Nam Lai River

　　The Nam Lai River runs from north to south through the entire territory of Menglian and is regarded as the mother river of Menglian, nurturing generations of the Dai people who have lived along its banks. The riverbanks feature typical karst landforms with numerous caves. The nearby Golden Mountain and Silver Mountain are home to the rare Dracaena cambodiana tree. Drifting up the river in a bamboo raft, you can take in all the scenery along both sides of the Nam Lai River.

　　"Nam Lai" means "Chasing Husband River" in the Dai language. Legend has it that long ago, the Nam Lai River and the Nam Lang River (a river that flows through Lancang County) were a loving couple originating from the same mountain, traveling and resting together. The husband, Nam Lang, would always share any wild game he caught with his wife, Nam Lai, and she would never forget to save some for him when she caught something. They lived in love and harmony for many years—until one day, the wife caught a very small porcupine. Being pregnant and extremely hungry, and seeing the tiny creature before her, she ate it alone. Later, when the husband saw the hard quills, he thought it was a huge beast and became upset, complaining, “In the past, no matter what game I caught, I always shared it with you and never ate alone. This animal had such thick fur—I can only imagine how huge it must have been. How could you bear to eat it all by yourself?” In anger, the husband left. Feeling deeply wronged, the wife hurried after him to make amends, but being pregnant, she couldn’t catch up with her upset husband. The husband lit a pine torch (which is why pine trees grow so densely along the Nam Lang River), while the wife lit a wild bamboo torch (as wild bamboo is abundant along the Nam Lai River). The pine torch burned longer and brighter, so the husband moved quickly, while the bamboo torch kept going out, causing the wife to fall further and further behind. Still, she didn’t give up and kept chasing after him until she finally caught up. The couple resolved their misunderstanding, reconciled, and eventually flowed together into the Mekong River, heading toward the vast Pacific Ocean.