Walk through Jinghong, the capital of Xishuangbanna prefecture, in the middle of April and you're likely to get wet - very wet. The culmination of the three-day water-splashing festival that marks the Dai New Year is a good-natured riot that involves people racing around the streets of Jinghong soaking everyone in sight with buckets of water, hoses, water pistols and water-filled balloons.
But there's far more to Xishuangbanna - which lies in the deep south of Yunnan province close to the borders with Laos and Myanmar - than just the chance for a free shower. Blessed with year-round sunshine, pollution-free blue skies, palm trees, nature reserves and rainforests, Banna, as the locals call it, is the closest thing to a tropical paradise on the mainland.
Add the presence of at least 13 ethnic minorities, many of whom live in the nearby mountains, which are made for trekking, and a hugely laid-back atmosphere, and it's easy to understand the appeal of this slice of Southeast Asia in China.
Yet the autonomous region still lags behind Yunnan hot spots such as Lijiang, Dali and Shangri-La when it comes to attracting visitors. That's set to change. Xishuangbanna is on the cusp of a tourism boom that seems certain to transform it into a premier winter holiday destination. At the same time, Beijing is stepping up co-operation with its neighbours, and there are ambitious plans to turn Jinghong into China's gateway to Southeast Asia.
So far, Yunnan's government has allocated 700 billion yuan (HK$830 billion) to boost infrastructure and tourism in the prefecture. Jinghong's low-rise skyline is now dominated by cranes, as new hotels and apartment blocks go up. A 3.5-kilometre boardwalk is being constructed along the banks of the Lancang River - the Chinese name for the Mekong, which runs through the city - complete with shopping malls and a performance square.
Just outside Jinghong, which is still largely surrounded by paddy fields and rubber plantations, a 15 billion yuan tourism complex, including five-star hotels, golf courses and a theme park, is set to be open by 2013.