The capital city is Jinghong, which straddles the Lancang (Mekong) river. The prefecture has an area of 19.700 km².

The native name literally means "twelve thousand rice fields".

Xishuangbanna is the home of the Dai people. The region sits at a lower altitude than most of Yunnan, and has a tropical climate. It is fast becoming a sought after tourist destination. Passiflora xishuangbannaensis is a recently discovered passionflower species that is endemic in Xishuangbanna.

Administrative Subdivisions

Xishuangbanna governs 1 county-level city and 2 counties.

* County level city: Jinghong.
* Counties:

o Menghai County (Měnghǎi Xiàn 勐海县); capital: Xiangshan (Xiàngshān Zhēn 象山镇)
o Mengla County (Měnglà Xiàn 勐腊县); capital: Mengla (Měnglà Zhēn 勐腊镇)

Demographics

With censuses in the year 2000 Xishuangbanna had 993,397 inhabitants with a population density of 50.43 inhabitants per km².

Culture

The Six famous tea mountains region (六大茶山; pinyin: Liù Dà Chá Shān; literally, "Six big tea mountain") located in the prefecture produce some of the most highly regarded Pu-erh tea in the 20th century.

Ethnic groups in Xishuangbanna, 2000 census

Nationality Population Percentage
Dai 296,930 29.89%
Han 289,181 29.11%
Hani 186,067 18.73%
Yi 55,772 5.61%
Lahu 55,548 5.59%
Blang 36,453 3.67%
Jino 20,199 2.03%
Yao 18,679 1.88%
Miao 11,037 1.11%
Bai 5,931 0.6%
ethnic background not given 5,640 0.57%
Hui 3,911 0.39%
Va 3,112 0.31%
Zhuang 2,130 0.21%
Others 2,807 0.3%