Wild Elephant Valley is located on the southern edge of Mengyang Nature Reserve in Mengyang Town, Xishuangbanna Dai Autonomous Prefecture, Yunnan Province, China. It is the only scenic spot in China where wild Asian elephants can be safely observed, and is also a scientific research base for monitoring and researching Asian elephants, breeding wild butterflies, and rescuing wild animals in Xishuangbanna. The following is a detailed introduction to the Wild Elephant Valley Scenic Area:
1. Scenic Area Introduction:
The scenic area is crisscrossed with ravines and rivers, dense forests, and a tropical rainforest scenery. Protected animals such as Asian wild elephants, bison, green peacocks, and macaques all inhabit here. Due to its location at the junction of the east and west areas of Mengyang Nature Reserve, the scenic area has naturally become a passage for various animals. The wild elephants that come here for activities are quite frequent, making it one of the few places in Xishuangbanna where wild elephants can be observed. The Xishuangbanna Wild Elephant Valley in China is the place where wild elephant activities are most concentrated and frequent. There, tourists may have the opportunity to see wild elephants with their own eyes, but such opportunities are not very common. It mainly depends on whether they have the luck to catch up with the appearance of wild elephants. The unique tropical rainforest landscape has also attracted more and more people. In addition, performances with rich ethnic customs can also be watched in the scenic area
2. Scenic Area Information:
Business Hours: 08:00-18:00, Admission Closed at 6:30
Ticket Price: Full price ticket 60 yuan/person, half price ticket 30 yuan/person; The one-way adult ticket for cableway is 50 yuan/person, and the child ticket is 30 yuan/person; Cableway round-trip adult ticket 70 yuan/person, child ticket 50 yuan/person
Preferential policies:
Free tickets:
1. Elderly: 70 years old (inclusive) or above with senior ID card
Disabled firefighting and rescue personnel and students from firefighting and rescue colleges
5. Yunnan Province's "Xingdian Huicai Card": with valid identification and AB card; A-card holders who bring their spouse and children can enjoy up to 5 free tickets. B-card holders who bring their spouse, children, and up to 3 people can enjoy free admission. Half price ticket:
1. Elderly: 60 years old (inclusive) -70 years old (exclusive) with a senior citizen card or ID card.
2. Children: 7 years old (inclusive) -18 years old (inclusive) with a valid ID card.
3. Full time undergraduate and lower education students: with a student ID card.
3. Geographical introduction:
Natural geography:
- Geographic location: The scenic area is 22 kilometers away from Jinghong City, the capital of Xishuangbanna Prefecture, and 10 kilometers away from Mengyang Town. Its geographic coordinates are between 22 ° 10 ′ -22 ° 11 ′ N latitude and 100 ° 50 ′ -100 ° 51 ′ E
- Climate conditions: Wild Elephant Valley belongs to the humid monsoon climate of the northern and southern tropics, with a hot climate and distinct dry and wet seasons. The annual average temperature is between 18.6 ° C and 21.9 ° C, and the annual average precipitation is between 1200 and 1700 millimeters. The precipitation from June to October accounts for 84.1% of the total annual precipitation
- Geology and Landform: The terrain of Mengyang Town, where Wild Elephant Valley is located, is mainly composed of mountainous plains and eroded middle mountains. Its landform is low mountains, shallow hills, and wide valleys. The terrain is high in the north and low in the south, high on both sides, low in the middle, and numerous gullies, with an altitude of 747-1091 meters.
