties in China.
5. Climate and Weather
Menghai county enjoys a tropical and subtropical southwest monsoon climate, without severe winter and broiling summer. The annual temperature difference is small and daily temperature difference is large. There are climate zones of north tropical, south subtropical and mid-subtropical according to the altitude.
Annual average temperature of 18.7 ℃, annual average sunshine of 2088 hours, annual average rainfall of 1341 mm, with frost season 32 days all the year round. Foggy is the main characteristics of Menghai County, with annual foggy day of 107.5 ~ 160.2.
6. Best Time to Visit
The best time to visit Menghai is during the dry season (from November to April), when the weather is agreeable and the temperature is mild. If you would like to taste the rich tropical fruit here, traveling during the period from June to September is a good choice.
Try to avoid the peak holidays due to crowded Chinese tourists such as Chinese Spring Festival (usually in late Jan or early Feb.), International Labor Day (May 01 to 03) and National Day (Oct 01-07). Spring Festival and the National Day golden week are the most crowded time for travelling.
7. Features
Menghai County is most famous for tea culture. Besides, the Tropical Rain Forest, Buddhist Culture, Border Culture, and Ethnic Culture are also the highlights of Menghai County.
8. Things to Do
The main attractions in Menghai County are Jingzhen Octagonal Pavilion, One Tree Forest, Manduan Temple, Manluanhui Mosque, etc. Of course the top ones are tea mountains such as Nannuo Tea Mountain, Bulang Ancient Tea Mountain, In addition, the ancient ethnic villages are also worth visiting.
9. How to Get to Menghai County?
Menghai County can be accessible by air and long-distance bus. The nearest airport is Xishuangbanna Gasa Airport located in Jinghong City and tourists can fly to Gasa airport and then transfer to Menghai County. Long-Distance Bus is another important way getting to Menghai County, which could be accessible from Kunming, Jinghong, etc.