Wangtianshu (Himmelsbaum) Landschaftsgebiet

The Wangtianshu, or "Sky-Gazing Tree," Scenic Area protects one of the most impressive remaining stands of tropical rainforest in Xishuangbanna, inside the larger Xishuangbanna Tropical Rainforest National Park near Menglun. The park is named for the towering Shorea wangtianshuea, the giant dipterocarp that soars straight up through the canopy to heights that can exceed eighty meters, the tallest tropical tree species native to China. Walking among them is the closest experience in the country to a true Southeast Asian dipterocarp forest.

The signature experience is the canopy walkway. A suspension bridge of rope and timber planks, strung between the crowns of several wangtianshu trees at a height of roughly forty meters, lets visitors step out into the upper canopy itself, swaying gently above a sea of leaves. From up here the forest reads as a continuous green skin, broken only by the trunks of emergent giants, and on a clear morning the light through the canopy is unforgettable. The walkway has strict limits on simultaneous visitors and on windy days it may close, so it pays to arrive early.

Beneath the canopy, boardwalks and marked trails lead past massive buttress roots, strangler figs that have consumed their host trees entirely, rattan loops, and small streams. Signage points out signature species and traditional Dai uses of forest plants. A boat ride along a tributary of the Luosuo River offers a slower way to take in the forest from the water's edge.

For independent travelers with the time to push beyond Jinghong, the Wangtianshu Scenic Area is one of the most authentic rainforest experiences Xishuangbanna offers, and it pairs well with a visit to the nearby Chinese Academy of Sciences botanical garden for a fuller picture of the prefecture's plant life.