D. A. DUDENKOVA Moscow City Pedagogical University (MSPU) Keywords: China, Xishuangbanna, Dai people In China, they say: "Above is paradise, and below is Suzhou and Hangzhou" (cities in the east of the country). And if you still naively believe this, then you just haven't been lucky enough to visit Xishuangbanna yet. Xishuangbanna is a tropical paradise in southwestern China's Yunnan Province on the border with Laos and Myanmar (see map). In Xishuangbanna, the January temperature is +27 degrees, and local residents cringe and say that it is cooler than usual, bananas hang on the city streets among other tropical greenery. Here, it seems that all the people are smiling at you, even if they are just squinting in the sun. Let's start in order. The main part of the population of Xishuangbanna is made up of representatives of the Dai people, who are close to the Thais in their culture and language. Some time ago, the Ministry of Education tried to introduce Dai culture and language classes in kindergartens and schools, but the process did not go beyond the idea. Today's young people prefer to learn Putonghua in order to go north, get a good education and not engage in manual labor, listen to pop music and bleach their hair to become like the Laowai (as the Chinese call foreigners among themselves). Well, this can be understood, although, as practice shows, the seekers of an easy life return very soon. And there are two reasons for this: the first is that the heart of a true Dai belongs to Xishuangbanna, nostalgia, the desire to once again plunge into the atmosphere of friendliness and hospitality typical of Dai, pulls him back; and the second is more prosaic - it's too cold in the north. Xishuangbanna is a cozy little town (approximately 9 square kilometers), and you can walk along and across it in just a few hours. Long alleys with rays of sun breaking through the leaves of exotic tropical trees, street vendors offering kebabs, local cigars, T-shirts with the inscripti ... Read more