Biodiversity:
- Plant Resources: The forest types of Wild Elephant Valley are divided into tropical seasonal rainforests, monsoon evergreen broad-leaved forests, and yellow bamboo forests according to altitude changes, with a forest coverage rate of 96%. The main representative tree species are Ficus microcarpa, Magnolia grandiflorus, and Eucommia ulmoides.White flowered sheephoof beetle, multi flowered white headed tree, arrow poison wood, Yunnan Shizi, Mao Ziwei, Yunnan Meideng wood, Tuanhua tree, large leafed nanmu, olive tree, Qianzhang paper, Laotian tiancai wood, Mujiangzi, Mao Ma Melia, Yunnan Su Tie, Chongyang wood, etc
- Animal Resources: Wild Elephant Valley is home to about 70 wild Asian elephants. In addition to elephants, there are more than 100 species of wild butterflies in Wild Elephant Valley, including swallowtail butterflies, ring butterflies, spotted butterflies, butterflies, and pink butterflies. In addition, Wild Elephant Valley is home to over 100 species of tropical and subtropical birds. At the same time, Wild Elephant Valley also has protected animals such as bison, monitor lizards, pythons, green peacocks, hornbills, dolphin tailed monkeys, macaques, black bears, pangolins, and giant spirit cats, as well as amphibians. 4. Main attractions:
- Butterfly Pavilion: Located in the southwest direction of the scenic area, it is a wild butterfly breeding and breeding experimental base jointly operated by Xishuangbanna Nature Reserve Management Bureau and the World Wildlife Fund (WWF), and is the first artificially raised butterfly pavilion in China. The museum mainly houses more than 48 species of tropical and subtropical butterflies, including local species such as the Chang Feng Butterfly, Yunnan Lily Butterfly, Chinese Leaf Butterfly, Paris Green Butterfly, Crane Top Pink Butterfly, and Red Saw Butterfly, as well as the large spotted butterfly introduced from Taiwan, all of which have high ornamental and educational value
- Orchid Garden: Also known as Orchid Garden, located northeast of the Butterfly Pavilion. The park mainly focuses on planting orchids, and most of the orchids displayed in the park are first-class protected plants in China, such as pine and iron orchids, butterfly orchids, dancing orchids and other varieties. There is also a science popularization lecture hall in the garden, where you can learn about the characteristics of some rare families and genera of orchids, as well as some unique landscapes of plants in the tropical rainforest, such as parasitism, epiphytes, and aerial rooting. The tropical rainforest sightseeing cableway starts from the northwest of the orchid garden, with a total length of 2063 meters and 206 sightseeing baskets. It only takes about 35 minutes to take the cableway to the observatory. When tourists ride the cableway, they can overlook the entire rainforest of the scenic area, see wild elephants, as well as wild primates such as gray leaf monkeys, bee monkeys, white cheeked gibbons, and various tropical wild birds
- Elevated Observation Trail: Starting from the northeast of the Orchid Garden, the trail is 2280 meters long and 3 meters wide. It will be built in two phases, with the first phase trail being 920 meters long and the second phase trail being 1360 meters long. The boardwalk is made of American Southern pine anti-corrosion wood, which takes into account both environmental protection and anti-corrosion. In the process of laying the floor, in order to minimize the impact on the trees in the forest, the designers carefully considered the location. They expanded the gap between the wooden boards on the boardwalk to 6 to 8 millimeters, avoiding sun exposure and rainwater accumulation, leaving sufficient growth space for the trees, and minimizing the impact on the forest ecological environment. The Asian Elephant Museum is located at the end of the high-altitude observation boardwalk. The museum was completed and opened in March 2008, with an exhibition area of 900 square meters. It is mainly divided into nine different sections, showcasing the origin and evolution, physiological structure, survival status, human elephant interaction, and elephant rescue of Asian elephants through a combination of graphics and text. The most precious collections in the museum are two Asian elephant skeletons, six Asian elephant genuine leather, and Asian elephant facial specimens. Rare animal specimens such as muntjacs, Indian bison, armored turtles, and giant lizards were also displayed. The museum also arranges staff to conduct knowledge popularization every day
- Asian Elephant Source Breeding and Rescue Center: Located south of the Asian Elephant Museum, it is a key construction project for China's wildlife conservation and nature reserve construction, implemented in Yunnan Province. It is a project center that integrates rescue, scientific research, and breeding. The center began construction in 2007 and was completed in 2008. The main task of the center is to carry out artificial breeding research on Asian elephants, expand the population of Asian elephants through research, preserve the genes of Asian elephants, and provide a source for the wilding and release of Asian elephants
- Tree inns: A place where wild elephants often appear, Wild Elephant Valley has also built more than 30 tree inns. These hotels are located on trees more than 20 meters above the ground, with a shape similar to the traditional bamboo tower and connected by an observation corridor. Tree hotels not only allow tourists to observe the foraging and playful activities of Asian elephants up close, but also serve as a platform for monitoring and researching the habitat behavior of Asian elephants by the management of the protected area. This marks the official opening of a "high-altitude enclosed tour loop" that allows tourists to safely observe wild elephants in the high altitude of the tropical rainforest, truly realizing the ecological and environmental protection of "elephants walking on the ground and people swimming in the air". Tourism concept
2. Tropical rainforest sightseeing cableway:Take the cableway to enjoy the panoramic view of the tropical rainforest scenery, overlook the distinct ecological communities, and overlook the intertwined vines of the tropical rainforest. At the same time, you will also see the touching scene of wild Asian elephants foraging and playing under the cableway.
