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Ganlan (Oliver) Sandbar Known in the language of
the Dai people as Menghan, the Ganlan Sandbar on the Lancang
Rivers a world-famous " peacock tail ", meaning the most beautiful
part of Xishuangbanna. " No trip to Xishuangbanna is complete
without a visit to Ganlan Sandbar ". as the popular saying goes.
Situated at the end of a 37-kilometers trip down
the Lancang River from Jinghong, and covering an area of 50 square
kilometers at an altitude of 530 metres (the lowest point of
Xishuangbanna), the Ganlan Sandbar derives its name from the fact
that its forever clothed in greenery and that it takes the shape
of an olive. A total of 64 Dai-inhabited villages are found on the
sandbar, and bamboo abodes gleam in the verdure of coconut trees,
with water flowing past them all the year round, and flowers in
full bloom in all four seasons. Thus the phrase " Bamboo pavilions
under coconut trees ". becomes synonymous to the Dai people's
dwellings. The Ganlan Sandbar, its tropical landscape looking
sylvan in the ethnic Dai tradition, evinces an air of classic
sanctity and natural repose.
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