China is filled with cultural and historical treasures dating back centuries, even millennia, but it is a sad truth that the number of valuable sites and relics diminished greatly in the past 200 years, primarily due to war, the chaos of the 1960s and 70s or the country’s recent demolition spree.

The damage and loss of so many relics and sites makes the ones that still exist even more special. During a recent trip through Xishuangbanna in southern Yunnan, we visited a Buddhist site that has stood the test of time: the Manfeilong Stupas.

Located on a hill above the tropical town of Manfeilong, the stupas – which are often incorrectly called the Manfeilong Pagoda – were built more than 800 years ago in the year 1204. It is the most important Buddhist structure in Xishuangbanna, where Buddhism is the dominant religion.

The origins of the nine-stupa structure, whose main stupa reaches more than 53 feet (16 meters) upward, are shrouded in mystery.

It is believed that Sakyamuni visited the site and left a footprint where the stupa now stands. A large statue of Sakyamuni next to the stupas looks outward over the valley below.

There is also a story that the stupas were built by local Dai people with the assistance of an Indian man who had come to spread Buddhism in the region.

There are eight smaller stupas encircling the main stupa. Before each of these 16-foot stupas is a small niche containing a Buddhist statue. Worshippers visiting the stupas leave offerings for the Buddha in front of the statues.

There is now a dirt road heading up from the quaint village of Manfeilong to the stupas, but perhaps the best way to appreciate the stupas is to hike up a small path from Manfeilong to the top of the hill, which takes 20 to 30 minutes.

In addition to the stupas, the site also offers excellent views of the valley below, with China’s border with Myanmar at the top of mountains across the way.

Yunnan continues to be an inspiration for interesting commentary, with National Geographic‘s May 2009 issue featuring a piece on Shangri-la (Zhongdian). Mark Jenkins explores this “complicated” and “confounding” Tibetan town in southwest China and the competing visions for its future. Will tourism and development invariably lead this area to lose all of its mythical and spiritual qualities?

As Jenkins notes, “tourism saved the place” after the Chinese government banned commercial logging in 1998; but that, in turn, has led to the commercialization of Tibetan culture. This trend — seen in many other hidden gems in the developing world — is certainly troubling. But as travelers, that doesn’t automatically mean we should stop visiting such places, which still have a lot to teach us about traditional lifestyles and choices.

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It’s a bad sign when the highlight of your day is not falling down during a very muddy hike (note to self: buy hiking boots).

Thankfully, for me, there were many other (cleaner) highlights during my trek through parts of Xishuangbanna in Yunnan province. Located in the far south of the province, near China’s border with Myanmar and Laos, Xishuangbanna is an autonomous prefecture known for its tropical weather, rain forests and ethnic minorities. It’s a lush area that closely resembles southeast Asia in climate and culture.

The day after landing in Jinghong, Xishuangbanna’s small capital city (small = only one baggage belt at the airport), I embarked on an eventful day-and-a-half trip with WildChina’s local partner, Michael/Oliver (one English name wasn’t enough!) and two of his younger staff members, Ian and Vincent.

We started with a visit to a local market in Menghai county, which offered some interesting people-watching, particularly of ethnic Dai women wearing traditional sarongs, jackets and head scarves. The Dai, the largest minority group in Xishuangbanna, speak their own language with its own script, and their people are found throughout southeast Asia. They follow Theravada Buddhism, rather than Mahayana, the school of Buddhism practiced in much of the rest of China—which explains why their temples and pagodas remind me so much of Thailand.

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