3. Asian Elephant Museum:This is a science popularization museum with the theme of Asian elephants jointly built with the Xishuangbanna National Nature Reserve Management Bureau. Aim to popularize knowledge about Asian elephants, raise awareness of protecting Asian elephants and paying attention to their survival crises, and promote harmonious development between humans and elephants
4. DIY painted elephant:After getting up close to elephants in Wild Elephant Valley, it is inevitable to have the impulse to bring a baby elephant home. This wish can actually be easily fulfilled by painting an elephant house in Wild Elephant Valley. A group of cute mini elephant models are waiting for you to color them and bring them home. After selecting an elephant model, you can express your creativity by picking up a paintbrush and painting your favorite colors on the model, creating a unique and colorful little elephant in your mind, leaving a beautiful memory for your trip to Wild Elephant Valley
5. Elephant Food Bar:The food at Elephant Food Bar is made from fruits and vegetables that elephants usually like to eat, processed and transformed according to people's dietary habits, and made into an ecological and healthy feast. Among them, the vegetarian meal is a unique creative food composed of a wide range of fruit and vegetable platters, which is a healthy diet for the wild elephants
VI. Celebrity Animals:
- Elephant "Ranran": In 2005, the elephant "Ranran" was discovered by staff near the Wild Elephant Valley Observatory. At that time, its hind legs were caught by a trap, forming a 20 centimeter wide circular wound that was highly infected and on the brink of death. After years of treatment by the staff, the left hind leg injury of "Ranran" has improved and gradually matured. Ranran "is the star elephant of Wild Elephant Valley, who has starred with domestic and foreign celebrities such as Prince William of England. At the beginning of 2018, staff found signs of pregnancy in "Ranran". After 640 days of pregnancy, "Ranran" gave birth to a baby female elephant at 4:35 am on September 21, 2019. The baby elephant weighs 68.2 kilograms, is 83 centimeters tall, 82 centimeters long, and has a tail length of 40 centimeters. It is in good health
- Elephant "Xiguang": When "Xiguang" was 7 years old, a drug dealer fed him bananas coated with drugs and successfully controlled him with drugs for drug transportation. In July 2005, drug traffickers smuggled elephants such as Xiguang into Dehong Prefecture, Yunnan Province, and were caught by forestry police. "Northwest" was rescued. Due to the lack of suitable conditions and venues in Dehong Prefecture to assist "Xiguang" in drug rehabilitation, the State Forestry Administration intervened and sent "Xiguang" and other elephants to the Qinhuangdao Wildlife Reception and Rescue Center. At the end of the year, considering that the climate in Hainan Tropical Botanical Garden was more suitable for "Xiguang" to live in, he was sent to Hainan for compulsory drug rehabilitation. After 3 years of successful drug rehabilitation, he was transferred to the Wild Elephant Valley Rescue Center for further drug rehabilitation on October 22, 2008
- Elephant "Yangniu": "Yangniu" is a female baby elephant rescued by the Asian Elephant Rescue and Breeding Center, and is currently the only Asian elephant in the world to receive rescue and grow over 6 years old while still breastfeeding for less than a week. On August 12, 2022, on the 11th World Elephant Day, "Yangniu" celebrated her seventh birthday
- Elephant "Xiaojiu": "Xiaojiu" is a female baby elephant born by the artificially raised elephant "Pingzai" after 693 days of pregnancy. Named after the ninth ranked baby elephant bred in the Wild Elephant Valley. "Little Nine" was born on February 22, 2020. Because it was born in the critical period of fighting against the COVID-19 epidemic and could stand up only 40 minutes after birth, it attracted attention
- World Elephant Day: August 12th every year is World Elephant Day, and Wild Elephant Valley holds related activities to call on people to pay attention to and protect elephants
8. Transportation Guide:
- External Transportation: There are shuttle buses to Wild Elephant Valley from various bus stations in Jinghong City, and there are also tourist shuttle buses available
- Internal Transportation: There are sightseeing buses in the scenic area, and you can take the sightseeing bus to visit the scenic area
9. Tourist Route:
- One day Tour Route: Tourist Service Center → Elephant School → Rainforest Theater → Snake and Lizard Garden → Butterfly Garden → Orchid Garden → Tropical Rainforest Sightseeing Cableway → Tree Inn → Elevated Elephant Watching Trail → Asian Elephant Museum → Elephant House → Asian Elephant Breeding and Rescue Center
- Two day tour route: Day 1: Tourist Service Center → Elephant School → Rainforest Theater → Snake Lizard Garden → Butterfly Garden → Orchid Garden → Tropical Rainforest Sightseeing Cableway → Tree Inn → Elevated Elephant Viewing Trail → Asian Elephant Museum → Elephant House → Asian Elephant Breeding and Rescue Center; The next day: Observatory → Wild Elephant Hunting Area → South Gate of Wild Elephant Valley Scenic Area
10. Precautions:
The activities of wild elephants in the Wild Elephant Valley scenic area are uncertain, and tourists need to pay attention to safety when visiting and not leave the designated tourist area. The climate in the scenic area is variable, and it is recommended that tourists bring rain gear and sunscreen. The vegetation in the scenic area is relatively dense, and it is recommended that tourists wear comfortable shoes for walking. There are many animals in the scenic area, and it is recommended that tourists do not feed them indiscriminately to avoid causing discomfort to the animals. The environment within the scenic area is quite complex, and it is recommended that tourists do not travel alone to remote areas within the scenic area to avoid accidents
The above information is for reference only, and specific information is subject to the actual situation of the scenic area